June
30, 2009:
The HBO movie Taking Chance
chronicles the journey of KIA Chance Phelps back to his home of
Actually, Bowe’s hometown is not Ketchum but Hailey, ten miles to the
south of Ketchum. Except that his family
does not live in Hailey, but six miles up a gravel road west of Hailey.
photo take by
In spite of these distances, Bowe has never owned a car. He rode a bicycle six miles down the gravel
road to get to Hailey, and another ten miles to practice as the male lead in
ballet productions near Ketchum. He also
spent a season on an Alaskan fishing boat before he joined the army. He was home-schooled and a devout member of
The day after we buried Derwin Williams, ten days after we buried
Personally, I am not convinced that we must treat international
terrorists the same as domestic criminals, but we must continue to treat our
prisoners humanly. Not only because it
is the right thing to do, but also so that our enemy will not have an excuse
for reciprocal mistreatment of hostages they hold.
That said, there is no reason why an army in
the field should not make its enemy pay a price for tactics it wishes to
discourage. What we need is a Saving Private Ryan operation on a
massive scale. Pull the Marines out of
There will be collateral damage and our hearts & minds effort may
be set back. Maybe. This is a corner of the world where they
understand tribal loyalty. We might even
gain respect if we show that the most dangerous thing they can do is hold an
American soldier.
I don’t imagine that the Joint Chiefs will read my blog and change
their war strategy. But I think they
should. Our five-year objective may be
to bring a stable democracy to
Find him. Bring him home. Until we do, nothing else matters.
December
17, 2009:
The Taliban will release a new video of captive
The Haqqani Network is the most lethal of the
Taliban groups operating in
Bergdahl was last heard from in July, when a long
"interview" conducted by an English-speaking Taliban spokesman was
released.
You can see
the July 2009 video here.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2009/12/taliban_to_release_video_of_ca.php
December
25, 2009, Christmas Day:
On day number 178 since capture, a second video was
released. NATO spokesman: "To release
this video on Christmas Day is an affront to the deeply concerned family and
friends of Bowe Bergdahl, demonstrating contempt for religious traditions and the
teachings of Islam."
Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid,
appears at the end of the video and renews demands for a "limited number
of prisoners" to be exchanged for Bergdahl.
A half-year.
That is how long it has been. His
parents, Bob & Jani Bergdahl, continue to draw on their faiths for
strength: Faith in their Christian God
and faith in the sole superpower on Earth.
April
7, 2010, per the AP:
The
seven-minute video of Bergdahl shows him sporting a beard and doing a few
push-ups to demonstrate he's in good physical condition. There was no way to
verify when the footage was taken or if he is still alive.
…
In
the sometimes choppy video issued Wednesday, Bergdahl talks about his love for
his family, his friends, motorcycles and sailing.
"I'm
a prisoner. I want to go home," he says in the video, which was made
available by Washington-based Site Intelligence Group, which monitors militant
Web sites. "This war isn't worth the waste of human life that has cost
both
At
times speaking haltingly, as if holding back emotions, Bergdahl -- clad in what
appeared to be an Army shirt and fatigues -- clasped his hands together and
pleaded: "The pain in my heart to see my family again doesn't get any
smaller. Release me. Please, I'm begging you, bring me home."
He
added that he is strong and is "given the freedom to exercise" and to
be a human being, even though he is a prisoner.
…
At the end of the video, a speaker, reportedly Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, demands the release of a limited number of prisoners in exchange for the American.
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