June 30, 2009:

 

 

The HBO movie Taking Chance chronicles the journey of KIA Chance Phelps back to his home of Dubois, Wyoming.  Traveling west by car, it is 400 miles from Dubois to Ketchum, Idaho.

 

 

Ketchum, Idaho is listed on the DoD press release about Bowe Bergdahl as his hometown.  It has a population of about 3,000 and is located just south of the “K” where I have placed the city name in the map above.  In the photo below of nearby Castle Rock, you can see the nature of the country there.

 

 

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 John Miller for the AP on July 19 at 1:30 pm

 

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 Calvary Bible Church.

 

The day after we buried Derwin Williams, ten days after we buried Steven Drees and 21 days after we buried Paul Smith we have learned the name of the soldier captured in eastern Afghanistan 18 days ago.  Bowe Bergdahl is alive but he is a hostage of Taliban-associated terrorists.  We can’t bargain for him without encouraging future kidnappings.

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 Helmand, extend the tour of the 33rd Brigade and let a Blackwater contract.  Whatever.  Full-court press.  Our warriors are entitled to expect that.

 

 

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 Afghanistan, but our five-month objective must be to bring Bowe Bergdahl back.

 

Find him.  Bring him home.  Until we do, nothing else matters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 17, 2009:

 

 

The Taliban will release a new video of captive US soldier Private First Class Bowe Bergdahl, according to a trusted source. The video is reportedly titled "One of Their People Testified." Bergdahl was captured by the Haqqani Network on June 30 after leaving his small combat outpost in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika.

 

The Haqqani Network is the most lethal of the Taliban groups operating in Afghanistan. My sources believe Bergdahl is currently being held in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan in Pakistan. The Pakistani government and military refuse to go into North Waziristan and confront the Haqqanis.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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