The Taliban today released a 17-minute video showing the handover of Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl to the American military close to the Afghan border with Pakistan, in an exchange for five militants held by the US in Guantanamo Bay jail.
The video shows Bergdahl, clean shaven, dressed in a white salwar kameez and with a shaved head, waiting in a white pick-up truck as Taliban militants outside lean in to talk to him. He appears to blink in the bright light, assenting as they speak.
It shows armed gunmen dotting the hills around the valley, as Blackhawk helicopters overhead draw closer to the meeting point. The Taliban reporter speaking over the clip explains:
“We told them there are 18 armed fighters and the Americans said that’s alright,” the male voice said.
As one of the helicopters lands throwing up a cloud of dust, Bergdahl is led to his rescuers by two men, one leading him by the hand and another waving a white cloth crudely tied to a wooden stick.
Most of the Taliban have their faces covered with scarves, while Bergdahl wears his over his shoulders.
They are greeted by three men who shake their hands and lead Bergdahl by the arm to the helicopter. The aircraft takes off and the message in English flashes up: “Don’ come back to Afghanistan”.
Five years after he was captured by Afghan militants, Bergdahl was freed at the weekend in exchange for five militants held at Guantanamo Bay. The 28-year-old is now in a military hospital in Germany, undergoing physical and mental assessments.
The five militants were put in the custody of the tiny Gulf emirate of Qatar, where they are to remain for a year. The video also showed their arrival in Qatar, where they are greeted with warm embraces, while a Taliban victory song is played in the background.
The initial euphoria over his release has been clouded by claims by fellow soldiers who say Bergdahl had deserted his post in 2009. And some members of Congress say the president broke the law by not giving them advance notice of the swap.
Friends and supporters of Bergdahl say a backlash is growing against him in his hometown of Hailey, Idahoover allegations he was a deserter.
Some of his one-time comrades assert that the massive search for Bergdahl after he went missing in Afghanistan on June 30th, 2009, may have cost the lives of up to six fellow soldiers who searched for him.
The US military has said the circumstances under which Bergdahl disappeared have yet to be fully investigated, though Pentagon officials have indicated Bergdahl is unlikely to face charges regardless of what the Army learns of his capture because he has suffered enough.
Still, for all the outpouring of hometown joy and national media attention lionising Bergdahl immediately following his release on Saturday, supporters in Hailey insist they never regarded him as a hero.
“People in Hailey have been aware for some time that there were questions about how Bowe came to be captured, and that there was a chance that Bowe could be in trouble when he came home,” said Stefanie O’Neill, a co-organiser of a welcome-home rally planned for June 28th.
“The celebration is going ahead. It is not being abridged in any way in light of the controversy that has arisen,” she told Reuters. “Our purpose was to bring Bowe back and to celebrate his return, and that has not changed ... We wanted one of our own home.”
Reuters