The last US prisoner of war held in Afghanistan was handed over to US Special Operations forces last night, in a dramatic swap for five Taliban detainees who were released from Guantanamo Bay prison and flown to Qatar.
Army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl had been held for nearly five years by Afghan militants and his release, following years of on-and-off negotiations, suddenly became possible after harder-line factions of the Afghan Taliban apparently shifted course and agreed to back it, according to US officials.
Bergdahl (28) was handed over last night, a senior official said. The US forces, who had flown in by helicopter, were on the ground very briefly, said the officials, who would not specify the precise location of the handover.
A US defence official said Sgt Bergdahl was able to walk and became emotional on his way to freedom.
“Once he was on the helicopter, he wrote on a paper plate, ‘SF?’” the official said, referring to the abbreviation for special forces.
“The operators replied loudly: ‘Yes, we’ve been looking for you for a long time.’ And at this point, Sergeant Bergdahl broke down.”
President Barack Obama hailed the release in a brief appearance with Sgt Bergdahl's parents, Bob and Jani, in the White House Rose Garden, saying that "while Bowe was gone, he was never forgotten".
Sgt Bergdahl was on his way to an American military hospital in Germany, a US defence official said.
Another defence official said it was expected that after treatment in Germany he would be transferred to a military medical facility in San Antonio, Texas.
US special forces took custody of Sgt Bergdahl in a non-violent exchange with 18 Taliban members in eastern Afghanistan, senior US officials said, adding that he was believed to be in good condition.
Before leaving for Germany, he received medical care at Bagram Air Base, the main US base in Afghanistan.
Within hours of his release, a second US defence official said the five Taliban detainees, now formally in Qatari custody, had departed the Guantanamo prison.
They were aboard a US military C-17 aircraft and en route to the Gulf emirate.
The prisoner swap comes as America is winding down its long war in Afghanistan, and raises the question of whether this could lead to broader peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government for a negotiated end to the conflict.
“We do hope that having succeeded in this narrow but important step, it will create the possibility of expanding the dialogue to other issues. But we don’t have any promises to that effect,” said one senior US official deeply involved in the diplomacy.
Sgt Bergdahl, who is from Idaho, was the only known missing US soldier in the Afghan war that was launched soon after the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States to force the Taliban - accused of sheltering al Qaeda militants - from power.
He was captured under unknown circumstances in eastern Afghanistan by militants on June 30th, 2009, about two months after arriving in the country.
His recovery after long years in captivity could be difficult.
At the White House, Sgt Bergdahl’s father began his words speaking a Muslim prayer and said his son was having difficulty speaking English.
He asked for patience from the media as the family helped him re-adjust.
A US defence official said Sgt Bergdahl would continue treatment at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, including the start of his “reintegration process”.
“That includes time for him to tell his story, decompress, and to reconnect with his family through telephone calls and video conferences,” the official said.
Sgt Bergdahl’s release could be a national security boost for Obama, whose foreign policy has been widely criticized in recent months.
But some members of Congress have worried in the past over the potential release of the five Taliban detainees, particularly Mohammed Fazl, a "high-risk" detainee held at Guantanamo since early 2002.
Mr Fazl is alleged to be responsible for the killing of thousands of Afghanistan’s minority Shia Muslims between 1998 and 2001.
A US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, identified the five men as Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq.
Pentagon documents released by the WikiLeaks organization said all five were sent to Guantanamo in 2002, the year the detention facility opened.
They were classified as “high-risk” detainees “likely to pose a threat” to the United States, its interests and allies.
Reuters