Sgt Bergdahl criticised his superiors, calling his battalion commander a “conceited
old fool”, and said the American army was composed of “liars,
back-stabbers, fools, and bullies”.
He concluded by saying: “I am sorry for everything. The horror that is
America is disgusting.”
His disappearance triggered an intense manhunt as troops were pulled off
planned operations to search for him.
At the time, Afghan officers taking part in the search said they had been told
Sgt Bergdahl had suffered some form of breakdown.
A Taliban statement said he had been captured after falling behind on a patrol.
He is not classified as a deserter and is listed as “missing-captured.”
Since his capture, he has appeared in a number of hostage videos released by
the Taliban, in which he has pleaded for his release. He is believed to be
held in northwestern Pakistan.
His parents have recently begun giving interviews about their son’s
imprisonment after becoming frustrated with the failure of official efforts
to free him.
American officials had tried to broker his freedom in a swap for five Taliban
leaders currently held in Guantánamo Bay US military prison in Cuba.
The transfer had been conceived as a “confidence building measure”
to kick start wider talks between the enemies to find a political settlement
to the conflict. The initiative appears to have stalled in the face of
opposition in Congress to concessions to the Taliban.
Meanwhile the number of American troops who have died in the decade-long
conflict on Thursday passed 2,000 according to the icasualties website,
which compiles casualty figures.
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