COMMENT
As suspected Obama had a news conference to tell how he kept his promise to bring home the POW by making a deal with the Taliban. The HERO here folks is Obama. The America people had to know he did a good job. This man deserted his post,most likely smoking pot and was captured by the taliban. He lleft his weapon and gear behind. Now we all feel sorry for him and next is a book deal. All charges will be dropped and covered up at Obamas request to Hagel. How sad a man derlects his duties and becomes a hero. Anothe lie the Americans want to hear. Will we ever learn the truth,they did about Manning.
By JULIE PACE and LOLITA C. BALDOR
WASHINGTON (AP) — The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed
over to U.S. special operations forces by the Taliban Saturday evening,
local time, in an area of eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani
border. Officials said the exchange was not violent and the 28-year-old
Bergdahl was in good condition and able to walk.
In
a statement, President Barack Obama said Bergdahl's recovery "is a
reminder of America's unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in
uniform behind on the battlefield."
The
handover followed indirect negotiations between the U.S. and the
Taliban, with the government of Qatar serving as the go-between. Qatar
is taking custody of the five Afghan detainees who were held at
Guantanamo.
According to a
senior defense official traveling with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in
Singapore, once Bergdahl climbed onto the noisy helicopter he took a pen
and wrote on a paper plate, the "SF?" — asking the troops if they were
special operations forces.
They shouted back at him over the roar of the rotors: "Yes, we've been looking for you for a long time."
Then, according to the official, Bergdahl broke down.
Bergdahl,
of Hailey, Idaho, is believed to have been held by the Haqqani network
since June 30, 2009. Haqqani operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border
region and has been one of the deadliest threats to U.S. troops in the
war.
The network, which the
State Department designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2012,
claims allegiance to the Afghan Taliban, yet operates with some degree
of autonomy.
Officials said
Bergdahl was transferred to Bagram Air Field, the main U.S. base in
Afghanistan, for medical evaluations. A defense official said he would
be sent to Germany for additional care before eventually returning to
the United States.
The
defense official said Bergdhal was tentatively scheduled to go to the
San Antonio Military Medical Center where he would be reunited with his
family. The military was working Saturday to connect Bergdahl with his
family over the telephone or by video conference.
Several
dozen U.S. special operations forces, backed by multiple helicopters
and surveillance aircraft, flew into Afghanistan by helicopter and made
the transfer with the approximately 18 Taliban members. The official
said the commandos were on the ground for a short time before lifting
off with Bergdahl.
The official added that
the U.S. still believes that Bergdahl was being held for the bulk of the
time in Pakistan, but it was not clear when he was transported to
eastern Afghanistan.
All of the officials insisted on anonymity in order to discuss details of Bergdahl's transfer.
Officials
said Obama spoke with Bergdahl's parents Saturday, shortly after their
son had been taken into U.S. custody. Bergdahl's family was in
Washington on a previously scheduled visit when they received the news.
The parents of the freed soldier, Bob and Jani Bergdahl, said in a statement that they were "joyful and relieved."
"We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only son," they said.
The
circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's capture remain something of a
mystery. There has been some speculation that he willingly walked away
from his unit, raising the question of whether he could be charged with
being absent without leave (AWOL) or desertion.
The U.S. has long
been seeking Bergdahl's release, but efforts have intensified as Obama
finalized plans to pull nearly all American forces out of Afghanistan by
the end of 2016.
"It is our
ethos that we never leave a fallen comrade. Today we have back in our
ranks the only remaining captured soldier from our conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Welcome home Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl," said Gen. Martin
Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Officials
said the Taliban signaled to the U.S. in November that they were ready
to start new talks on the issue of detainees. After the U.S. received
proof that Bergdahl was still alive, indirect talks began, with Qatar
sending messages back and forth between the two parties.
The
talks intensified about a week ago, officials said, resulting in
Bergdahl's release and the transfer of the Afghan detainees.
The
five Guantanamo detainees departed the base on a U.S. military aircraft
Saturday afternoon. Under the conditions of their release, the detainees
will be banned from traveling outside of Qatar for at least one year.
Obama
and the emir of Qatar spoke last week about the conditions of the
release, which have been codified in a memorandum of understanding
between the two countries, officials said.
The
administration is legally required to notify Congress in advance about
plans to release Guantanamo detainees. An administration official said
lawmakers were notified only after U.S. officials knew they had
Bergdahl, but before the transfers took place.
Two
Republican lawmakers said Obama violated U.S. laws when he approved the
exchange. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon of California and Sen. James Inhofe
of Oklahoma said the law required Obama to notify Congress 30 days
before any transfer of terrorists from the U.S. detention facility at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In response, the White House said that officials
considered what they called "unique and exigent circumstances" and
decided to go ahead with the transfer in spite of the legal requirement.
The detainees are among the most senior Afghans still held at the prison. They are:
—Abdul Haq Wasiq, who served as the Taliban deputy minister of intelligence
—Mullah
Norullah Nori, a senior Taliban commander in the northern city of
Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taliban fought U.S. forces in late 2001
—Khairullah
Khairkhwa, who served in various Taliban positions including interior
minister and had direct ties to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden—Mohammed Nabi, who served as chief of security for the Taliban in Qalat, Afghanistan, and later worked as a radio operator for the Taliban's communications office in Kabul
—Mohammad
Fazl, whom Human Rights Watch says could be prosecuted for war crimes
for presiding over the mass killing of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan in
2000 and 2001 as the Taliban sought to consolidate their control over
the country.
Taliban and
Afghan officials could not be reached for comment. In Pakistan, Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said her government was "not aware of"
Bergdahl's release or the negotiations leading up to it. She declined
to comment further.
___
Baldor
reported from Singapore. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in
Washington, Rahim Faiez in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Zarar Khan in
Islamabad contributed to this report.
