For John, BLUF: The rest of the story trickles in. Nothing to see here; just move along.
Yes, it is The Daily Beast, but it is Reporter Kimberly Dozier, who I trust to check her sources and get the facts straight. Special Operations and Counterterrorism are her beat.
Anyway, Ms Dozier reports that Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl made two escape attempts while in captivity with the Taliban (and during parts of that captivity in the hands of the Haqqani Network). If this news pans out it calls into question assertions that Sergeant Bergdahl was a willing participant with his captors.
This is a story that needs a lot more development, which can only come when Sergeant Bergdahl reaches US soil and he is debriefed on his experiences. It could go a number of ways. Probably too early to be wagering the money for the baby's new shoes
Note. This could all be disinformation from the Administration, but I find that unlikely. I would think that Kimberly Dozier would not be someone to be messed with.
Also, this does not mean that Sergeant Bergdahl didn't go AWOL. It may mean he later realized it was a dumb move. Or, it could mean that his personal plan to win the war by befriending local Afghanis on his off time was just plain dumb.
Regards — Cliff
2 comments:
It should be noted that making this into political hay makes all future attempts to get POWs back (with or without an exchange) more politically risky, for this or any future administration.
Frankly, I don't think so. This is a one-off event. Normally we have a lot more POWs and we deal with them pretty well. And sometimes we use fairly unorthodox methods, like sending Jesse Jackson.
On the other hand, breaking the law because we don't trust the other party, as someone has suggested to me, doesn't build confidence.
Regards — Cliff
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