Taliban Release Video of US Soldier For Christmas
Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, December 25, 2009, 9:19 AM
The Taliban released video today of captured US soldier Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl who was captured in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan on June 30.
The Taliban released a video purporting to show a U.S. soldier who was captured more than five months ago in eastern Afghanistan. – Dec. 25, 2009 -
The AP reported:
Bergdahl is shown seated, facing the camera, wearing sunglasses and what appears to be a U.S. military helmet and uniform. On one side of the image, it says: “An American soldier imprisoned by the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”
The man identifies himself as Bergdahl, born in Sun Valley, Idaho, and gives his rank, birth date, blood type, his unit and mother’s maiden name before beginning a lengthy verbal attack on the U.S. conduct of the war in Afghanistan and its relations with Muslims. He seems healthy and doesn’t appear to have been abused.
The video, which has an English-language narration in parts, also shows images of prisoners in U.S. custody being abused. The speaker says he did not suffer such ill treatment.
A statement read by a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, appears at the end of the video and renews demands for a “limited number of prisoners” to be exchanged for Bergdahl. The statement says that more American troops could be captured.
The Geneva Conventions, which regulate the conduct of war between regular armies, bar the use of detainees for propaganda purposes and prohibit signatories from putting captured military personnel on display. As an insurgent organization, the Taliban are not party to the treaty.
Statements from captives are typically viewed as being made under duress. The insurgents also released a video of Bergdahl a few weeks after he was captured. In the July 19 video, Bergdahl appeared downcast and frightened.
Bergdahl, who was serving with a unit based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, was 23 when he vanished just five months after arriving in Afghanistan. He was serving at a base in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold. On Friday, NATO said a joint Afghan-international force killed several militants in Paktika while searching for a commander of the Jalaluddin Haqqani militant network that is linked to al-Qaida.
ADVERTISEMENT
-
Featured Story:
Republican Military Hero & First Female to Command Fighter Squadron Will Announce Run For Congress Today
Published February 8, 2012 at 8:42 pm - 108 Comments
bg commented:
++
happy to see he’s still alive..
however, he not only sounds weak, but his words sound scripted.. what’s with the blood type & mothers maiden name i wonder.. no name rank & serial number??
perhaps the Taliban are trying to establish themselves as a legitimate
force to be honored as an equal, but they’re wired bass ackwards, who
knows..
btw, that equal gig only works for as long as they need to get
ahead of the enemy, Obama et al are playing the same game..
believe Glenn Beck opened our eyes to how the Overton Window works,
i think that could be applied to the Islamists advancement tactics as well
as Obama’s & his UN-Constitutional Congress..
what the fascist left have been aiming for is to “equate” good with evil.. that’s the only way they can appease their conscience in the face of the harsh reality they are trying to escape from because it does not fit in with their ideological utopian matrix.. if there is no good vs evil, then all is good even if [the] all is evil.. – bg
of course once they are established as equals, they will go
about their business of declaring themselves our betters..
we must never forget the tale of the spider welcoming the fly into it’s
parlor.. except the roles are reversed in this case, we are the fly, our enemy the spider, and the IslaMarxists own the web of deceit & our defeat..
==
bg commented:
++
God Bless & Thank You Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl
It Has Always Been The Soldier
It is the soldier,
not the President who gives us democracy.
It is the soldier,
not the Congress who takes care of us.
It is the soldier,
not the Reporter who has given us Freedom of Press.
It is the soldier,
not the Poet who has given us Freedom of Speech.
It is the soldier,
not the campus [community] Organizer who
has given us the Freedom to Demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag;
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
that allows the protester to burn the flag.
~ Father Dennis O’Brien, US Marine Corp. Chaplain
God Bless America!
God Bless Soldiers everywhere for putting THEIR
lives on the line to protect us ALL from terrorism!
==
ADVERTISEMENT
Chisum commented:
PRECIPICE
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2009/12/precipice.html
Anon commented:
The Juveniles At The Obama Administration In Full Throttle!!!
“Kerry to go to Iran,” at http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/24/kerry-to-go-to-Iran/
Impeach Obama
pjean commented:
Take a moment and pray for this soldier today. He and countless others make the greatest sacrifice on behalf of all of us. Believe in your hearts that he is rescued strong, healthy and soon.
Joanne commented:
I pray he survives this ordeal. I pray his fellow men in uniform are guided by the good Lord to his whereabouts and save him.
David/California commented:
My clear recollection of the reporting at the time was that the consensus opinion was Pfc. Bergdahl had deserted to the Taliban. While he’s clearly in the custody of the Taliban, I’ve been unable to find anything, other than the AP’s apparently unsubstantiated assertion, that he’s a POW, or that the U.S. considers him a prisoner.
Can anyone shed any light on this seeming contradiction? What did I miss?
bg commented:
++
David/California @ 5:34 pm #9
haven’t got a clue..
but this is an interesting contradiction, as he is pictured in uniform
(or some equivalent attire that supposedly represents a uniform)..
[He had no body armor or weapon and they
said they had no explanation for why he left.]
==
Greg commented:
So tell me again why the Taliban deserve Geneval Convention protections?