Behind the Scenes of Bowe Bergdahl’s Release

Time ^ | 5 Jun 2014 | Aryn Baker

[mandaladon]

Asked whether the Taliban would be inspired by the exchange to kidnap others, a commander laughed. “Definitely." In the days and hours leading up to the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last week, his Taliban captors in Pakistan prepared for a big sendoff. Those selected to physically hand Bergdahl over to U.S. officials at a pre-arranged location on the other side of the border in Afghanistan rehearsed the messages they wanted to convey to the American people. A videographer was assigned to cover the event, for propaganda purposes. And those closest to Bergdahl commissioned a local tailor to make him a set of the local tunic and trousers in white, which, given as a gift, denotes a gesture of respect.

“You know we are also human beings and have hearts in our bodies,” a senior Taliban commander affiliated with the Haqqani network, which was holding Bergdahl captive, tells TIME. “We are fighting a war against each other, in which [the Americans] kill us and we kill them. But we did whatever we could to make [Bergdahl] happy.” The commander, who has been known to TIME for several years and has consistently supplied reliable information about Bergdahl’s captivity, is not authorized by his superiors to speak to the media, so he has asked not to be identified by name. The commander spoke to TIME by telephone from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan.

[mandaladon]

Bergdahl, who was the only known remaining U.S. prisoner of war from the long conflict in Afghanistan, had learned basic Pashto during his incarceration, and had made several friends among his Taliban captors, according to the commander. The tunic set, along with the woven scarf that can also be worn as a turban, but is draped across Bergdahl’s shoulders in the Taliban video documenting his release, was a parting gift designed to demonstrate no personal ill will, says the commander: “We wanted him to return home with good memories.”.....................Surely he will miss his Taliban buddies.

[Sacajaweau]

He began learning Pashto BEFORE he took off. Someone should figure out what words he was concentrating on.

[mandaladon]

“This is a historic moment for us. Today our enemy for the first time officially recognized our status.”.................Obama has proven he is sympathetic with Islamic terrorists.

[bunster]

Do go over and see new Drudge Headline - confirms story

[Don Corleone]

If he was not one of them...he would have been killed already.

[mandaladon]

Asked whether the Taliban would be inspired by the exchange to kidnap others, he laughed. “Definitely,” he says. “It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people. It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.”..........Obama must be happy.

[Sacajaweau]

Absolutely.

There's a reason why he's the only so called POW.

Now we have to figure out who he knew to get this whole ball rolling. It's not like he's a general...

The one person who would know the whole story and was likely ready to blow Obama's cover...was the CIA dude that got outed.

I expect he will commit suicide....Foster style.

[Steely Tom]

How did we get to “he was kidnapped?”

[WildHighlander57]

Ping to sacajaweau post.

Blow 0bamas cover?

FRmail welcome...

[Sacajaweau]

He said he was there visiting troops...and for no other reason. He avoided Karzai who is livid and outed aka silenced the Cia dude.

[Timber Rattler]

So Time knew how to get to Bergdahl all along but didn’t tell anyone?

[petitfour]

Kidnapped? Like when he walked away from his unit and sought them out? Lol.

[aquila48]

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