Bowe Robert Bergdahl (born March 28, 1986, in Sun Valley, Idaho) is a United States Army soldier who has been in the captivity of the Taliban-supporting Afghani
stan Haqqani network since June 2009.
Military status and disappearance
Bergdahl was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.[4] During his unit's normal deployment rotation to Afghanistan, he went missing on June 30, 2009, near the town of Yahya Khel in the Paktika Province, which is in the south-east of Afghanistan, right on the border to Pakistan. The area in which Bergdahl was captured is right next to Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
He is believed to be held by the Haqqani network, an insurgent group affiliated with the Taliban, probably somewhere in Pakistan.[5]
Since then, the Taliban has released five videos showing him in captivity. The Taliban have demanded $1 million[6] and the release of 21 Afghan prisoners and Aafia Siddiqui in exchange for Bergdahl's release. They have threatened to execute Bergdahl if Siddiqui is not released. Most of the Afghan prisoners are being held at Guantanamo Bay.[7][8]
At the time of his capture, Bergdahl's rank was that of Private First Class (E-3). In June 2010, he was promoted to Specialist (E-4) during his absence.[9] On June 17, 2011 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant (E-5).[10]
[edit]Capture
On July 18, 2009, the Taliban released a video showing they had captured Bergdahl.[1] In the video, Bergdahl appeared downcast and frightened. A Department of Defense statement issued on July 19 confirmed that Bergdahl was declared "missing/whereabouts unknown" on July 1, and his status was changed to "missing/captured" on July 3.[11]
In the 28-minute video his captors held up his dog tags to establish that the captured man was Bergdahl.[1] Bergdahl gave the date as July 14 and mentioned an attack that occurred that day.[12][13][14]
Accounts of his capture differ. The version offered by Bergdahl, in the video, is that he was captured when he fell behind on a patrol.[1] CNN, in its report, cites both Taliban and U.S. military sources, the former alleging he was ambushed after becoming drunk off base, and the latter denying that claim stating: "The Taliban are known for lying and what they are claiming (is) not true."[3] Other sources said Bergdahl walked off his base after his shift.[15]
A Department of Defense spokesperson, Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker, said, "I'm glad to see he appears unharmed, but again, this is a Taliban propaganda video. They are exploiting the soldier in violation of international law."[1][2]
According to the Associated Press, General Nabi Mullakheil of the Afghan National Police said the capture occurred in Paktika Province.[1] Their other sources inform them that he was captured by a Taliban group led by Maulvi Sangin, who has moved him to Ghazni Province. The Guardian quoted sources who speculated about the increased difficulty of a rescue mission if Bergdahl had been smuggled across the nearby border into Pakistan.[2]
CNN described two Pashto-language leaflets the U.S. military was distributing in seeking Bergdahl.[3] One showed a smiling GI shaking hands with Afghan children, with a caption that called him a guest in Afghanistan. The other showed a door being broken down, and threatened that those holding Bergdahl would be hunted down.
In December 2009, five months after Bergdahl's disappearance, the media arm of the Afghan Taliban announced the release of a new video of "a U.S. soldier captured in Afghanistan," titled "One of Their People Testified." In the announcement the Taliban did not name the American, but the only U.S. soldier known to be in captivity is Bergdahl.
U.S. military officials have been searching for Bergdahl, but it is not publicly known whether he is even being held in Afghanistan or in neighboring Pakistan, an area off-limits to U.S. forces based in Afghanistan.[16]
On December 25, another video was released that features Bergdahl in a combat uniform and helmet.[17][18] He described his place of birth, deployment to Afghanistan and subsequent capture. He then made several statements regarding his humane treatment by his captors, contrasting this to the abuses suffered by insurgents in prisons. He finished by saying that America should not be in Afghanistan and that its presence there is just another Vietnam.
On April 7, 2010, the Taliban released a third video of Bergdahl, now with a full head of hair and a beard, pleading for the release of Afghan prisoners held at Guantanamo and Bagram.[19][20]
In November 2010, Bergdahl appeared briefly in a fourth video.[21]
In May 2011, Bergdahl appeared briefly in a fifth video.[22]
In December 2011, it was reported that Bergdahl tried to escape three months earlier but was recaptured after three days.[23]
[edit]Threat of reprisal
On February 4, 2010, the Afghan Taliban demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist who was convicted by a U.S. court on charges of attempting to murder U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and threatened to execute Bergdahl if their demand was not met.[24][25] The Taliban claimed that members of Siddiqui's family had requested their assistance.
[edit]Reports of joining the Taliban
Fox News reported in August 2010 that a Taliban commander named Haji Nadeem said Bergdahl was helping to train the Taliban in bomb making and infantry tactics. The Pentagon dismissed the reports as Taliban propaganda.[26][27]
[edit]Release efforts
The missing serviceman's fate is tied up in U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government, a high-level, high-risk diplomatic initiative which appeared to be on the cusp of a breakthrough before the Taliban suspended preliminary talks in March 2012. For months, U.S. negotiators were seeking to arrange the transfer of five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay military prison to the Gulf state of Qatar. The transfer was intended as one of a series of confidence-building measures designed to open the door to political talks between the Taliban and Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government.[28] That move - at the center of U.S. strategy for ending the long, costly conflict in Afghanistan - was also supposed to lead directly to Bowe's release. The Taliban has consistently called for the United States to release those held at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for freeing Western prisoners. But the Guantanamo transfer proposal, which would have required notification to Congress, ground to a halt when the Taliban rejected U.S. conditions designed to ensure transferred Taliban would not slip away and re-emerge as military leaders. It seems unlikely that any talks will resume until after the conclusion of U.S. presidential election in November 2012.
Contact Elected Officials
http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
![Julie Ann Gonzalez
@[100000999963469:2048:HelpFind Julie Ann Gonzalez]
Someone has the needed answers. Who? Who has a heart, soul and conscience and will come forward for her family?](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/s480x480/542593_3674730881384_550033911_n.jpg)
![Bowe Robert Bergdahl (born March 28, 1986, in Sun Valley, Idaho) is a United States Army soldier who has been in the captivity of the Taliban-supporting Afghanistan Haqqani network since June 2009.
Military status and disappearance
Bergdahl was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.[4] During his unit's normal deployment rotation to Afghanistan, he went missing on June 30, 2009, near the town of Yahya Khel in the Paktika Province, which is in the south-east of Afghanistan, right on the border to Pakistan. The area in which Bergdahl was captured is right next to Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
He is believed to be held by the Haqqani network, an insurgent group affiliated with the Taliban, probably somewhere in Pakistan.[5]
Since then, the Taliban has released five videos showing him in captivity. The Taliban have demanded $1 million[6] and the release of 21 Afghan prisoners and Aafia Siddiqui in exchange for Bergdahl's release. They have threatened to execute Bergdahl if Siddiqui is not released. Most of the Afghan prisoners are being held at Guantanamo Bay.[7][8]
At the time of his capture, Bergdahl's rank was that of Private First Class (E-3). In June 2010, he was promoted to Specialist (E-4) during his absence.[9] On June 17, 2011 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant (E-5).[10]
[edit]Capture
On July 18, 2009, the Taliban released a video showing they had captured Bergdahl.[1] In the video, Bergdahl appeared downcast and frightened. A Department of Defense statement issued on July 19 confirmed that Bergdahl was declared "missing/whereabouts unknown" on July 1, and his status was changed to "missing/captured" on July 3.[11]
In the 28-minute video his captors held up his dog tags to establish that the captured man was Bergdahl.[1] Bergdahl gave the date as July 14 and mentioned an attack that occurred that day.[12][13][14]
Accounts of his capture differ. The version offered by Bergdahl, in the video, is that he was captured when he fell behind on a patrol.[1] CNN, in its report, cites both Taliban and U.S. military sources, the former alleging he was ambushed after becoming drunk off base, and the latter denying that claim stating: "The Taliban are known for lying and what they are claiming (is) not true."[3] Other sources said Bergdahl walked off his base after his shift.[15]
A Department of Defense spokesperson, Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker, said, "I'm glad to see he appears unharmed, but again, this is a Taliban propaganda video. They are exploiting the soldier in violation of international law."[1][2]
According to the Associated Press, General Nabi Mullakheil of the Afghan National Police said the capture occurred in Paktika Province.[1] Their other sources inform them that he was captured by a Taliban group led by Maulvi Sangin, who has moved him to Ghazni Province. The Guardian quoted sources who speculated about the increased difficulty of a rescue mission if Bergdahl had been smuggled across the nearby border into Pakistan.[2]
CNN described two Pashto-language leaflets the U.S. military was distributing in seeking Bergdahl.[3] One showed a smiling GI shaking hands with Afghan children, with a caption that called him a guest in Afghanistan. The other showed a door being broken down, and threatened that those holding Bergdahl would be hunted down.
In December 2009, five months after Bergdahl's disappearance, the media arm of the Afghan Taliban announced the release of a new video of "a U.S. soldier captured in Afghanistan," titled "One of Their People Testified." In the announcement the Taliban did not name the American, but the only U.S. soldier known to be in captivity is Bergdahl.
U.S. military officials have been searching for Bergdahl, but it is not publicly known whether he is even being held in Afghanistan or in neighboring Pakistan, an area off-limits to U.S. forces based in Afghanistan.[16]
On December 25, another video was released that features Bergdahl in a combat uniform and helmet.[17][18] He described his place of birth, deployment to Afghanistan and subsequent capture. He then made several statements regarding his humane treatment by his captors, contrasting this to the abuses suffered by insurgents in prisons. He finished by saying that America should not be in Afghanistan and that its presence there is just another Vietnam.
On April 7, 2010, the Taliban released a third video of Bergdahl, now with a full head of hair and a beard, pleading for the release of Afghan prisoners held at Guantanamo and Bagram.[19][20]
In November 2010, Bergdahl appeared briefly in a fourth video.[21]
In May 2011, Bergdahl appeared briefly in a fifth video.[22]
In December 2011, it was reported that Bergdahl tried to escape three months earlier but was recaptured after three days.[23]
[edit]Threat of reprisal
On February 4, 2010, the Afghan Taliban demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist who was convicted by a U.S. court on charges of attempting to murder U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and threatened to execute Bergdahl if their demand was not met.[24][25] The Taliban claimed that members of Siddiqui's family had requested their assistance.
[edit]Reports of joining the Taliban
Fox News reported in August 2010 that a Taliban commander named Haji Nadeem said Bergdahl was helping to train the Taliban in bomb making and infantry tactics. The Pentagon dismissed the reports as Taliban propaganda.[26][27]
[edit]Release efforts
The missing serviceman's fate is tied up in U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government, a high-level, high-risk diplomatic initiative which appeared to be on the cusp of a breakthrough before the Taliban suspended preliminary talks in March 2012. For months, U.S. negotiators were seeking to arrange the transfer of five Taliban detainees held at Guantanamo Bay military prison to the Gulf state of Qatar. The transfer was intended as one of a series of confidence-building measures designed to open the door to political talks between the Taliban and Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government.[28] That move - at the center of U.S. strategy for ending the long, costly conflict in Afghanistan - was also supposed to lead directly to Bowe's release. The Taliban has consistently called for the United States to release those held at Guantanamo Bay in exchange for freeing Western prisoners. But the Guantanamo transfer proposal, which would have required notification to Congress, ground to a halt when the Taliban rejected U.S. conditions designed to ensure transferred Taliban would not slip away and re-emerge as military leaders. It seems unlikely that any talks will resume until after the conclusion of U.S. presidential election in November 2012.
Contact Elected Officials
http://www.contactingthecongress.org/
(Follow HERE for tips on how to write/call your elected officials.)
http://supportbowe.org/contact-elected-officials/
Follow the underlined links below to find contact information for your elected officials.
The White House
Congress
• Find Your Congressional Members Using Your ZIP Code at Contacting the Congress
• Official United States Senate Member List
• Official United States House of Representatives Member List
If you know the names of your Senators and Representative, you can call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at
(202)224-3121
and ask for your Senators’ and/or Representative’s office. When you are connected, you can leave a message for your Members of Congress.
In the matter of Sergeant Bergdahl, it could also be beneficial to contact members of the appropriate House and Senate Armed Services subcommittees. In this case, your written message has a better chance of reaching your intended recipient if it is sent via mail rather than by email. In the first line of your letter you need to state “I am contacting you because you are a member of the (Senate Armed Services Committee) (House Armed Services Committee).”
• United States Senate Armed Services Committee
(click on member’s name below to visit site)
Room SR-228, Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-6050
202-224-3871
Carl Levin (Michigan) Chairman
John McCain (Arizona) Ranking Member
Check to see if your Senators are serving on the 26 member Senate Armed Services Committee
Senate Armed Services Committee: Subcommittee on Personnel
Chairman: Jim Webb (Virginia)
Joseph I. Lieberman (Connecticut)
Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii)C
laire McCaskill (Missouri)
Kay R. Hagan (North Carolina)
Mark Begich (Alaska)
Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut)
Ranking Member: Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)
Saxby Chambliss (Georgia)
Scott P. Brown (Massachusetts)
Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire)
Susan M. Collins (Maine)
David Vitter (Louisiana)
• United States House Armed Services Committee
2120 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-4151
Fax: (202) 225-0858
House Armed Service Committee Chairman: Buck McKeon
Adam Smith, Ranking Member
Check to see if your U.S. Representative is serving on the 62 member House Armed Services Committee
House Armed Service Committee: Military Personnel Subcommittee
Joe Wilson, South Carolina Visit Site SUBCOMMITTEE LEADER
Walter B. Jones, North Carolina
Mike Coffman, Colorado
Thomas J. Rooney, Florida
Joe Heck, Nevada
Allen West , Florida
Austin Scott , Georgia
Vicky Hartzler, Missouri
Susan A. Davis, California
RANKING MEMBER
Robert A. Brady, Pennsylvania
Madeleine Z. Bordallo, Guam
David Loebsack, Iowa
Niki Tsongas, Massachusetts
Chellie Pingree, Maine
Have you seen the petition I started a couple days ago? We need 25,000 signatures by 12-13-1012. If you haven't could you sign and share this for many others to sign? We need to make this official. No other petition on the White House site has made it through because they can never get enough signatures by their deadline. I will play their game and see where it gets me. Here is the link https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/president-obama-find-and-free-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-pow-june-30-2009-afghanistan/M7Kw74NH](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/s480x480/72121_10151217146799463_821692086_n.jpg)
