Taliban releases video showing U.S. 'deserter' Bowe Bergdahl being handed over to US forces by armed guards holding white flags

6/4/2014

• Video shows Bergdahl clean shaven in white pickup truck before handover
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• Armed gunman can be seen outside the truck and on the surrounding hills
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• As a Black Hawk helicopter lands he is led by two men towards rescuers
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• Video also shows footage of five detainees arriving in Qatar following release
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• Fellow soldiers have claimed Bergdahl deserted his post in 2009 
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• Top military officer has said Army might still investigate Bergdahl, the results of which could lead to desertion or other charges 
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By JAMES RUSH

PUBLISHED: 02:39 EST, 4 June 2014 | UPDATED: 02:42 EST, 4 June 2014

The Taliban have released a video which shows the moment U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to American troops in eastern Afghanistan.

The video shows Bergdahl clean shaven, with a shaved head and dressed in a white salwar kameez waiting in a white pick-up truck as Taliban militants stand outside.

Armed gunmen can also be seen standing on the hills around the valley as Black Hawk helicopters draw closer to the meeting point.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

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The Taliban have released a video which shows the handover of Sgt Bowe Bergdahl to the American military close to the Afghan border. At the beginning of the footage Bergdahl can be seen in the back of a white pickup truck

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As two Black Hawk helicopters draw closer Bergdahl can be seen standing outside of the truck, surrounded by armed men

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One of the men carries a white flag as the Black Hawk helicopter draws nearer

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As one of the helicopters lands, Bergdahl is led to his rescuers by two men, one leading him by the hand and another waving a white cloth crudely tied to a wooden stick

The Taliban reporter speaking over the clip says: 'We told them there are 18 armed fighters and the Americans said that's alright,' the male voice said.

As one of the helicopters lands, Bergdahl is led to his rescuers by two men, one leading him by the hand and another waving a white cloth crudely tied to a wooden stick.

Most of the Taliban have their faces covered with scarves, while Bergdahl wears his over his shoulders.

They are greeted by three men who shake their hands and lead Bergdahl by the arm to the helicopter. The aircraft takes off and the message in English flashes up: 'Don' come back to Afghanistan' [sic].

The video's authenticity could not be independently verified.

Five years after he was captured by Afghan militants, Bergdahl was freed at the weekend in exchange for five militants held at Guantanamo Bay. 

 

The release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Taliban prisoner swap

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Bergdahl is led into the helicopter which then takes off and flies away

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Armed gunmen can also be seen standing on the hills around the valley as Black Hawk helicopters draw closer to the meeting point

The 28-year-old is now in a military hospital in Germany, undergoing physical and mental assessments.

The five militants were put in the custody of the tiny Gulf emirate of Qatar, where they are to remain for a year. The video also showed their arrival in Qatar, where they are greeted with warm embraces, while a Taliban victory song is played in the background.

The initial euphoria over his release has been clouded by claims by fellow soldiers who say Bergdahl had deserted his post in 2009. And some members of Congress say the president broke the law by not giving them advance notice of the swap.

The five detainees - Mohammad Fazl, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi and Abdul Haq Wasiq - are thought to be the most senior Afghans who were held at the U.S. detention facility in Cuba, having been captured during America's military campaign in 2001.

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Jubilant: A pro-Taliban website has previously published a video that claims to show Taliban detainees arriving in Qatar after being released from Guantanamo Bay as part of a prisoner exchange

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'Victory': Everyone is clearly jubilant that the prisoners are free and have been released into the custody of Qatar

Five Taliban Guantanamo prisoners arrive in Qatar

A pro-Taliban website yesterday published a video that claims to show the Taliban detainees arriving in Qatar after being released from Guantanamo Bay as part of the prisoner exchange.

The footage also features in the latest video released by the Taliban.

In the footage, released by nunn.asia, a group of men wearing traditional Muslim dress gather on a roadside in what is said to be Qatar.

When the former prisoners - it's not clear if all of them are present or just a few - pull up in a convoy of black SUVs, they receive a warm reception, with lots of hugs from the awaiting, clearly jubilant, supporters. There is no American presence in sight.

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Days after his rescue, Bergdahl (pictured in a video released by the Taliban in 2010) was in stable condition at a U.S. military hospital in Germany

The top military officer in the U.S. has today said the Army could still throw the book at Bergdahl, who walked away from his unit in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan and into five years of captivity by the Taliban. 

Charges are still a possibility, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Associated Press as criticism mounted in Congress about releasing five high-level Taliban detainees in exchange for Bergdahl. 

The Army might still pursue an investigation, Dempsey said, and those results could conceivably lead to desertion or other charges. 

Congress began holding hearings and briefings into the deal that swapped Bergdahl for the Taliban officials and several lawmakers said that President Barack Obama did not notify them as a law governing the release of Guantanamo detainees requires. White House staff members called key members of Congress to apologize, but that didn't resolve the issue.

SOURCE

Communism in Action: After Supreme Court Rejects Appeal, Will Obama Jail New York Times Reporter James Risen For Withholding Sources?

6/4/2014

Is the liberal media finally turning on Obama's press demands? Democracy NOW! sure is acting out of character lately... 

In one of the most significant press freedom cases in decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has turned down the appeal of a New York Times reporter who faces prison for refusing to reveal a confidential source. James Risen had asked the court to overturn a ruling forcing him to testify in the criminal trial of ex-CIA analyst Jeffrey Sterling. Prosecutors believe Sterling gave Risen information on the CIA’s role in disrupting Iran’s nuclear program. Risen vowed to go to prison rather than testify and was hoping for Supreme Court intervention. But on Monday, the Supreme Court refused to weigh in, effectively siding with the government. The Obama administration must now decide if it will try to force Risen’s testimony and risk sending one of the nation’s most prominent national security journalists to jail. We are joined by two guests: Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and a columnist at The Guardian; and Matthew Cooper, a veteran Washington correspondent who was held in contempt of court during the Bush administration leak case that led to the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent.

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to what could be one of the most significant press freedom cases in decades. The Supreme Court has turned down the appeal of the New York Times reporter who faces prison for refusing to reveal a confidential source. James Risen had asked the court to overturn a ruling forcing him to testify in the criminal trial of ex-CIA analyst Jeffrey Sterling. Prosecutors believe Sterling gave risen information on the CIA’s role in disrupting Iran’s nuclear program. In his book "State of War," Risen showed that instead of hampering Iran’s efforts, theCIA effectively gave Iran a blueprint for designing a bomb. Risen vowed to go to prison rather than testify and was hoping for a Supreme Court intervention. But, on Monday, the Supreme Court refused to weigh in, effectively siding with the government. He said in response, "I will continue to fight." He is no stranger to challenging the White House. In 2005, Risen helped expose the domestic warrantless spy program despite Bush administration efforts to kill the story.

AMY GOODMAN: The Obama administration must now decide if it will force Risen’s testimony and risk sending one of the nations most prominent national security journalists to jail. President Obama has already developed a reputation as the most aggressive in history when it comes to targeting whistleblowers. Obama’s Justice Department has brought eight cases so far, more than all previous administrations combined. For more, we’re joined by two guests, Trevor Timm, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, as well as Matthew Cooper, a reporter for Newsweek. He earned national attention when he refused to name his sources in his reporting on the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. We turn now to Trevor Timm. Your response to the Supreme Court decision not to hear the case?

TREVOR TIMM: Well, I think it was really disappointing on a number of levels. This decision by the Fourth Circuit before it even got to the Supreme Court was one of the worst press freedom decisions in decades. Not only was the government arguing that James Risen didn’t qualify for reporter’s privilege, they argued that reporter’s privilege do not exist at all. They even went as far to compare journalists protecting sources to journalists receiving drugs and refusing to testify about it. So, It was really disturbing on a number of levels. And The Supreme Court essentially sanctioned the Fourth Circuit ruling, meaning that in the Fourth Circuit which is the home to countless national security sources and national security journalists that reporters have much less protection than they have ever had to report on stories, that as we’ve seen over the past year, are really vital to the public interest. So, hopefully, there are other avenues to continue to protect reporters’ rights and allow them to protect their sources. But, this was definitely a setback.

AMY GOODMAN: Matt Cooper, your response to the Supreme Court decision?

SHOW FULL TRANSCRIPT ›

SOURCE

The Bergdahl Bargain Was Just The Beginning

6/4/2014

Obama swapped five Taliban for Bowe Bergdahl. What will he trade for the three other Americans being held in Afghanistan?

Foreign Policy - The Obama administration's controversial decision to swap five senior Taliban figures for the military's lone prisoner of war, Bowe Bergdahl, is putting new pressure on the White House to do more to free the three other American citizens who have been missing in Afghanistan or Pakistan for years but have drawn little attention in Washington.

The American civilians thought to be in captivity include Caitlin Coleman, an American citizen who, along with her Canadian-born husband Josh, disappeared in Afghanistan in October 2012. Coleman was pregnant and would have had a child by the following January; if the infant survived, he or she would be considered an American citizen. The third missing citizen is Warren Weinstein, 72, a government contractor who was doing work in Pakistan when he was kidnapped in August 2011. It was unclear from government officials Monday what the status of these Americans was or if active discussions were taking place to secure their release.

In a letter to President Obama Monday, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Jr., a California Republican, demanded to know why they weren't part of the deal in which Washington agreed to send five detainees from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to Qatar in return for Bergdahl's release. Bergdahl, 28, had been held by militants since wandering off his tiny outpost in eastern Afghanistan in 2009.

"My understanding is that three other Americans remain in custody of militants aligned with the Taliban," Hunter wrote. "Should this still be the case, I would like to know why these individuals were not included in the negotiation that resulted in the release of five detainees from Guantánamo Bay." Hunter also urged the president to "expedite and exhaust ongoing lines of effort" to ensure the return of the three Americans, but was careful to stipulate that it should not be done by releasing additional detainees from Guantánamo Bay. There was no immediate response to the letter from the White House.

The deal, which has attracted growing criticism in recent days, has also raised new questions about the status of the other three Americans and whether the United States might part with additional detainees to secure their release. Upon hearing of the prisoner swap, the Weinstein family released a statement saying they were happy for the Bergdahls but hoped it would renew efforts to secure the release of their husband and father, grandfather and father-in-law. Weinstein has been held in Pakistan for more than 1,000 days, the statement said. The last "proof-of-life video" was provided to the United States in December, but it shows an ailing Weinstein who will turn 73 in July.

"Warren has dedicated his entire life to working on development and humanitarian aid projects that have improved the lives and livelihoods of countless people around the world," the statement said. "Like all families with loved ones held in captivity, we are desperate for his release before it's too late."

Bergdahl's release also raised questions about other Americans in captivity, including: U.S. contractor Alan Gross, currently held in a Cuban prison; former FBI agent Bob Levinson, who disappeared from Iran's Kish Island while on a CIA mission; and Kenneth Bae, a South Korean with U.S. citizenship convicted by North Korea for trying to overthrow the government. When asked if the prisoner exchange had any implications for their release, the State Department emphasized the importance of Bergdahl's service in the military, a factor that distinguishes his situation from Weinstein's as well.

"It's worth repeating, Sergeant Bergdahl ... is a member of the military who was detained during an armed conflict," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said. "That obviously is a unique circumstance. In any case, whether it's Alan Gross or Kenneth Bae or others who are detained American citizens, we take every step possible to make the case and to take steps to ensure their return home to the United States."

Despite the euphoria of having Bergdahl back safely in American hands -- the missing soldier is currently at a U.S. military medical facility in Landstuhl, Germany for unknown reasons -- there has been much criticism of the swap. Republicans have derided Obama for in effect trading the five detainees for just one American prisoner of war. In addition, conservatives are arguing that the United States has set a dangerous precedent that could trigger kidnappings of other American service members. And it amounts to a violation of the oft-repeated American mantra that the United States doesn't negotiate with terrorists, they say.

The mysterious nature of Bergdahl's disappearance from a U.S. military base in Helmand province in Afghanistan in 2009, in which it appears he may have wandered off the base or deserted his unit, feeds the storyline that the White House's play was ill-advised.

"I would not have made this deal," Sen. John McCain, the Republican from Arizona and a frequent critic of the Obama White House, told Politico. McCain, a former POW himself, said he "would have done everything in my power" to repatriate Bergdahl, but that he would have stopped short of risking the lives of American troops to bring him back. "There's some really damning things about the reaction of the military on this," he said. That said, McCain added, "it's done."

Some troops also feel deep ambivalence about Bergdahl's return. The facts about his disappearance that day remain murky. But if reports are true that he left voluntarily, perhaps to walk from Afghanistan to India in what could amount to deserting his unit, troops who live by a credo to "never leave a man behind" may begin to doubt if it was all worth it. 

Many veterans have been far more direct. Nathan Bradley Bethea, who served in the same battalion as Bergdahl and was among the troops detailed to search for him, wrote in the Daily Beast that troops had been told to keep their mouth shut about what they really thought about Bergdahl's disappearance. Now that he is free, Bethea wrote, the truth can be told: "And that the truth is: Bergdahl was a deserter, and soldiers from his own unit died trying to track him down."

Critics have also seized on the specific Taliban figures included in the deal, many of whom held senior posts in the militant group, arguing, in essence, that the United States paid too high a price for Bergdahl. The freed prisoners are Khairullah Khairkhwa, a former governor of Herat province described by the Pentagon as "an early member of the Taliban" who was captured in January 2002; Norullah Noori, who served as the governor of Balkh province in the Taliban regime and played a role in coordinating the fight against the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance, according to the Defense Department; Mohammad Fazl, who commanded the main force that fought the Northern Alliance in 2001 and served as chief of army staff under the Taliban regime; Abdul Haq Wasiq, the deputy chief of the Taliban regime's intelligence service, which was led by a relative; and Mohammad Nabi Omari, formerly a minor Taliban official in Khost province.

Psaki said Monday that the deal brokered by the Qatari government included special assurances about the detainees that included banning them from leaving the country for a year and regularly sharing information about them with the United States. Beyond that, Psaki said, "I can't discuss all of the special assurances."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, facing skeptical questions about the deal, said the decision was "backed by an ethos that says we don't leave our men and women in uniform behind."

"It was absolutely the right thing to do for the commander in chief, for this administration, to take action to secure his release, the last prisoner of war from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars," Carney said.

While most experts agree that negotiating with terrorist actors such as the Taliban can involve trade-offs to U.S. national security, many differ on the severity of the risk. 

"There is a cost to showing terrorist organizations that there is a benefit to capturing soldiers," said Seth Jones, associate director at the Rand Corporation. "But I actually think U.S. soldiers are pretty threatened in general." 

He emphasized that many countries, including Britain, France, and Israel, negotiate with terrorist groups in order to free them from captivity.

Others point out that while the United States occasionally engages in discourse with terrorist groups, it rarely offers rewards in situations where U.S. hostages are involved. "The U.S. is pretty tough," said Sarah Chayes, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment. "Certainly compared to many European countries." In 2004, for instance, the Italian government paid a large sum of money for the release of four of its people who were seized in Fallujah, a move that angered Washington for fear that it would incentivize future kidnappings.

She emphasized that the U.S. government typically favors punishing hostage takers rather than rewarding them. "Not only does the U.S. not typically offer carrots to win the return of hostages, it applies a lot of stick," she said, referring to instances where American citizens or soldiers were kidnapped or taken hostage in Afghanistan, which she has studied extensively. "Every example I saw prompted the focus of tremendous resources on locating the hostage, which led to increased intelligence on militant networks, raids, a lot of people get[ting] killed.... It imposes significant costs on hostage takers."