This guy that was there thinks so.
http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/143...ory-fears-reprisal-obama-administration/

So do I. He is sporting the Muslim beard and is in excellent shape to have been a prisoner.

I hope not ...

I have never met or seen Bergdahl, nor have I seen pictures of him since his release, but:

- Maybe the Taliban didn't issue him a razor and his beard actually grew (it happens!)

- If the Taliban didn't issue him new, clean GI uniforms (from the PX?), perhaps he is just wearing the clothing they gave him (it's better than freezing in the winter)

- Since he has lived for 5 years, they obviously fed him. I don't know (perhaps you do) what shape he is actually in. I'll wait for a report before deciding.

He was able to put on a white short and dress well for the press, so he could have shaved as, don't you think.

It's not unheard of for a long-time prisoner to feign conversion to Islam to avoid being killed.

Don't know if this guy did, or not. Don't know anything about him. But I am pretty sure that anything and everything we read about this guy in the MSM or the internet is going to be contradictory and totally unreliable.

I would not have paid his ransom, in any case.

that's his father and yes his father is a muslim.

Solider that served with him thinks he deserted

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/143...ory-fears-reprisal-obama-administration/

A tweet from his father, maybe this will help.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/143...-father-deletes-a-very-disturbing-tweet/




Freed American POW�s Father Deletes A Very Disturbing Tweet: Throws Prisoner Exchange in Question

On Saturday morning the Obama administration happily announced that we were now negotiating with terrorists and that Bowe Bergdahl would be freed in an agreement with the Taliban that would allow five dangerous terrorists to be released from Guantanamo Bay.

Bowe�s father Bob Bergdahl appeared with Obama for the announcement:

Is that tweet for real, and is that fro his dad?

Either way, BB has been cooped up in a [bleep] hole for 5 years, I think the last thing I'll do is judge his coping mechanisms.

You know for a fact "BB has been cooped up in a [bleep] hole for 5 years"? Not sure that anyone knows at this point.

Wikipedia has interesting stuff on Bergdahl.

This is just a snippet ...

Last email to parents[edit]
On June 27, 2009, according to Rolling Stone,[17] Bowe sent a final e-mai�l to his parents: "The future is too good to waste on lies. And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be american. The horror of the self-righteous arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting."

His email went on to describe his disillusionment in the army: "In the US army you are cut down for being honest... but if you are a conceited brown nosing [bleep] bag you will be allowed to do what ever you want, and you will be handed your higher rank... The system is wrong. I am ashamed to be an american. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools...I am sorry for everything here. These people need help, yet what they get is the most conceited country in the world telling them that they are nothing and that they are stupid, that they have no idea how to live. We don't even care when we hear each other talk about running their children down in the dirt streets with our armored trucks... We make fun of them in front of their faces, and laugh at them for not understanding we are insulting them...I am sorry for everything. The horror that is america is disgusting...There are a few more boxes coming to you guys. Feel free to open them, and use them."


Link to the rest of the story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowe_Bergdahl

Very compelling evidence.

It's a bizarre story. What would make an American who enlisted turn to the darkside?

Was it PTSD?

I'm not trying to make excuses for him but ... ???

I wonder if his fellow soldiers or his commanding officers were aware that he was going rogue?

If this is as true as it seems then the answer is yes.


http://www.ijreview.com/2014/06/143...ory-fears-reprisal-obama-administration/

I have no idea if the guy's a deserter but I've had a nagging question for quite a while...Since muslims for the most part, view this war as a war on their religion, why in the world are they being allowed to serve? Freedom of religion? Back in WWII would a Nazi party affiliate have been allowed to serve? I think not.

I can understand someone who was drafted against their will going rogue but he volunteered.

What happened to the man and his mind?

If others were aware of this how should it have been handled?

Do you take him off the battlefield and send him back home for mental evaluation?

Was BB a muslim when he enlisted?

For some more in depth insight...

Bowe Bergdahl

That's a long but very good read.

My head is swirling after reading it.

This is one part that was very disturbing.

--------------

Bowe Bergdahl had a different response. He decided to walk away.

In the early-morning hours of June 30th, according to soldiers in the unit, Bowe approached his team leader not long after he got off guard duty and asked his superior a simple question: If I were to leave the base, would it cause problems if I took my sensitive equipment?

Yes, his team leader responded � if you took your rifle and night-vision goggles, that would cause problems.

Bowe returned to his barracks, a roughly built bunker of plywood and sandbags. He gathered up water, a knife, his digital camera and his diary. Then he slipped off the outpost.

--------------

I'm having difficulty with the way his team leader reacted ... if it's true.

WTF? Shouldn't that have been red flag?

Walking of in a combat mission sounds like desertion to me.

Naturally, it is always worse than first thought.

No doubt. He deserted and it's all on him.

BB was an ideological nutcase that shouldn't have been in combat though.



I'm thinking about this from the perspective of the man fighting next to him. Would you want be in combat with somebody that isn't 100% committed to the cause and on the verge of going rogue?

I was in Afghanistan just one province over when he walked away from his FOB. I was in Paktia and he was in Paktika. The information we got was he was ticked off at a senior NCO and just decided to walk away. There was another story he got drunk and walked away. I find that hard to believe because of the Army's attitude toward alcohol being smuggled into Afghanistan. I also heard this was a habit of his, walk away from a problem instead of dealing with it. Since I don't know the kid personally I cannot confirm any of this.

I think he just didn't know what he was getting into and ended up getting traded to the Taliban and not back to his FOB when he was stopped by some locals. There was a lot of concern at first but it seemed to die down pretty quick so the leadership knew early he was in the hands of the Taliban or Haqqani's.

Since he was a Spec4 at the time he left he didn't have any classified information to reveal to the Taliban and they simply waited for the right time to do the trade. Just my take on it. kwg

Please accept my thanks for standing a watch for me and mine. I truly appreciate your service.

Well if he was not abused like they abused Russian POW's, then its all very very suspect. As for the trade, I hope to heck they were then ambushed and all of them killed but with the current leadership in place its doubtful.

I believe he accomplished his mission...

Thank you CT. I was a contractor at the time. I was getting paid well to be there. I'd give it all back to be young again so I could do it all over again. Does anyone know a company that will hire an old retired fart to go back over? I'm available. kwg

Here is a link to Stormbringer's blog from his ties in U.S. Special Forces. In it another S.F. operator lays out what followed Bergdahl's desertion and what the U.S. Military had to do to try and rescue him. A number of U.S. Army soldiers were killed in the rescue attempts. Stormbringer is a retired Special Forces operator and posts a "back door" bit of information.

Valid information?? Maybe. Maybe not, but it sounds reasonable to me.

http://seanlinnane.blogspot.com/2014/06/prisoner-exchange.html#comment-form

L.W.

And, there is the Stockholm Syndrome in which prisoners (regardless of their inner-strength) eventually bond with their captors, the ones on which they are totally dependent.

Regardless of his motivations when walking, is there anyone else who really wants to leave any American behind, especially in that hell-hole?

if leaving him there means other American troops down the road will be safer, yeah.
Doing deals with the Taliban, negotiating with them for this fellow's release, will come back to haunt us.

http://joeforamerica.com/2014/06/u-s-release-5-jihadists-get-jihad-convert-trade/

I wouldnt trust that chickensh-t BB any further than I could throw my house.

Gunner

He simply did not agree with American Policy and left his post. Yes he is a deserter and definitely not worth 5 valuable Taliban prisoners and to even think a US soldier died "rescuing" this POS is pretty revolting to me.

Nothing but politico posturing on the eve of an election year, kinda reminds me of the bullspit Benghazi atrocities.

Gunner

The guy and his father are both likely American Taliban..

+1 to both posts

+1000000000000

Gunner

While people talk about him being a Deserter, I think BB's actions might be considered Treason?

Another +1. .....

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Another +1...... This definitely endangers more Americans.