Taliban Releases Propaganda Video of Captured U.S. Soldier

The identity of the soldier captured earlier this month by the Taliban has been released, following a new propaganda video:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon Sunday identified the soldier captured in Afghanistan on July 3 as 23-year-old private Bowe Bergdahl of Ketchum, Idaho.

The U.S. Defense Department said in a statement that Bergdahl was a member of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

His status was changed two weeks ago from "whereabouts unknown" to "missing-captured."

The Jawa Report has the unsettling video posted up.

It's against international law to use and humiliate captured soldiers for propaganda purposes. Carol Bengle Gilbert:

One of the major issues the Bowe Bergdahl video raises is whether his statements express his genuine sentiments or whether he is being used for propaganda purposes by his Taliban captors.

Bowe Bergdahl was asked at one point during the video where he has a message for his people. Bowe Bergdahl replied:

"To my fellow Americans who have loved ones over here, who know what it's like to miss them, you have the power to make our government bring them home. Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here, wasting our time and our lives and our precious life that we could be using back in our own country.

Please bring us home. It is America and American people who have that power."

During this speech, Bowe Bergdahl looked into the camera, unlike his demeanor when spoke of missing his family with eyes downcast. Was Bowe Bergdahl trying to tell the U.S. government something? During his speech, Bowe Bergdahl's fingers on both hands were alternately moving in and out.
Bowe Bergdahl Video Call for Troop Withdrawal: Propaganda or Genuine Sentiment?
Was this a signal or mere nerves? Bergdahl did express fear that he would never make it home to see his loved ones earlier in the video. And in one close up shot, worry lines were visible on his forehead.

In one scene, when the camera zoomed out, there appeared to be a pen and paper off to Bowe Bergdahl's left side. Did this paper contain a script for him?

It's hard to know what the Bowe Bergdahl video really means. The video and audio tracks appear to be misaligned, raising additional questions of interpretation.

CJ writes:

Greyhawk has been doing a great job covering the story of the Soldier who was kidnapped in Afghanistan. I’d like to take a moment to quickly convey to readers what he may be going through and how you should interpret any news coming out of his capture. The first thing you should know is that regardless of HOW or WHY he left the base, the military is 100% dedicated to getting him back alive. We never leave a brother behind if there is ever hope. Part of our creed reads, “I will never leave a fallen comrade.” This includes captured troops.

There are different rules that kidnapped troops must live under depending upon the circumstances of their capture. As we know, those rules change drastically when the captors are not a state entity. In other words, it’s one thing to be a prisoner of North Korea, or Iran, or any other nation. It’s an entirely different thing to be the prisoner of a terrorist organization. One must conduct themselves differently.

In any capture situation, the goal is simple to stay alive. Terrorists have no compassion for human life. They are soulless human being devoid of any sense of humanity or respect. When you become a liability, it is easier to kill you than continue to hold out and negotiate. There is no such thing as diplomacy with terrorist organization, regardless of what the current administration thinks.

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I can’t/won’t go into a lot of details, but I’ve been through the SERE course and can tell you that unless you’ve been through the training AT LEAST the training. Even that, though, doesn’t mean a darn thing unless you’ve been a prisoner to a hostile force. ALL Soldiers are trained on what information to give if they are captured by a foreign government. Only select troops are trained on being captured by non-state forces.

Until the truth comes out, I urge everyone not to judge anything this Soldier says as anything other than coerced and/or under duress. There comes a point where you will verbally give away your first born child if it means extending your life by one more day in order to buy some time for those looking for you. Most troops will not be held accountable for the things they say or do in captivity. Naturally, those that faulted McCain for his words in captivity simply don’t understand this concept and will probably fault this guy in the future for everything he says. Liberals are like that. They’re all about…never mind. I can’t go there. Gotta watch my blood pressure.

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Cross-posted at Flopping Aces