Taliban released video: captured U.S. soldier pleads ‘send troops home’
The Taliban released a video over the internet yesterday of a U.S. soldier who was kidnapped outside his U.S. base in Afghanistan nearly three weeks ago.
The soldier, who the Pentagon confirmed today, is Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl of Idaho. Just 23-years old, Bergdahl is very emotional, pleading for American troops to return home. At the prompting of his captors, he says, “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.”
He later continues, saying, “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.”
According to Britain’s The Guardian, Captain Jon Stock, a U.S. military spokesman in Kabul condemned the video as propaganda and a breach of the rules of war (because the Taliban obviously abide by those rules).
“The use of the soldier for propaganda purposes we view as against international law,” Stock told Reuters. “We are continuing to do whatever possible to recover the soldier safe and unharmed.”
Stock also confirmed Bergdahl was the US soldier who went missing outside a US base in southern Paktika province on June 30.
However, the circumstances of Bergdahl’s abduction remain unclear. American military sources have said he was snatched from outside the base perimeter along with three Afghan nationals. But, in the video, Bergdahl said he was captured after falling behind on a patrol.
Britian’s Daily Mail reports that Obama administration officials ordered the military to “pull out all the stops to win the safe return of the soldier last night amid fears the propaganda coup could have a devastating effect on US morale and hurt Mr Obama’s new strategy focusing on Afghanistan rather than Iraq.”