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U.S. soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan traded for 5 jihad terrorists

May 31, 2014 3:51 pm By Robert Spencer

BergdahlIt is good that Sgt. Bergdahl has been freed, but the Gitmo detainees exchanged for him are seasoned Taliban jihadis who are going to return to the jihad — and now that this precedent has been set, there will be more attempts to capture U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

“U.S. soldier freed from captivity in Afghanistan,” by Julie Pace and Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press, May 31, 2014 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Washington — The only American soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan has been freed by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Obama administration officials said Saturday.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special operations forces by the Taliban Saturday evening, local time, in an area of eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. Officials said the exchange was not violent and the 28-year-old Bergdahl was in good condition and able to walk.

In a statement, President Barack Obama said Bergdahl’s recovery “is a reminder of America’s unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield.”

The handover followed indirect negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban, with the government of Qatar serving as the go-between. Qatar is taking custody of the five Afghan detainees who were held at Guantanamo.

According to a senior defense official traveling with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Singapore, once Bergdahl climbed onto the noisy helicopter he took a pen and wrote on a paper plate, the “SF?” — asking the troops if they were special operations forces.

They shouted back at him over the roar of the rotors: “Yes, we’ve been looking for you for a long time.”

Then, according to the official, Bergdahl broke down.

Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, is believed to have been held by the Haqqani network since June 30, 2009. Haqqani operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and has been one of the deadliest threats to U.S. troops in the war.

The network, which the State Department designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2012, claims allegiance to the Afghan Taliban, yet operates with some degree of autonomy….

The detainees are believed to be the most senior Afghans still held at the prison. They are believed to be:

■Abdul Haq Wasiq, who served as the Taliban deputy minister of intelligence

■Mullah Norullah Nori, a senior Taliban commander in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taliban fought U.S. forces in late 2001

■Khairullah Khairkhwa, who served in various Taliban positions including interior minister and had direct ties to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden

■Mohammed Nabi, who served as chief of security for the Taliban in Qalat, Afghanistan, and later worked as a radio operator for the Taliban’s communications office in Kabul

■Mohammad Fazl, whom Human Rights Watch says could be prosecuted for war crimes for presiding over the mass killing of Shiite Muslims in Afghanistan in 2000 and 2001 as the Taliban sought to consolidate their control over the country….

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Filed Under: Afghanistan Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. IQ al Rassooli says

    May 31, 2014 at 4:49 pm

    Obama’s ability to deceive and lie to himself and Americans is really obscene
    {In a statement, President Barack Obama said Bergdahl’s recovery “is a reminder of America’s unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield.”}

    How dare he say this obviously malicious lie when he & Hillary left FOUR Americans DEAD in Benghazi?

    As a Muslim and a NARCISSIST Obama invariably takes credit for anything going right no matter it had nothing to do with him and BLAMES all failure on OTHERS!

    I believe that exchanging 1000 terrorists for one soldier -no matter how humanitarian it may sound – is utterly wrong since the Muslims can and will attempt to repeat the same performance

    I would prefer that Israelis & Americans go in and take hostages from the senior enemy leaders and THEN exchange them for incarcerated soldiers. We should use the methodology of the enemy and not play by the Queensberry rules.

    Terrorists understand only one language: Massive Counter Terror

    IQ al Rassooli
    Kafir & Proud!

    • mezcukor says

      Jun 1, 2014 at 5:06 pm

      Razooli I totally agree with you. They only understand force.

  2. Transmaster says

    May 31, 2014 at 5:48 pm

    I like what the Russians did in Lebanon during their civil war. The Local KGB station chief was kidnapped by one of the Islamic Militias. The KGB went out and kidnapped the Patriarch of this Militia and started to send his family his body parts, first one ear, then the other ear, a finger. They got the Station Chief back unharmed in less then a day. The militias never messed with the Russians again.

    • IQ al Rassooli says

      May 31, 2014 at 6:02 pm

      Absolutely CORRECT!

      Recently, the Russian navy captured pirates off the coast of Somalia

      They first boarded, inspected and interrogated the terrorists

      Then they went back to their ship and used the pirate ship for TARGET practice!

      Pirates do NOT mess with Russians

      Had the naval forces been American, they would have captured them, put them on trial costing tens of millions of dollars and more millions to keep them well fed and taken care of in prison!

      IDIOTS!

      Iq al Rassooli
      Kafir & Proud!

  3. PGuud says

    May 31, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    After that foolish display by Bob Bergdahl on Fox News (with wife and Obama), I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that Bowe Bergdahl has embraced the vile religion of Islam. Bob looked and sounded like a complete jack***.

    Islam: where freedom ends and slavery begins.

    • Fudge says

      May 31, 2014 at 8:59 pm

      Of course he was a deserter and traitor. Of course he turned pisslamic. Of course his dad is a converted POS. Otherwise ovomit would have done nothing, ever.

    • wtd says

      May 31, 2014 at 9:20 pm

      PHOTOS: U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

      Of particular note is the photo of his father where he addressed his son and the public:

      “Bergdahl said that his son was having trouble speaking English after spending so much time in Taliban activity. He said a common Arabic phrase uttered by Muslims before giving a speech, and a few words that appeared to be in Pashto.

      “In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful,” Bob Bergdahl said in Arabic.”

      Bob Bergdahl
      tweet:

      Robert Bergdahl ‏@bobbergdahl

      @ABalkhi I am still working to free all Guantanamo prisoners. God will repay for the death of every Afghan child, ameen!

      • wtd says

        May 31, 2014 at 9:22 pm

        Based on the fact that Bergdahl deserted and the above quotes . . .one could surmise that Obama released not 5, but 6 dangerous Muhammedan jihadis.

      • PGuud says

        May 31, 2014 at 10:21 pm

        Thank you. I’ve seen his tweets. There is no doubt that Bob Bergdahl is a feeble-minded POS. It’s too bad that we didn’t send him to Afghanistan to rot with his son.

        Did anyone else notice the telling smile on Obama’s face, when Old Bobby uttered the Basmala? It looked like they made a connection.

        Islam: where freedom ends and slavery begins.

        • wtd says

          May 31, 2014 at 10:56 pm

          BareNakedIslam reminds readers:

          Don’t forget, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was NOT captured on the battlefield. He left the U.S. base camp in Afghanistan in 2009 of his own free will and turned up with the Taliban a short time later.

          *******
          It was reported Bergdahl left because he wanted to “visit with family”. He walked off base. Where was this family?
          Islam refers to all Muhammedans as brothers and sisters. Hmmmm.

          Could it be this American ‘soldier’ not only went AWOL- he turned sides – costing the lives of patriot soldiers attempting to rescue him?

          Is it also mere coincidence the fawning, compassionate reports suggesting Obama cares about our troops and went all out with “intense negotiations last week”.
          President Barack Obama said

          Bergdahl’s recovery “is a reminder of America’s unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman in uniform behind on the battlefield.”

          The transfers happened after a week of intense negotiations mediated by the government of Qatar, which will take custody of the Afghans.

          *****COINCIDENCE?*****
          OR rather, this administration freed Bergdahl -6 dangerous Afghan jihadis under the auspices of concern for our troops as damage control from the VA scandal which has already resulted in administration casualties (Shinseki,Carney, Petzel).

    • Shane says

      Jun 1, 2014 at 4:52 pm

      We need to know if the Sargent or his father are Muslims? I hope that someone reports on whether or not Berghdal was a deserter.

  4. RG says

    May 31, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    “…and now that this precedent has been set, there will be more attempts to capture U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.”

    YOU BETCHA!!!!!

  5. Mr. Squat says

    May 31, 2014 at 9:36 pm

    Can someone clarify it for me: are the Bergdahls Afghani immigrants?

    Also, it may be sci-fi, but it should be possible to surreptitiously implant GPS chips in the bodies of the released terrorists. Track them and send a drone to take them out together with their comrades.

  6. David, Thailand says

    May 31, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    So comforting to see Obama stand by his principle not to negotiate with terrorists.

    And also great to know that the release of 5 senior Taliban figures will not compromise American lives.

    I suppose this will be celebrated by the hate-filled leftard media as another Obama brilliancy.

  7. gravenimage says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 12:29 am

    U.S. soldier held prisoner in Afghanistan traded for 5 jihad terrorists…

    It is good that Sgt. Bergdahl has been freed, but the Gitmo detainees exchanged for him are seasoned Taliban jihadis who are going to return to the jihad …
    …………………

    Yes—I’m glad he’s free. But this terrorist swap certainly encourages Jihadists to kidnap American soldiers whenever they can.

    As for Bowe Bergdahl himself, I’m not going to judge at this point. There is absolutely no doubt that his father is an idiot—but this may or may not reflect on the son.

    There are also reports that he was captured drunk or even AWOL—although you would have to be an utter moron to go AWOL *in Afghanistan*.

    There is also the idea that Bergdahl was actually intentionally joining the Taliban—but much of this is based on a 2010 report from the Taliban itself that Bergdahl was training them to build bombs.

    This would be potentially suicidal, in any case, for an American soldier who spoke no Pashtun.

    Personally, I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in Taliban propaganda.

    It does seem probable that Berdahl may have done something stupid—but something that under normal circumstances would have landed him in the brig (or maybe just on an extended stint on KP) led to *five years of captivity* with the Taliban.

    Right now, unless I hear something more concrete, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

    Not those Taliban Jihadists, though—unless we can drone their *sses, I’m sure they’ll be back waging violent Jihad in no time…

    • gravenimage says

      Jun 2, 2014 at 12:49 am

      Actually, I now *have* read a lot more disturbing things about Berdahl since—including a very creepy Tweet from his father that sounds like it came from an out-and-out Jihadist.

      And this was backed up as correct by Rep. Allen West.

      At the least, this should be investigated—but probably won’t be in this environment.

  8. Salah says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 2:36 am

    Looks like someone finally found an “honourable” way to free more jihadists!!!

  9. duh_swami says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 8:27 am

    Rasool Obama enables jihad and jihadists. Rasool Obama is a stealth jihadist.
    Rasool Obama should be defrocked immediately, as a danger to the public safety.

  10. Alarmed Pig Farmer says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 10:06 am

    The good news is that one US soldier is only worth 5 terrorist.

    Oh I dunno about that. My thought is that 20:1 would be a fairer valuation.

    ***

    The socialists clamored for years that Afghan was the just war, based on it being the operations site for the 9/11 attack. 3,000 dead, everybody agrees that the Taliban will retake control once we’re gone, so nothing will have been gained, nor could any good ever have been.

    After over a decade what we’ll take away is that we negotiate with terrorists, as in Moslem activists. Mujahidin.

  11. Cathy Kaech says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 10:16 am

    Jon Michael I read this earlier today. Supposedly written by a fellow soldier who was there ——> We were at OP Mest, Paktika Province, Afghanistan. It was a small outpost where B Co 1-501st INF (Airbone) ran operations out of, just an Infantry platoon and ANA counterparts there. The place was an Afghan graveyard. Bergdahl had been acting a little strange, telling people he wanted to “walk the earth” and kept a little journal talking about how he was meant for better things. No one thought anything about it. He was a little “out there”. Next morning he’s gone. We search everywhere, and can’t find him. He left his weapon, his kit, and other sensitive items. He only took some water, a compass and a knife. We find some afghan kids shortly after who saw an american walking north asking about where the taliban are. We get hits on our voice intercepter that Taliban has him, and we were close. We come to realize that the kid deserted his post, snuck out of camp and sought out Taliban… to join them. We were in a defensive position at OP Mest, where your focus is to keep people out. He knew where the blind spots were to slip out and that’s what he did. It was supposed to be a 4-day mission but turned into several months of active searching. Everyone was spun up to find this guy. News outlets all over the country were putting out false information. It was hard to see, especially when we knew the truth about what happened and we lost good men trying to find him. PFC Matthew Michael Martinek, Staff Sgt. Kurt Robert Curtiss, SSG Clayton Bowen, PFC Morris Walker, SSG Michael Murphrey, 2LT Darryn Andrews, were all KIA from our unit who died looking for Bergdahl. Many others from various units were wounded or killed while actively looking for Bergdahl. Fighting Increased. IEDs and enemy ambushes increased. The Taliban knew that we were looking for him in high numbers and our movements were predictable. Because of Bergdahl, more men were out in danger, and more attacks on friendly camps and positions were conducted while we were out looking for him. His actions impacted the region more than anyone wants to admit. There is also no way to know what he told the Taliban: Our movements, locations, tactics, weak points on vehicles and other things for the enemy to exploit are just a few possibilities. The Government knows full well that he deserted. It looks bad and is a good propaganda piece for the Taliban. They refuse to acknowledge it. Hell they even promoted him to Sergeant which makes me sick. I feel for his family who only want their son/brother back. They don’t know the truth, or refuse to acknowledge it as well. What he did affected his family and his whole town back home, who don’t know the truth. Either way what matters is that good men died because of him. He has been lying on all those Taliban videos about everything since his “capture”. If he ever returns, he should be tried under the UCMJ for being a deserter and judged for what he did. Bergdahl is not a hero, he is not a soldier or an Infantryman. He failed his brothers. Now, sons and daughters are growing up without their fathers who died for him and he will have to face that truth someday

  12. gavinwca says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 10:33 am

    Strange Obummer gets in trouble politically, for Murdering our Veterans in the V?A Hospitals country wide and within a week the only soldier still captured in Afghanistan miraculously is recovered. The Muslim Brotherhood did Obummer a favor.

    • Quotha Raven says

      Jun 1, 2014 at 6:59 pm

      Well, I guess they owed him one, considering his continuing support with weapons and propaganda…

  13. Walter Sieruk says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    There is one postive spin to put on this story. Which is that this prisioner swape have proven the great value and worth of a US soldier that is in large contrast to the near worthlessness of those Taliban thugs. For this shows the world just how much better even one American solider is to those Taliban guys. For it takes five Taliban to equal the worth of one US soldier.

  14. cookiebaker says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 12:06 pm

    Another, new low to add to the pile.Once, again, nothing, this POTUS, will do or has done will ever upset his base.Except, allowing the Keystone pipeline to happen,which looks unlikely.
    The rest of the country is left feeling disgusted and shamed by this .

  15. Elisheva14 says

    Jun 1, 2014 at 2:50 pm

    It is totally a bad idea to release Terrorists from prison ever. No peace can be obtained this way. It always benefits the Jihadis.

    From Wikipedia

    The Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange (Hebrew: עסקת שליט‎; Arabic: صفقة شاليط‎) followed an agreement between Israel and Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 prisoners – mainly Palestinians and Arab-Israelis, though among the prisoners released there was also a Ukrainian[1] prisoner, a Jordanian[2] prisoner, and a Syrian prisoner.[3] Two hundred and eighty of these were sentenced to life in prison for planning and perpetrating various terror attacks against Israeli targets.[4][5] Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari was quoted in the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Hayat as confirming that the prisoners released as part of the deal were collectively responsible for the killing of 569 Israelis.[6][7] The agreement came five years and four months after Palestinian militants captured Shalit in southern Israel along the Gaza border.

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