The first US war-prisoner in the south of afghanistan ( part 2/3 )

Idaho Town Prays for Return of Captured Soldier :
http://video.ap.org/?f=AP&pid=BFbdzFyoTPBQzJeo06_F1PtIjrVVAD4F

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Full Video Release :
http://larawbar.net/detail.php?id=12381&date=2009-07-18

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Associated Press Report :

Soldier's Idaho town kept mum on Taliban capture

HAILEY, Idaho (AP) -- Almost since the news two weeks ago that a U.S. soldier had been captured in Afghanistan, a small circle of people in this central Idaho town of 7,000 have known it was one of their own: a local family's only son who was home-schooled here, danced at the local ballet school and rode his bike everywhere, was in the hands of the Taliban.

Out of respect for Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl Bergdahl's intensely private family and fear that anything they might say could make his situation more precarious, however, neighbors have kept Bergdahl's Hailey origins under wraps. The Pentagon wasn't talking either; all that U.S. Department of Defense officials said in early July was that a U.S. soldier was believed in enemy captivity.

The 23-year-old Bergdahl was serving with a unit based in Fort Richardson, Alaska, earlier this month when he vanished, just five months after arriving in Afghanistan, officials said. He was serving at a base near the border with Pakistan in an area known to be a Taliban stronghold.

Only after Saturday's Internet airing of a 28-minute video in which Bergdahl is shown captive and says he fears never going home again did DOD officials finally release his name. Some of Bergdahl's friends and acquaintances are also slowly opening up, too, with permission from his father.

In an era where captives are valuable commodities in transactions of terror, secrecy is no accident. Just as the New York Times stifled virtually all publicity surrounding the seven-month captivity of journalist David Rohde before his escape last month from a Taliban stronghold, the DOD decided the best for Bergdahl was as little news as possible.

"The Department of Defense has always thought throughout this whole situation that we were going to do whatever we could possibly do with the safety of this soldier in mind," said Lt. Col. Tim Marsano, a spokesman for the Idaho National Guard. "Efforts to secure his return are the primary consideration."

In the video posted Saturday, Bergdahl confirms his name and his hometown. The Pentagon confirmed his identity Sunday - nearly three weeks after he went missing amid conflicting reports.

On July 2, two U.S. officials conceded a soldier had "just walked off" his base near the border with Pakistan with three Afghans after his shift, but wouldn't release details. Four days later, the Taliban claimed "a drunken American soldier had come out of his garrison" and was captured by mujahedeen.

In the case of the New York Times' Rohde, who escaped with an Afghan journalist on June 19, media outlets including The Associated Press cooperated in the secrecy.

In Idaho, it was residents of Hailey, a tight-knit mining town-turned-resort community about 12 miles south of Sun Valley, who worked to keep tight the circle of those who knew of the hostage crisis.

In fact, some neighbors who learned about Bergdahl's plight the old fashioned way - down at the cafe, perhaps, or via a discreet phone call - said Sunday they were respecting the wishes of the Bergdahls by not speaking publicly. The family, described as deeply private, lives about six miles west of Hailey on a remote gravel county road. Out front, a cardboard-and-ink placard wired to the chained and locked front gate reads "No visitors."

One neighbor just down the road ordered reporters off his property, threatening violence.

Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, along with the state's congressional delegation. said Sunday he only learned of Bergdahl's captivity days earlier, but opted to keep the soldier's name quiet until it was officially released.

Sue Martin, owner of Zaney's River Street Coffee House where Bergdahl poured espressos before enlisting in the Army in 2008, had installed a sign on the front counter urging people to keep "Our friend who has been captured in Afghanistan" in their thoughts and prayers.

But she didn't use his name and later removed the sign, partly out of concern that the Bergdahls were against it.

It was only after getting their permission Sunday that Martin spoke about the young man, who she said shared friendly banter with regulars there for their morning shot of brew.

Martin has also returned the sign to the front counter - this time with Bergdahl's full name - along with a large yellow placard taped to the front window that reads "Get Bowe Back."

"It was in light of concern for Bowe's well-being," Martin said. "If the military wasn't releasing his name, we didn't feel we should be releasing it either."

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Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise and Haven Daley in Hailey contributed to this report.

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[semperfiism]

you try to sit through that shit when a gun is pointing at your head. Of course he's saying those things, you would too if you didn't know what is going to happen in 5 minutes or 12 hours. Just imagine if it were you or one of your family members. It makes me sick to think that any of you would write anything bad about anyone...

[UFCextra]

@khalilrabee u understand these terrorists will go as far as shooting from their child's bedroom window to engage our military what do you expect

[khalilrabee]

@tkSMILEY90 ow so its our fault that u blidly follow ur politicians and go to war thinking that ur gonna play a video game right? did we invite u? did we tell u to come? no...u chose to come to kill us for money.

so dont complain.

[tkSMILEY90]

@khalilrabee Check it out mutherfucker. US Infantry right here. I dont need a fuckin video to prove to your haji monkey ass that i lost buddies, best friends that i deployed wit. ive seen a mutherfucker, like you, drive a fuckin car into a building to blow up 2 LTs and other soldiers. It was a gruesome site ill never get out of my fuckin head. so FUCK YOU you haji piece of shit. you mutherfuckers took my best friend Rudy Acosta (look his name up on youtube). he was only 19. fuck you

[DavidJohnSeyler]

In two wars, Iraq and afg the reported figures are 8 pow's in Iraq with 6 being recovered and only 1 not found. In afg there is one that I have found reported. Keep in mind in Korea alone there was over 7000. How is it that such a low number has occurred when you are literally transfering cities each year back and forth to america and forth, cities of hundreds of thousands of solidiers. How is it? Poor competition?  Low reporting of numbers? Or well email me if you want the truth.

[1slamistan]

@kozardc5 Have u heard of Blackwater? Xe Services? If u havent, search it up. They kill civilans, plant bombs, blow things up, go search webster tarpley: blackwater or search zakir naik taliban. 

[khalilrabee]

@kozarac5 i wont do research because ur the one making the claims munafeq...so u show us the proof, can u understand this? show us proof. a bombed car isnt proof that a taliban suicide bomber bombed the car or place...

when u see a video in which a taliban blows himself up contact me and let me see...

[khalilrabee]

@kozarac5 so u say that u saw the suicide bomber while u blew himself up? u have any such video? u saw any of them blowing themselves up? filmed while blowing themselves up?i dont believe cnn and nor aljazeera, aljazeera is in the same sack and doin the same thing...words without proof..

regarding suicide bombers...how convenient for the media isnt it? they simply film a car of a place that was bombed, noone knows by whom and they say it was a taliban suicide bomber...very convenient...

[kozarac5]

@khalilrabee - Are you too stupid or are you too brainwashed to go and find videos of suicide bombers. Read the news, watch Al Jazeera if you don't believe CNN. The Taliban suicide bomb their own Muslim's.

Please stop replying to me, you're too illiterate to even argue with. You have no arguments and all you're saying is "show me proof". Do your own research, or are you too stupid to?

[1slamistan]

Search truthaboutaliban theres videos of whats really happening in Afghanistan with eng subtitles. Taliban are speaking themselves, no CNN or other lies. Hear the story from their side for once.

[khalilrabee]

@kozarac5 im not talking about good muslim or bad muslim. im talking about proof.

show us a proof that those bombings are linked to the taliban...suicide bombers right? very convenient...u dont need a proof anymore hah?

ur a muslim and criticise muslim women for wearing hejab or neqab? and u tell me ur a muslim...fucking liar...

[khalilrabee]

@kozarac5 again ur making the same claims...show us the proof...taliban this taliban that...show us the proof for ur stupid claims...

show us a proof that confirms that the bombings between civilians are done by taliban...show us the proof, in order for us to believe so...until then dont u dare say a single word against the muslims, unless ur a munafeq...ok? until u have proof that those things are done by the taliban u shut ur disgusting mouth do u understand that?