Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl described how he became imprisoned by the Taliban in his first publicly released interview Thursday.
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“I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing”.
The US Army Sergeant, who walked away from his military unit in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held captive for five years by the Taliban, is the subject of the second season of the insanely popular podcast Serial.
Second, disgusted by what he saw as a failure of leadership in the Army, Bergdahl said he wanted to cause a “DUSTWUN” – Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown – alert in order to draw attention to necessary reforms. “20 minutes out, I’m going, good grief, I’m in over my head”. Bergdahl said he changed his plan once he left so that when he returned he’d have intelligence on the Taliban, but instead he ended up getting captured by a group affiliated with the Taliban.
Bergdahl’s first public comments since he was released by the Taliban in a prisoner swap that ignited a political firestorm are part of a series of interviews with filmmaker Mark Boal, writer of military-themed movies The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. He faces charges that could bring a life sentence, but investigators have recommended he not spend anymore time in prison.
The Republicans were especially critical of the release of five Guantanamo detainees to Qatar.
In September, a defense department officer testified during a preliminary court martial hearing about Bergdahl’s motive for leaving his post. The podcast that rekindled the media’s love affair with audio journalism returns this week, popping up on various online channels Thursday morning.
“I couldn’t do anything against six or seven guys with AK-47s, and they pulled up and that was it”, Bergdahl said.
Bergdahl, 29, of Hailey, Idaho, has been charged with desertion and “misbehavior before the enemy” after disappearing from his post in eastern Afghanistan in June 2009. “In the months preceding the Taliban Five transfer, the administration did not communicate any of the specifics or contemplated courses of action to the committee, and the information it did convey was misleading and obfuscatory”, the report said.
When Koenig announced in May that two seasons of Serial were on their way – one in fall 2015 and one in spring 2016 – it seemed baffling that the team could crank out a pair of investigations as in-depth as Adnan Syed’s in succession. I would wake up not even remembering what I was. He adds: Its like youre standing there, screaming in your mind..
Wednesday, House Republicans released a report claiming that the Obama administration misled Congress about the trade.
The 12-episode podcast was a viral success, unprecedented in the world of podcasts, with over 100 million downloads, as investigative reporter Sarah Koenig explored different angles of the case and Syed’s alleged innocence episode by episode.
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The first season of the podcast examined a complicated murder case in Baltimore, Maryland, and hinged on the main source’s proclaimed innocence.
