And the show calling Bergdahl by his first name, nearly from the outset, on one hand brings him closer to listeners, but it also implies nearly a friendliness from the producers. Locals will have the chance to hear more from Koenig and Snyder in person. “I can’t risk that, so it’s like you’re standing there, screaming in your mind”, Bergdahl recalls.
Advertisement
“I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing, that I could be what it is that all those guys out there who go to the movies and watch those movies, they want to be that”, he said.
The report focuses more on the deal surrounding the five Taliban prisoners and how Qatar will monitor them rather than Bergdahl’s case.
The audio is part of a series of extensive interviews that he did with a screenwriter over the past few months, that were handed over to the popular podcast.
Jeffrey Addicott, a retired Army judge advocate and former legal adviser to the US Special Forces, said the comments would paint Bergdahl in the worst light possible at his trial.
The podcast will use clips of an interview Bergdahl gave to with the filmmaker Mark Boal.
Bergdahl’s chief defense lawyer, Eugene R. Fidell, said earlier this week: “We have asked from the beginning that everyone withhold judgment on Sergeant Bergdahl’s case until they know the facts”. 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.
“Now, in Season Two, we get to hear what he has to say.” .
In the episode, Bergdahl says he wanted to expose the “leadership failure” he experienced in Afghanistan.
In those conversations, which were released today, Bergdahl explained why he was motivated to leave his base and jeopardize the safety of his platoon.
“That whole story that he walked away to tell on us doesn’t make any sense”.
Mohammad Fazl, Mohammed Nabi, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Mullah Norullah Nori, and Khairullah Khairkhwa – were freed from Guantánamo in 2014 in exchange for Bergdahl.
Bergdahl’s dramatic rescue in eastern Afghanistan came almost five years after he deserted his post and was captured, military officials said. It’s not clear when he will announce his decision, and Army officials declined to comment on the case on Thursday. Finally, in March, the military charged Bergdahl with two crimes, one of which carriers the possibility of a life sentence.
Advertisement
“All I was seeing was leadership failure, to the point where the lives of the guys sitting next to me were literally, from what I could see, in danger”, said Bergdahl. Not remotely. In the first episode alone, she managed to track down a number of the soldiers who were stationed alongside Bergdahl in Afghanistan to piece together what exactly happened on the day he went missing. “[Trading the Taliban Five] allowed the Administration to rid itself of five of the most risky and problematic detainees… who the Administration would otherwise have great difficulty relocating”. He wanted to draw attention, like a petulant child who hides and panics his parents just to spite them.
