A US soldier who has been held by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly five years has been freed in deal that includes the release of five Afghan detainees, US officials say.
US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed over to US forces in good health, the officials said.
The five Afghan detainees have been released from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
They were handed over to Qatar, which mediated the transfer.
Sgt Bergdahl was the only US soldier being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed over to US forces in good health, the officials said.
The five Afghan detainees have been released from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
They were handed over to Qatar, which mediated the transfer.
Sgt Bergdahl was the only US soldier being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Several dozen US special forces were involved in the exchange, they said, which took place near the Pakistani border.
A senior official told the BBC that, once aboard the US helicopter, Sgt Bergdahl wrote "SF?" - asking if they were special operations forces - on a paper plate and showed it to the pilots, who replied: "Yes, we've been looking for you for a long time."
The senior official said: "At that point, Sgt Bergdahl broke down".
A senior official told the BBC that, once aboard the US helicopter, Sgt Bergdahl wrote "SF?" - asking if they were special operations forces - on a paper plate and showed it to the pilots, who replied: "Yes, we've been looking for you for a long time."
The senior official said: "At that point, Sgt Bergdahl broke down".
The soldier, of Hailey, Idaho, was captured on 30 June 2009, about two months after arriving in eastern Afghanistan.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sgt Bergdahl would be given "all the support he needs to help him recover from this ordeal, and we are grateful that he will soon be reunited with his family".
He thanked the emir of Qatar for his role in enabling the transfer to take place.
On the five Guantanamo detainees, he said: "The United States has co-ordinated closely with Qatar to ensure that security measures are in place and the national security of the United States will not be compromised."
In January, the US military obtained a new video of Sgt Bergdahl, giving his family renewed hope of his eventual return.
Throughout his captivity, the soldier's hometown had continued to remember him with special events and yellow ribbons pinned to utility poles and trees.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sgt Bergdahl would be given "all the support he needs to help him recover from this ordeal, and we are grateful that he will soon be reunited with his family".
He thanked the emir of Qatar for his role in enabling the transfer to take place.
On the five Guantanamo detainees, he said: "The United States has co-ordinated closely with Qatar to ensure that security measures are in place and the national security of the United States will not be compromised."
In January, the US military obtained a new video of Sgt Bergdahl, giving his family renewed hope of his eventual return.
Throughout his captivity, the soldier's hometown had continued to remember him with special events and yellow ribbons pinned to utility poles and trees.
great story, happy for the man and his family
as for Obama, well lets just say he knows nothing if he doesn't know how the spike the ball and lie
I suspect we'll bet an second by second transcript on how the least prepared man in the room personally sought out and negotiated this deal, but only after being given absolute assurances the people we were holding at Gitmo are not really a threat to us
they were there by mistake
The Kenyan just released 5 top Taliban commanders with American blood on their hands without even notifying Congress in exchange for a deserter?
Is Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl a hero or a deserter?
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-a-hero-or-a-deserter/
Is this for fucking real????
face)(*^%
Is Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl a hero or a deserter?
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-sgt-bowe-bergdahl-a-hero-or-a-deserter/
Is this for fucking real????
face)(*^%
What a vile, subhuman creature Casper is. His irrational, insane hatred of the President of a Country he doesn't even live in, and can't vote in, should disgust every American celebrating getting a Soldier back after a 5 year ordeal. But of course, not in this Hellhole. Instead, Let's criticize Obama. Sick, sick people.
Another POV.
Amid jubilation Saturday over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from captivity by the Taliban, senior Republicans on Capitol Hill said they were troubled by the means by which it was accomplished, which was a deal to release five Afghan detainees from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Top Republicans on the Senate and House armed services committees went so far as to accuse President Obama of having broken the law, which requires the administration to notify Congress before any transfers from Guantanamo are carried out.
“Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.) and the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, James M. Inhofe (Okla.), said in a joint statement.
Lawmakers were not notified of the Guantanamo detainees’ transfer until after it occurred.
The law requires the defense secretary to notify relevant congressional committees at least 30 days before making any transfers of prisoners, to explain the reason and to provide assurances that those released would not be in a position to reengage in activities that could threaten the United States or its interests.
Before the current law was enacted at the end of last year, the conditions were even more stringent. However, the administration and some Democrats had pressed for them to be loosened, in part to give them more flexibility to negotiate for Bergdahl’s release.
A senior administration official, agreeing to speak on the condition of anonymity to explain the timing of the congressional notification, acknowledged that the law was not followed. When he signed the law last year, Obama issued a signing statement contending that the notification requirement was an unconstitutional infringement on his powers as commander in chief and that he therefore could override it.
“Due to a near-term opportunity to save Sergeant Bergdahl’s life, we moved as quickly as possible,” (I’d like to point that Bergdahl has been a prisoner for nearly 5 years.) the official said. “The administration determined that given these unique and exigent circumstances, such a transfer should go forward notwithstanding the notice requirement.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that the detainees transferred from Guantanamo to Qatar, where they are to stay for at least a year, “are hardened terrorists who have the blood of Americans and countless Afghans on their hands. I am eager to learn what precise steps are being taken to ensure that these vicious and violent Taliban extremists never return to the fight against the United States and our partners or engage in any activities that can threaten the prospects for peace and security in Afghanistan.”
Beyond this individual instance, some raised the larger question of whether it is sound policy for the United States to have, in the words of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), “negotiated with terrorists.”
Rogers said the action marked a “fundamental shift in U.S. policy.”
Amid jubilation Saturday over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from captivity by the Taliban, senior Republicans on Capitol Hill said they were troubled by the means by which it was accomplished, which was a deal to release five Afghan detainees from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Top Republicans on the Senate and House armed services committees went so far as to accuse President Obama of having broken the law, which requires the administration to notify Congress before any transfers from Guantanamo are carried out.
“Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.) and the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, James M. Inhofe (Okla.), said in a joint statement.
Lawmakers were not notified of the Guantanamo detainees’ transfer until after it occurred.
The law requires the defense secretary to notify relevant congressional committees at least 30 days before making any transfers of prisoners, to explain the reason and to provide assurances that those released would not be in a position to reengage in activities that could threaten the United States or its interests.
Before the current law was enacted at the end of last year, the conditions were even more stringent. However, the administration and some Democrats had pressed for them to be loosened, in part to give them more flexibility to negotiate for Bergdahl’s release.
A senior administration official, agreeing to speak on the condition of anonymity to explain the timing of the congressional notification, acknowledged that the law was not followed. When he signed the law last year, Obama issued a signing statement contending that the notification requirement was an unconstitutional infringement on his powers as commander in chief and that he therefore could override it.
“Due to a near-term opportunity to save Sergeant Bergdahl’s life, we moved as quickly as possible,” (I’d like to point that Bergdahl has been a prisoner for nearly 5 years.) the official said. “The administration determined that given these unique and exigent circumstances, such a transfer should go forward notwithstanding the notice requirement.”
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that the detainees transferred from Guantanamo to Qatar, where they are to stay for at least a year, “are hardened terrorists who have the blood of Americans and countless Afghans on their hands. I am eager to learn what precise steps are being taken to ensure that these vicious and violent Taliban extremists never return to the fight against the United States and our partners or engage in any activities that can threaten the prospects for peace and security in Afghanistan.”
Beyond this individual instance, some raised the larger question of whether it is sound policy for the United States to have, in the words of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), “negotiated with terrorists.”
Rogers said the action marked a “fundamental shift in U.S. policy.”
