Officials: Taliban video shows captive solider

Source: Associated Press

The Taliban has released a video of an American soldier who went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan June 30 and was later confirmed captured.

The soldier, whose identity has not yet been confirmed by the Pentagon pending notification of members of Congress and the soldier's family, said his name, age and hometown on the video, which was released Saturday on a Web site pointed out by the Taliban.

Two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in the video is the captured soldier.

The soldier is shown dressed in a gray, nondescript outfit, eating and sitting on a bed, and he says the date is July 14. He says he was captured when he lagged behind on a patrol. The military said the soldier was captured July 2.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31984260/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=8119377

:grr:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6096306&mesg_id=6096306

Threatening Afghan Civilians Probably a Bad Idea

snip//

At least two Afghan villages have been blanketed with leaflets warning that if an American soldier kidnapped by the Taliban two weeks ago isn't freed, "you will be targeted."

Villagers near the border of two volatile provinces, Ghazni and Paktika, tell CBS News' Sami Yousafzai that aircraft dropped the leaflets during the past several days.

Military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias confirmed that the leaflets were produced at Bagram Air Base, the primary U.S. installation in Afghanistan, and distributed in the region. She told CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark, however, that they were distributed by hand, not aircraft.

The papers show on one side an image of a soldier with his head bowed so that his face is not visible (above). A message in the local Pashtun language over the image says, "If you do not free the American soldier, then..."

On the other side, an image shows Western troops breaking into a house. The rest of the message is printed across the photo: "...you will be targeted".


CBS goes on to note--and this is the important part:

While American military and intelligence services have dropped leaflets on Afghanistan for years, most of them have clearly targeted militants -- frequently carrying photos or caricatures of Taliban leaders.

The new leaflet represents a broader, direct warning to local people in the region where the U.S. soldier was seized.

more...

Or we'll bomb the shit out of your neighborhood? Winning hearts and minds. Evil is evil no matter who the commander in chief is.

babylonsister
said

Here's the deal: You don't pull a gun on someone unless you're willing to use it.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6096306&mesg_id=6096306

soldiers went door to door with leaflets and the Taliban responded with a video.
where is "the video"?

how do you know he wasn't executed trying to escape some time ago ?

Why do you want and expect Obama to go down on the Taliban ? That would be sending the wrong message even if DATA is struck down.

It's not like the guy was drafted or objected to serve because the POTUS has no birth certificate.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2ec_1248004999

What point are the Taliban trying to make

if "them" (whoever "they" would be in whatever situation) were to dream up any kind of such nonsense, the NYTimes and the State Department would be furiously up in arms.

with a repeat of the Nick Berg slaughter?

That is the first thing that comes to my mind.

first thing that came to my mind was the soldier in Iraq that drifted away from his post never to be seen from until they dug up his grave a few months back.

but anyway, imo
No poppy should be allowed harvested until the soldier ( or his remains) are released.

It gives the poor dirt farmers an "out"

Not a good idea?

why not ?

He knows the risks he will have to take. It's not like it wasn't talked about before going overseas

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,823870,00.html

this wouldnt have happened.

But at least they accept China's iron fisted rule on the treatment of their brothers

jmo.
maybe they secretly hate China also

He wandered off without his gear and was captured. Maybe he was lured off by his Afghan friends. I don't think we will ever know the truth.

The poster made a reference to another thread on this subject.

"The 28-minute video shows the soldier being interviewed in English by his captors, where he states his views on the war, Islam and the morale of American soldiers."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gsxx9CcbDztJw-PO6rqserut6-KgD99H4A0G1

I'm sure we can trust the word of a taliban commander




I still want to see the video/pic of the soldier that went awol in a war time situation
jmo


He's in no Jessica Lynch situation so how much 'negotiating' should the military honestly do ? Give them a few $$ ransom and they will press like Somali warlord pirates.

I'm sure the Commander in Chief has given the military free reign to negotiate and punish as they see fit.

what solider you mean "going awol" but I will google.

I don't know where the thread is but I may have commented on the fact "what reasons" would a soldier drift off with his Afghan buds and not tell anybody ( "going absent without leave" ) unless it was an appealing promise of a stimulating business or pleasure adventure. I may have made references to another thread that talked about 'gangs' infiltrate the US military for reasons only known to themselves.

I don't think they wear pantys

:kick:

And withdraw our forces from these other countires and they will set him free..

Oh wait, Obama is Bush, the wars won't stop.

...I cried reading the article. When will this lunacy end?? ;(

been killed in part due to the publicity.
For anyone who is wondering why there isn't more coverage of this, that may be the explanation here, too.

"The U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban is a 23-year-old Army paratrooper from Idaho on his first deployment to Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said Sunday.

Private 1st Class Bowe Bergdahl, who joined the Army just last year, was shown pleading for his life on a video released by his captors Saturday night."


More at http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_bring_us_home_gi_pleads_talibanheld_soldier_sez_on_vid_he_fears_for_life.html

The knives are already out.... military idiot on FOX calling this kid a deserted who should be killed ...to save us the trouble. Calling him a deserter - and saying he deserves to die.

This is not the first and will not be the last young American who will pay for the Bush years of torture. Read this and understand why the payback will be far worse than we can imagine.

http://tvnewslies.org/html/iraq_-_all_bets_are_off.html

Source: Reuters

The U.S. military on Sunday denounced the release of a video showing a soldier captured in Afghanistan, saying the images were Taliban propaganda that violated international law.

Military spokesman Captain Jon Stock said the man in the video was indeed the missing soldier, whose name has not been released. The military says he went missing in late June.

"The use of the soldier for propaganda purposes we view as against international law," Stock said. "We are continuing to do whatever possible to recover the soldier safe and unharmed."



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090719/us_nm/us_afghanistan_usa_military

If it is against international law, the filmers should be shipped to Iraq and thrown into Abu Grahib prison without trial, indefinitely, with no chance to appeal.

Irony? It should fall under the mantle of Hypocrisy or Tartuffe


Tartuffe (full title: Tartuffe, or the Hypocrite, French: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur) is a comedy by Molière that is arguably his most famous play.

As a result of Molière's play, the word "tartuffe" is used in contemporary French and English to designate a hypocrite who ostensibly and exaggeratedly feigns virtue, especially religious virtue.

surely it would be we. :P

entering their location to recover this man alive. That solution works for me.

:wow:

also somebody clue the DOD in... the Taliban has not signed any convention that I am aware off

I heard that's allowed now.

waterboarding while illegal, does not kill. Hacking a persons head off seems to have an impact.

It is generally understood with guys I meet that they will not allowed themselves to be captured by afgani forces. They do not want to have their wives and kids get to watch them die for a publicity stunt. This is understood.

Who fucking cares what people say. We either capture and kill the people holding him or they will kill him. Personally if I was him i would convert to islam right quick, see if that would buy me enough time to get the fuck out.

I hope it's not how they plan to kill him, tortured to death. The dick and w done us a number on this front and should themselves be subject to charges and a trial to see if they broke any laws and sent off to the gray bar hotel when found guilty of said crimes.

At least, I hope they have that idea.

In the video you can hear those helicopters flying over head. To bad mosques are no go zones for searches.
Rules of war.

I don't know why the soldier didn't say ;


"Give up Osama and Obama will cut and run."
It would all be over so fast so whats the problem with nipping it in the bud in the first 20 seconds of video time?

:sarcasm:

I denounced the IRAQ war, but nobody listened to me.

I guess all those Torture photo's were just for Photography class too.

And that soldier's safety as a POW has been forfeited by the criminals, Yoo, Cheney, Bush, and the rest of the criminal gang who refused to recognize International law. The US cannot even demand that he be treated under the rules of the Geneva Conventions, well, I suppose they can try, but who is going to do anything but laugh at the idea that America has any right to their soldiers being treated any differently than Iraqi soldiers and generals, women and children were treated?

I'm sure the Taliban has read Yoo's rationale for torture, or as he likes to call it 'enhanced interrogation'. For that soldiers sake, I hope not.

Stock: Uhhh, General, I'm not feeling so great. Could we let Corporal Klinger make this denouncement, sir?

These people are definitely suffering from irony deficiency.

Invoking international law....the international law of which the * misadministraion denied existence? And Brits say the US is irony-challenged.

(1) You don't have to be a signatory of the Geneva Conventions to be prosecuted and punished for violating them.
(2) We also showed POW's in video's in Iraq. Every one of those torture photos was also a war crime. We h ave no moral standing to insist people follow the rules.

just for their own sick pleasure. (That's okay)

Used for propaganda purposes and it's against international law!

Mr. Obama! YOU MUST prosecute United States War Criminals NOW!

edit to add 9th rec at this moment-

When even comments on this site find irony in US calls for 'following international law', it shows how deep the problem affects our nation. If our country doesn't stand by ethical behavior in pursuit of our country's moral aim, what makes us think others will?

That soldier is a victim of Cheney's bad deeds as much as theirs. Cheney gave them license to do as they please. I wonder if Liz Cheney will apologize now for her father's short-sighted actions.

I don't want some 23-year old newby paying for the crimes of Bush and Cheney. I want Bush and Cheney paying for their own war crimes.

I hope and pray that this young man gets home safely - and very soon.

to see him naked in a pile of naked men, or standing handcuffed to a railing with panties on his head, etc.


THIS COUNTRY HAS DONE FAR WORSE !! And no sarcasm intended, I meant this.

to him as opposed to the pictures you mention.

:sarcasm:

I only saw 2 minutes of the alleged 28 minute video. Anybody know where the full uncut version is ? I'd lik to here what they wanted him to say.

Is there any reason these two should be treated differently ?





42 yrs earlier
Back in 1967.

but the second vid was really intended for a limited French audience so the comparison isn't fair

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Pentagon on Sunday confirmed that an American soldier who went missing from his base in Afghanistan has been captured and identified him as a private from Idaho serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment.

The Defense Department released the name of Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23, of Ketchum, Idaho, one day after he was seen in a video posted online as saying he was "scared I won't be able to go home."

Even before his name became public, two U.S. defense officials confirmed to The Associated Press that the man in that 28-minute video was the captured soldier. The video provided the first public glimpse of the American.

The Pentagon statement said Bergdahl's status was listed as whereabouts unknown on July 1 and was changed to missing-captured on July 3. He is a member of 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson, Alaska.


Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gsxx9CcbDztJw-PO6rqserut6-KgD99HIM282

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snip

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the militants holding the soldier haven't yet set any conditions for his release.

That has to be terrifying.

and for his family :cry:

Another innocent one paying the price for Bush's wars.

bring all the troops home, and this wont happen again.

let's just get this mess over with. What can we ever hope to accomplish there?

:kick:

My best friend spent 7 months in Afghanistan last year. He said that a lot of guys were embedded with Afghan troops. The possibility of our guys getting snagged increases when they are not protected by a larger rifle company.

It is great that we are slowly ending our operation in Iraq. It has been a long time coming. However, I am unsure if the same thing can be done in Afghanistan. As much as I would like us to be able pack up and leave, with all the instability in Pakistan, the ruthlessness of the Taliban, the threat of AL Queda regrouping and the large drug farming, I think we are stuck there for a very long time.

I am pretty comforted that we have Gates running Defense. He really seems to have a good understanding of how tough this mission is and how futile any purely military operation will be.

More at http://www.examiner.com/a-2126207~Idaho_town_prays_for_return_of_captured_US_soldier.html

What a way to learn about the world. The poor soul. ;(