Post by falah on Jun 8th, 2012 at 11:41pm
US soldier Bowe Bergdahl 'was disgusted with Afghan war and ashamed to be American'
A United States soldier being held prisoner by the Taliban after disappearing from his base had told his parents he was disgusted with the Afghan war and ashamed to be American.
Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, now 26, has been held for almost three years and is the only American soldier held by the insurgents, after going missing in a south eastern province of Afghanistan.
The American military has never detailed the events of his disappearance, but there were reports at the time that he had just walked off his base in Paktika province after completing a guard shift.
His family, from Hailey in Idaho, have now released an email he sent days before his disappearance in which he spoke of his disillusion with the American military.
"The future is too good to waste on lies," he wrote in the email obtained by Rolling Stone magazine.
"And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be American. The horror of the self-righteous arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting."
Sgt Bergdahl criticised his superiors, calling his battalion commander a "conceited old fool", and said the American army was composed of "liars, back-stabbers, fools, and bullies".
He concluded by saying: "I am sorry for everything. The horror that is America is disgusting."
His disappearance triggered an intense manhunt as troops were pulled off planned operations to search for him.
At the time, Afghan officers taking part in the search said they had been told Sgt Bergdahl had suffered some form of breakdown.
A Taliban statement said he had been captured after falling behind on a patrol.
He is not classified as a deserter and is listed as "missing-captured." Since his capture, he has appeared in a number of hostage videos released by the Taliban, in which he has pleaded for his release. He is believed to be held in northwestern Pakistan.
His parents have recently begun giving interviews about their son's imprisonment after becoming frustrated with the failure of official efforts to free him.
American officials had tried to broker his freedom in a swap for five Taliban leaders currently held in Guantánamo Bay US military prison in Cuba.
The transfer had been conceived as a "confidence building measure" to kick start wider talks between the enemies to find a political settlement to the conflict. The initiative appears to have stalled in the face of opposition in Congress to concessions to the Taliban.
Meanwhile the number of American troops who have died in the decade-long conflict on Thursday passed 2,000 according to the icasualties website, which compiles casualty figures.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/9319215/US-soldier-Bowe-Bergdahl-was-disgusted-with-Afghan-war-and-ashamed-to-be-American.html
A United States soldier being held prisoner by the Taliban after disappearing from his base had told his parents he was disgusted with the Afghan war and ashamed to be American.
Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, now 26, has been held for almost three years and is the only American soldier held by the insurgents, after going missing in a south eastern province of Afghanistan.
The American military has never detailed the events of his disappearance, but there were reports at the time that he had just walked off his base in Paktika province after completing a guard shift.
His family, from Hailey in Idaho, have now released an email he sent days before his disappearance in which he spoke of his disillusion with the American military.
"The future is too good to waste on lies," he wrote in the email obtained by Rolling Stone magazine.
"And life is way too short to care for the damnation of others, as well as to spend it helping fools with their ideas that are wrong. I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be American. The horror of the self-righteous arrogance that they thrive in. It is all revolting."
Sgt Bergdahl criticised his superiors, calling his battalion commander a "conceited old fool", and said the American army was composed of "liars, back-stabbers, fools, and bullies".
He concluded by saying: "I am sorry for everything. The horror that is America is disgusting."
His disappearance triggered an intense manhunt as troops were pulled off planned operations to search for him.
At the time, Afghan officers taking part in the search said they had been told Sgt Bergdahl had suffered some form of breakdown.
A Taliban statement said he had been captured after falling behind on a patrol.
He is not classified as a deserter and is listed as "missing-captured." Since his capture, he has appeared in a number of hostage videos released by the Taliban, in which he has pleaded for his release. He is believed to be held in northwestern Pakistan.
His parents have recently begun giving interviews about their son's imprisonment after becoming frustrated with the failure of official efforts to free him.
American officials had tried to broker his freedom in a swap for five Taliban leaders currently held in Guantánamo Bay US military prison in Cuba.
The transfer had been conceived as a "confidence building measure" to kick start wider talks between the enemies to find a political settlement to the conflict. The initiative appears to have stalled in the face of opposition in Congress to concessions to the Taliban.
Meanwhile the number of American troops who have died in the decade-long conflict on Thursday passed 2,000 according to the icasualties website, which compiles casualty figures.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/9319215/US-soldier-Bowe-Bergdahl-was-disgusted-with-Afghan-war-and-ashamed-to-be-American.html
