Trading Terrorists for One of Our Own

[Straw Man]

EXCLUSIVE: Bergdahl declared jihad in captivity, secret documents show
By James Rosen
Published June 05, 2014FoxNews.com

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl at one point during his captivity converted to Islam, fraternized openly with his captors and declared himself a "mujahid," or warrior for Islam, according to secret documents prepared on the basis of a purported eyewitness account and obtained by Fox News.

The reports indicate that Bergdahl's relations with his Haqqani captors morphed over time, from periods of hostility, where he was treated very much like a hostage, to periods where, as one source told Fox News, "he became much more of an accepted fellow" than is popularly understood. He even reportedly was allowed to carry a gun at times.

The documents show that Bergdahl at one point escaped his captors for five days and was kept, upon his re-capture, in a metal cage, like an animal. In addition, the reports detail discussions of prisoner swaps and other attempts at a negotiated resolution to the case that appear to have commenced as early as the fall of 2009.

The reports are rich in on-the-ground detail -- including the names and locations of the Haqqani commanders who ran the 200-man rotation used to guard the Idaho native -- and present the most detailed view yet of what Bergdahl's life over the past five years has been like. These real-time dispatches were generated by the Eclipse Group, a shadowy private firm of former intelligence officers and operatives that has subcontracted with the Defense Department and prominent corporations to deliver granular intelligence on terrorist activities and other security-related topics, often from challenging environments in far-flung corners of the globe.

The group is run by Duane R. ("Dewey") Clarridge, a former senior operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency in the 1980s best known for having been indicted for lying to Congress about his role in the tangled set of events that became known as the Iran-Contra scandal. He was pardoned by the first President Bush in December 1992 while on trial.

Clarridge counts a number of achievements in his spy career as well, including a prominent role in the establishment of a national counterrorism center at CIA, a move widely copied around the world by foreign intelligence agencies. A New York Times profile of Clarridge published in January 2011 disclosed the contractual relationship Eclipse had with the Pentagon, through subcontractors, and reported further that Clarridge's activities had included efforts to help find Bergdahl.

Clarridge told Fox News his group enjoyed a subcontract through the assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict from November 2009 through May 31, 2010, and that after the contract was terminated, he invested some $50,000 of his own money to maintain the elaborate network of informants and handlers that had yielded such detailed accounts of Bergdahl's status.

Clarridge further told Fox News that by the end of 2010, he had furnished at least 13 of these detailed SITREPs, or situation reports, that his network generated about Bergdahl to Brig. Gen. Robert P. Ashley Jr., who in April 2010 was named director of intelligence, at the J-2 level, at U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

Clarridge said Eclipse SITREP # 3023, dated Aug. 23, 2012 -- in which a member of the Haqqani network, said to be close to Bergdahl's captors, reported that the American prisoner had declared himself a "mujahid" -- was among the reports provided to Ashley.

The latter is now commanding general at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca, where a message left with the public affairs office was not immediately returned.

The documents obtained by Fox News show that Eclipse developed and transmitted numerous status reports on the whereabouts of the errant American soldier, spanning a period from October 2009, roughly three months after Bergdahl reportedly walked off his base in Afghanistan and fell into custody of the Haqqani network, up through August 2012.

At one point -- in late June 2010, after Bergdahl succeeded in one of his escape attempts -- the Haqqani commanders constructed a special metal cage for him, and confined him to it. At other points, however, Bergdahl was reported to be happily playing soccer with the Haqqani fighters, taking part in AK-47 target practice and being permitted to carry a firearm of his own, laughing frequently and proclaiming "Salaam," the Arabic word for "peace."

Reached by telephone, retired U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, a 45-year service veteran who served as CENTCOM commander from August 2010 to August 2012, told Fox News he may have received bits and pieces of the intelligence generated by Eclipse, but said Ashley, with whom he maintained a close working relationship, had not forwarded on to him the specific SITREPs cited by Fox News.

Mattis was also adamant that no one at CENTCOM or within the broader U.S. military or intelligence community -- despite intensive investigation of such allegations -- ever learned of anything to suggest Bergdahl had evolved into an active collaborator with the Haqqani network or the Taliban. "We were always looking for actionable intelligence," Mattis said. "It wasn't just the IC [intelligence community]. We had tactical units that were involved in the fight. We had SIGINT. Any collaborators who were on the other side and who came over to our side. We kept an eye on this. ... There was never any evidence of collaboration."

Fox News reported on Monday that Bergdahl was the subject of a "major classified file" prepared by the U.S. intelligence community, and that many members of that community harbored concerns that Bergdahl, during his period of captivity, may have engaged in collaboration with the enemy.

Experts consulted by Fox News said that SITREP # 3023 presents a picture of an American captive who, if not an active collaborator, may have succumbed to Stockholm Syndrome -- the dynamic by which hostages can become enamored of their captors and join their cause -- or simply feigned allegiance in order to survive. The report cited a source new to Eclipse -- a member of the Haqqani network said to be close to Mullah Sangeen, the Haqqani commander charged at all points over the last five years with operational custody and control of Bergdahl -- whose trustworthiness had not been fully vetted by the group. However, the report stated, the informant "does have plausible access to the information reported below, and claims to have seen Bergdahl personally in Shawal," in North Waziristan.

"In the early stages Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's captivity," the report states, "he was held at Palasin, Naurak, FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas], under the control of Mullah Sangeen and under the direct supervision of Haji Mursaleem, Sangeen's father. Conditions and locality changed after Mursaleem died [in September 2010], and Bergdahl was kept under tight guard after his attempted escape from his new place of detention in Shawal.

"As of August 2012," the report continues, "the person with responsibility for Bergdahl's captivity is Sangeen's brother, who has delegated the actual guarding of Bergdahl to Abubakr Asadkhel, a Burra Khel Wazir loyal to Sangeen, and whose sub-tribe lives in Shawal. Abubakr leads approximately 200 armed men from his tribe and operates from five bases (markaz) in Shawal. ... Abubakr's tribe is one of the prosperous branches of the Wazir and owns lots of trucks. Abubakr circulates his prisoner between schools in the area he controls, and his different insurgent bases."

Conditions for Bergdahl have greatly relaxed since the time of the escape. Bergdahl has converted to Islam and now describes himself as a mujahid. Bergdahl enjoys a modicum of freedom, and engages in target practice with the local mujahedeen, firing AK47s. Bergdahl is even allowed to carry a loaded gun on occasion. Bergdahl plays soccer with his guards and bounds around the pitch like a mad man. He appears to be well and happy, and has a noticeable habit of laughing frequently and saying 'Salaam' repeatedly.

At other points, the SITREPs depict a much nastier relationship between Bergdahl and his captors. In July 2010, Eclipse SITREPs based on confidential talks with Afghan Taliban commanders reported that "the original command structure for the responsibility of holding the captured soldier remains intact."

Overall responsibility for the captive is in the hands of Haqqani commander Sangeen, with Bandiwan, one of his deputies, responsible for making the detailed arrangements. There are two locations where the soldier is kept: one in Degan and the other in Shawal, North Waziristan. When in Degan he is kept in the compound of Eid Wale, a local Dawr who is close to Sangeen and is a chromite dealer. The other location is at Shawal. The [source] confirmed that the soldier had been missing for five days and when he was recovered, he was a little worse from wear (lack of food; a bit slimmer) but otherwise in good health.

But an earlier dispatch stated that after his re-capture, on or about June 22, 2010, Bergdahl was "in ill-health, and has been collapsing."A SITREP dated one week before Bergdahl's ill-fated escape attempt placed him in the Bazaar area of Miramshah, and noted that "he seemed not to be tightly controlled."

The Eclipse reports suggest that negotiations over Bergdahl's fate began within a few months after his capture. An October 2009 SITREP disclosed that Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Pashtun warlord controlling the broader network that bears his name, had reached out through Pakistani political contacts to propose a prisoner swap. A July 2010 SITREP stated that two months prior, in late May, "negotiations between the Haqqani and representatives of the missing US soldier collapsed." At that point, the report said, Bergdahl was moved to a more secure location.

The New York Times, in its 2011 profile of Clarridge, described his agents' dispatches as "an amalgam of fact, rumor, analysis and uncorroborated reports." The fabled ex-spook made the more than one dozen SITREPs that Eclipse prepared on the Bergdahl case -- all previously unpublished -- available to Fox News because he wanted to demonstrate, as he put it: "We know what we're talking about."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/06/05/exclusive-bergdahl-declared-jihad-secret-documents-show/

so he tried to escape multiple times and was kept in a cage and yet he was also allowed to shoot a gun and play soccer yet he was also so weak he was collapsing

All this info comes from a group led by a person who indicted for lying to Congress

Oh yes, and the alleged declaration of jihad came from a member of the Haqqani network, said to be close to Bergdahl's captors .....hmm why would they lie about that?  I'm sure we can trust this person to tell the truth

The way the media is handling this event is truly pathetic

[Straw Man]

Well don´t you think that his walk arounds were not for a reason? Meeting the enemy? intelligence?..

I have no idea but why would you assume he's somehow setting up covert meeting with the "enemy" or providing them intelligence especially when there is zero evidence of that

Much more plausible to assume that he just wanted to get the hell away on his own (granted this is fucking stupid to borderline retarded given that he is in a war zone) and he made comments and request to this as has been reported in the media

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/bowe-bergdahl-released/bowe-bergdahl-freed-soldier-hero-or-deserter-n121756

Other soldiers say he used to gaze at the mountains around them, wonder aloud if he could get to China from there, and ask questions like whether he could leave camp alone with his gun and night vision goggles. Sgt. Josh Korder, who served in Bergdahl’s platoon, told TODAY that Bergdahl became disillusioned with combat and “just wanted to go on an adventure and walk the mountains of Afghanistan and not have anybody to answer to.

I, like you and almost everyone else actually have no idea what happened at this point in time.  

[Archer77]

It's funny how bias works.   During the whole Zimmerman thing a lot of the same people who are arguing that we don't know the facts, we can't make assumptions about Bergdahls intentions and that we can't know what happened because we weren't there are the same folks who did those very things during the Zimmerman case.  It's all political bullshit and about circling the wagons.

[Straw Man]

It's funny how bias works.   During the whole Zimmerman thing a lot of the same people who are arguing that we don't know the facts, we can't make assumptions about Bergdahls intentions and that we can't know what happened because we weren't there are the same folks who did those very things during the Zimmerman case.  It's all political bullshit and about circling the wagons.

we had an abundance of facts about the Zimmerman situation, basically everything except how the fight started.

we have very little info on Bergdahl and frankly the media should stop publishing speculation based on formerly discredited sources.   The problem with our media is that they have stop reporting the news and have moved on to creating the news and trying to influence the story for their own agenda

[Donny]

I have no idea but why would you assume he's somehow setting up covert meeting with the "enemy" or providing them intelligence especially when there is zero evidence of that

Much more plausible to assume that he just wanted to get the hell away on his own (granted this is fucking stuborderline retarded given that he is in a war zone) and he made comments and request to this as has been reported in the media

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/bowe-bergdahl-released/bowe-bergdahl-freed-soldier-hero-or-deserter-n121756
I, like you and almost everyone else actually have no idea what happened at this point in time.  

yeah he just wanted to get away from his OWN..fuck off.

[Archer77]

we had an abundance of facts about the Zimmerman situation, basically everything except how the fight started.

we have very little info on Bergdahl and frankly the media should stop publishing speculation based on formerly discredited sources.   The problem with our media is that they have stop reporting the news and have moved on to creating the news and trying to influence the story for their own agenda

Did we have an abundance of facts?  What were the facts and how do they prove anything? You don't think the Zimmerman case wasn't an example of the news media creating a story to push an agenda?  What relevance does the Zimmerman case have?  Incidence of that kind are few and far between.    How about NBC news editing the 911 call? Was that an example of pushing an agenda?   The Bergdahl situations is much more relevant to the Zimmerman case by far but you didn't seem to mind all the media attention given to Zimmerman but do now with Bergdahl.  You need to just admit all of this is political for you.

[Archer77]

yeah he just wanted to get away from his OWN..fuck off.

Its funny, he says don't make assumptions about Bergdahl while simultaneously providing an explanation for his behavior that supports his position.   Its all partisan bullshit.   

[Straw Man]

yeah he just wanted to get away from his OWN..fuck off.

weird reaction to me posting an excerpt from an article and a link

I guess you're prefer the "pull and opinion out of your ass and pretend it's fact" method that you employ

[Straw Man]

Its funny, he says don't make assumptions about Bergdahl while simultaneously providing an explanation for his behavior that supports his position.   Its all partisan bullshit.   

great reading comprehension

I merely questioned his ridiculous statement and said multiple times that I (just like you and everyone else) have no idea at this point what occurred

I have no idea but why would you assume he's somehow setting up covert meeting with the "enemy" or providing them intelligence especially when there is zero evidence of that

Much more plausible to assume that he just wanted to get the hell away on his own (granted this is fucking stupid to borderline retarded given that he is in a war zone) and he made comments and request to this as has been reported in the media

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/bowe-bergdahl-released/bowe-bergdahl-freed-soldier-hero-or-deserter-n121756


I, like you and almost everyone else actually have no idea what happened at this point in time.  

[Soul Crusher]

weird reaction to me posting an excerpt from an article and a link

I guess you're prefer the "pull and opinion out of your ass and pretend it's fact" method that you employ

Anything to defend your lord and messiah right?    The fact is yhat these islamic filth who are responsible for thousabds of deaths are now free to kill again all so that fagbama can get the va scandal off the news

[Soul Crusher]

great reading comprehension

I merely questioned his ridiculous statement and said multiple times that I (just like you and everyone else) have no idea at this point what occurred

Susan Rice knows more than those who served w him right?    Lmfao.   You are a payhetic troll and lackey

[Straw Man]

Did we have an abundance of facts?  What were the facts and how do they prove anything? You don't think the Zimmerman case wasn't an example of the news media creating a story to push an agenda?  What relevance does the Zimmerman case have?  Incidence of that kind are few and far between.    How about NBC news editing the 911 call? Was that an example of pushing an agenda?   The Bergdahl situations is much more relevant to the Zimmerman case by far but you didn't seem to mind all the media attention given to Zimmerman but do now with Bergdahl.  You need to just admit all of this is political for you.

yep, that was bullshit and I commented on it at the time and that person was fired

My statement about Zimmerman is self explanatory.  We have virtually all the facts on Zimmerman shooting except how the fight started.  

[Straw Man]

Anything to defend your lord and messiah right?    The fact is yhat these islamic filth who are responsible for thousabds of deaths are now free to kill again all so that fagbama can get the va scandal off the news

Hey closet queen

go find a post where I said Obama is my messiah or STFU with that crap

the only one on this board who worships Obama is you

[Archer77]

great reading comprehension

I merely questioned his ridiculous statement and said multiple times that I (just like you and everyone else) have no idea at this point what occurred

I can't even take you seriously anymore.   You're as bad a shill as the republican water carriers on this board.

[Straw Man]

Susan Rice knows more than those who served w him right?    Lmfao.   You are a payhetic troll and lackey

really

the biggest troll and closet case on this board is accusing me of trolling

I guess in your mind trolling is countering arguments with quotes and links

[Straw Man]

I can't even take you seriously anymore.   You're as bad a shill as the republican water carriers on this board.

I've tried to take seriously but I see it's futile

[Soul Crusher]

Administration official apologizes for tweets suggesting Bergdahl platoon 'psychopaths'
Fox News ^ | Jun 6, 2014
Posted on June 6, 2014 at 1:33:38 PM EDT by KeyLargo

White House Administration official apologizes for tweets suggesting Bergdahl platoon 'psychopaths' Published June 05, 2014 FoxNews.com

WASHINGTON – An Obama administration official apologized Thursday after suggesting on Twitter that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s platoon might have been filled with “psychopaths” – in an apparent attempt to defend Bergdahl against criticism from his fellow soldiers.

Brandon Friedman, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sent out a series of tweets Wednesday night questioning those soldiers trying to “smear” Bergdahl for abandoning his post in 2009.

The first said: “Here's the thing about Bergdahl and the Jump-to-Conclusions mats: What if his platoon was long on psychopaths and short on leadership?

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...

[Archer77]

yep, that was bullshit and I commented on it at the time and that person was fired

My statement about Zimmerman is self explanatory.  We have virtually all the facts on Zimmerman shooting except how the fight started.  

Translation: you are talking out of your ass as usual and can't back up your argument about the abundance of facts.  

[Archer77]

I've tried to take seriously but I see it's futile

At least 333 and Coach can be humorous with their partisanship.  Youre just a boring run of the mill partisan ideologue.

[Soul Crusher]

Susan Rice defends Bergdahl comments, calls his service 'honorable' (Doubling down)
CNN ^ | June 6, 2014 | Jim Acosta, Senior White House Correspondent
Posted on June 6, 2014 at 12:57:49 PM EDT by 2ndDivisionVet

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)

Colleville-sur-Mer, FRANCE (CNN) -- President Barack Obama's national security adviser said Friday that her full-throated praise of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was appropriate given the former Taliban prisoner's willingness to go to war for his country -- despite questions about whether or not he deserted his Army colleagues.

Susan Rice, who on Sunday said Bergdahl served the United States with "honor and distinction," told CNN in an interview that she was speaking about the fact the Idaho native enlisted and went to Afghanistan in the service of his country.

"I realize there has been lots of discussion and controversy around this," Rice said. "But what I was referring to was the fact that this was a young man who volunteered to serve his country in uniform at a time of war. That, in and of itself, is a very honorable thing."(continued)

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...

[Straw Man]

Translation: you are talking out of your ass as usual and can't back up your argument about the abundance of facts.  

are you referring to Zimmerman?

[Archer77]

are you referring to Zimmerman?

Well, isn't that the context you used the term abundance of facts.   You don't have much self awareness do you?   

[Soul Crusher]

At least 333 and Coach can be humorous with their partisanship.  Youre just a boring run of the mill partisan ideologue.

I make no apologies for my sheer hatred and disgust of all things obama and the far left.   None at all f em.   I would pay anything to kenya for them to take back its native son.

[Straw Man]

At least 333 and Coach can be humorous with their partisanship.  Youre just a boring run of the mill partisan ideologue.

nothing I've posted on this board can be defined as partisan

the basic premise of all my posts is that at this point we have very few facts about what happened with Bergdahl.

If you choose to view that as a partisan position then so be it

[Archer77]

nothing I've posted on this board can be defined as partisan

the basic premise of all my posts is that at this point we have very few facts about what happened with Bergdahl.

If you choose to view that as a partisan position then so be it

You're joking right?   I was right, you aren't the least bit self aware.