Saturday, December 26, 2009

Taliban Releases Video of POW Pfc Bergdahl on Christmas Day

On Christmas day, the Taliban released a video of American prisoner of war, Pfc. Bowe Robert Bergdahl. I had posted on him twice previously to remind us all that this young man is being held captive and needs our prayers.

This short clip is from the video. I watched a longer portion of the video and it is a giant propaganda film. It shows the American soldiers mistreating their terrorist prisoners (of course, they don't call them terrorists) and claiming that the Afghanistan army treats their prisoners with dignity and respect. It also shows Pfc. Bergdahl denouncing America and urging our military not to fight against Afghanistan and that the people of Afghanistan are great fighters. There is much more said by this young man, but without a doubt, he is being forced to say these things under pressure by the Taliban. It also contains footage of American soldiers who are now out of the service and urging the President to pull out of Afghanistan. I am not going to post the entire film because it is absolutely disgusting.

Remember Pfc Bergdahl and his family in your prayers. We owe a debt of gratitude to all of our troops fighting this war on terror. Each of them puts their lives at stake for us. We must continue to remember this young man and pray that, by some miracle, he is eventually released or rescued.



Via: FoxNews.com
Family of Kidnapped U.S. Soldier Urges Taliban to Send Son Home
AP
In a Christmas Day move, the Taliban on Friday released a video of an American soldier captured in Afghanistan, showing him apparently healthy but spouting criticism about the U.S. military operation. In Idaho, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's family pleaded for his release and urged him to "stay strong."


Bergdahl disappeared June 30 while based in eastern Afghanistan and is the only known American serviceman in captivity. The Taliban claimed his capture in a video released in mid-July that showed the young Idaho soldier appearing downcast and frightened. He hadn't been heard from until Friday's video, in which he looks well and speaks clearly.


The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed hours later that the man in the video was Bergdahl, but denounced both its timing and content.


"This is a horrible act which exploits a young soldier, who was clearly compelled to read a prepared statement," said a statement from U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, ISAF's spokesman. "To release this video on Christmas Day is an affront to the deeply concerned family and friends of Bowe Bergdahl, demonstrating contempt for religious traditions and the teachings of Islam."


Lt. Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard issued a statement Friday from the family of Bergdahl, who live outside Hailey, Idaho. In their statement, the family urged the captors "to let our only son come home."


And to their son, the family said, "We love you and we believe in you. Stay strong."

My previous posts on Pfc Bergdahl are here and
here.

2 comments:

  1. I'm in two minds about videos like these. Of course this soldier needs to be remembered but each time this is viewed it is one small victory for the Taliban (which is why they posted it).
    For this reason I have never once viewed a beaheading video because notching up large viewing totals will only encourage more.

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  2. banned:
    I suppose you are right to say that the Taliban may be encouraged to make more videos because people are watching what they've already put out. This little snippet I posted is just an introduction of who this soldier is, but the rest of the video is total propaganda, not fit for viewing because it contains nothing but lies. I can't begin to imagine what Pfc. Bergdahl's parents are feeling at this moment. I do think we must remember him and keep him in our prayers.

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