In New ‘Serial’ Podcast, Bowe Bergdahl Says He Likened Himself to Jason Bourne; Congress Says Obama Broke Laws in Swap
By Dan Lamothe. After slipping away alone from his tiny base in Afghanistan under cover of darkness in 2009, Army Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl had a sinking thought: His plan to draw attention to himself by spawning a massive manhunt was going to lead to a “hurricane of wrath” from his commanders.
Bergdahl decided then to deviate from his plan to head straight from his platoon’s base, Observation Post Mest, to the larger headquarters 20 miles away, Forward Operating Base Sharana, he said on an episode of the podcast “Serial” published Thursday. It marked his first media interview since he was released in May 2014 after being held in captivity for five years by a group affiliated with the Taliban.
Bergdahl, comparing himself to a fictional action hero, said he decided to collect intelligence and look for the Taliban before turning himself in as a way of limiting the amount of trouble he faced.
“Doing what I did is me saying that I am like, I don’t know, Jason Bourne…. I had this fantastic idea that I was going to prove to the world that I was the real thing,” Bergdahl said. “You know, that I could be what it is that all those guys out there that go to the movies and watch those movies, they all want to be that, but I wanted to prove that I was that.”
The plan fell apart quickly, however. He got lost in some hills and was taken prisoner by enemy fighters on motorcycles who found him in open desert, he said. Military officials have said previously that he was captured June 30, 2009, just hours after disappearing. (Read more from “In New ‘Serial’ Podcast, Bowe Bergdahl Says He Likened Himself to Jason Bourne Before Capture” HERE)
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Congress: Obama Broke Multiple Laws in Freeing Bergdahl
By Mary Chastain. The House Armed Services Committee has concluded that President Barack Obama “misled the public” and broke several laws when he swapped five Taliban leaders for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
“Our report finds that the Administration clearly broke the law in not notifying Congress of the transfer,” declared committee chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry. “Leading up to the transfer, DOD officials misled Congress as to the status of negotiations. Pentagon officials best positioned to assess the national security risks were left out of the process, which increases the chances of dangerous consequences from the transfer.”
The committee presented several findings in its report.
The transfer of the Taliban Five violated several laws, including the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The constitutional arguments offered to justify the Department of Defense’s failure to provide the legally-required notification to the Committee 30 days in advance are incomplete and unconvincing. The violation of law also threatens constitutional separation of powers…
The Committee was misled about the extent and scope of efforts to arrange the Taliban Five transfer before it took place. The Department of Defense’s failure to communicate complete and accurate information severely harmed its relationship with the Committee, and threatens to upend a longstanding history and tradition of cooperation and comity.
(Read more from this story HERE)
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