Will Sgt. Bergdahl be left behind in Afghanistan?
http://hamptonroads.com/2014/03/will-sgt-bergdahl-be-left-behind-afghanistan
A video released by the Taliban contains footage of a man believed to be Bowe Bergdahl, left. Afghanistan's Taliban says it has suspended "mediation" with the United States to exchange captive U.S. soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five senior Taliban prisoners held in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, halting at least temporarily what was considered the best chance yet of securing the 27-year-old's freedom since his capture in 2009.
Will Sgt. Bergdahl be left behind in Afghanistan?
By Deb Riechmann
The Associated Press
© March 3, 2014
WASHINGTON
The case of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, held by the Taliban since 2009, has arisen again as the U.S. and other countries engage in diplomatic efforts to free him.
But if he is released, will America's only prisoner of the Afghan war be viewed as a hero or a deserter?
While tattered yellow ribbons still adorn utility poles in his native Hailey, Idaho, others are expressing conflicting thoughts about Bergdahl's plight as the war winds down, with President Barack Obama threatening to withdraw all U.S. troops by year's end unless the Afghan government signs a crucial security agreement.
They are convinced that on June 30, 2009, just a few months after he arrived in Afghanistan, Bergdahl willingly walked away from his unit, which was deployed in Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan, adjacent to the border with Pakistan. While they do want Bergdahl home, they think he should have to answer allegations that he deserted his unit.