KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban spokesman isn’t commenting on whether the group had threatened to kill U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (boh BURG’-dahl).
According to congressional officials, the Obama administration has told senators that the reason lawmakers weren’t told in advance about the deal to free Bergdahl last weekend was that there was information that the Taliban might kill him if the deal was made public.
Bergdahl is currently recovering at a military hospital in Germany.
A spokesman for the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan also says Bergdahl was treated well during his five years in captivity. The spokesman says he was even allowed to play soccer with the men who were holding him.
The question of his well-being is part of a fierce debate in Washington over whether the U.S. should have negotiated for his release in exchange for five Taliban detainees who had been held at Guantanamo Bay.
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188-a-06-(Susan Rice, national security adviser, in interview)-“with U.S. law”-National Security Adviser Susan Rice says the Obama administration was within its authority when negotiating for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl’s release. (6 Jun 2014)
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191-a-13-(Susan Rice, national security adviser, in interview)-“rushing to judgment”-National Security Adviser Susan Rice says right now, the top priority in the Bergdahl situation is his health and recovery. (6 Jun 2014)
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APPHOTO WX103: In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl sits in a vehicle guarded by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban have released a video showing the handover of Bergdahl to U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan. The video, emailed to media on Wednesday, shows Bergdahl in traditional Afghan clothing sitting in a pickup truck parked on a hillside. More than a dozen Taliban fighters with machine guns stand around the truck and on the hillside. That feel-good moment in the Rose Garden sure seems like a long time ago. Just a week after the president announced that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl had been freed in Afghanistan, details emerging about the soldier, the deal and how the rescue came together are only adding to the list of questions. A look at what’s known — and unknown — about saving Sgt. Bergdahl. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video) (4 Jun 2014)
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APPHOTO CAI102: FILE – In this file image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, stands with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban said Friday, June 6, 2014, that Bergdahl was treated well during the five years they held him captive and was even allowed to play soccer with the men holding him. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video, File) (6 Jun 2014)
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