[Vision2020] Idaho Soldier on Taliban Video

[Tom Hansen]

How about it, legislators . . .

You say that you want to help your constituents.

How about helping this one?

No crowds of "Tea Partiers".

No lawsuits to be filed against the feds over health care reform.

No media spotlights.

Just a soldier from Idaho in a seriously tough situation.

Courtesy of today's (April 8, 2010) Spokesman-Review.

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Idaho soldier on Taliban video
Group demands release of prisoners for Bergdahl
Lolita C. Baldor And Pauline Jelinek

WASHINGTON – The Taliban released a video Wednesday of a man identified as
an American soldier captured in Afghanistan last June, showing him
pleading for his freedom and to be returned home.

In the video, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl says he wants to return to his family in
Idaho and that the war in Afghanistan is not worth the number of lives
that have been lost or wasted in prison. It is the first time he has been
seen since the Taliban released a video of him on Christmas.

The seven-minute video of Bergdahl shows him sporting a beard and doing a
few push-ups to demonstrate he’s in good physical condition. There was no
way to verify when the footage was taken or if he is still alive.

Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, an Army spokesman, said he could not
immediately confirm the authenticity of the video.

“Our thoughts, prayers, and support remain with the Bergdahl family during
this difficult time,” Garver said.

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 soldier
appearing downcast and frightened.

In the sometimes choppy video issued Wednesday, Bergdahl talks about his
love for his family, his friends, motorcycles and sailing.

“I’m a prisoner. I want to go home,” he says in the video, which was made
available by Washington-based Site Intelligence Group, which monitors
militant Web sites. “This war isn’t worth the waste of human life that has
cost both Afghanistan and the U.S. It’s not worth the amount of lives that
have been wasted in prisons, Guantanamo Bay, Bagram, all those places
where we are keeping prisoners.”

At times speaking haltingly, as if holding back emotions, Bergdahl – clad
in what appeared to be an Army shirt and fatigues – clasped his hands
together and pleaded: “The pain in my heart to see my family again doesn’t
get any smaller. Release me. Please, I’m begging you, bring me home.”

He added that he is strong and is “given the freedom to exercise” and to
be a human being, even though he is a prisoner.

Lt. Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard said Wednesday that
Bergdahl’s family was not aware of the new video. But he said the
community of Hailey has reminders all over town of Bergdahl’s capture,
including signs wishing for his safe return and yellow ribbons.

U.S. officials have said that there were indications as recently as late
January that Bergdahl was still alive.

At the end of the video, a speaker, reportedly Afghan Taliban spokesman
Zabihullah Mujahid, demands the release of a limited number of prisoners
in exchange for the American.

Bergdahl, who was serving with a unit based in Fort Richardson, Alaska,
was 23 when he vanished just five months after arriving in Afghanistan. He
was serving at a base in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan in
an area known to be a Taliban stronghold.

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This image made from video released Wednesday by the Taliban shows U.S.
soldier Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl. In the video, Bergdahl says he wants to return
to his family in Idaho.

http://tinyurl.com/Bowe-Bergdahl

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How about if?

Or would it be simpler to just sit on our hands and watch Bowe Bergdahl die?

Contact me off-list and let's make some noise, ok?

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown