Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, recently released by Taliban forces in exchange for the release of some of their leaders, informed his doctors and debriefers that he was tortured repeatedly and kept in a cage for a long period after twice attempting to escape his captors.
US officials who are familiar with Bergdahl's condition cautioned that no conclusions have been made regarding Bergdahl's treatment during his five years in captivity by the Taliban forces. A conclusive assessment of the accounts from a young man with a highly fragile psychological status may never be possible.
What is clear, however, based on the intelligence reports through all those years paired with Bergdahl's accounts, is that he was moved frequently while held captive. He was traded among different militant groups in the area.
Officials believe that for the most part of his five-year captivity, he was held by the members of the notorious Haqqani network, a Taliban-allied group of Afghans that is based in the western tribal region of Pakistan.
Pentagon's press secretary, Rear Adm. John Kirby, stated in a conference that the Defense Department will "not comment on discussions that Sgt. Bergdahl is having with the professionals who are providing him medial and reintegration care" and that it will "conduct a comprehensive review to learn the circumstances of Sgt. Bergdahl's disappearance and captivity. Our focus remains on providing him with the care he needs."
Five of the Taliban detainees held in Guantanamo bay, Cuba, by US military forces were released in exchange for Bergdahl's freedom, which was an exchange the Obama White House brokered without consulting Congress.
At present, Bergdahl still remains in a US military medical center located in Germany and will eventually be transferred to a medical center in San Antonio where he will be reuniting with this family who awaits his return.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
