Causecast

by KAREN MURPHY, Contributing Writer

Bowe Bergdahl wants to come home. That was the message in the heartfelt video of him that surfaced on July 20 showing the prisoner talking about his “very very good” family, to whom he wanted to go home.

In the video, released by the Taliban, Bergdahl talked about how he was captured, how he has been treated, and pleaded for US military involvement in Afghanistan to cease.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Greg Julian said: “We condemn the use of this video and the public humiliation of prisoners. It is against international law. We are doing everything we can to return this soldier to safety.” Despite Bergdahl’s pleas to the contrary, Col. Julian said Washington will not give in to the Taliban’s demands and pull out of Afghanistan. “Basically [the Taliban] would like us to go home,” he said. “That is just simply not going to happen.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton calls Bergdahl’s kidnapping “outrageous” and a “sign of desperation” on the part of the Taliban. She also said that the U.S. military is “attempting to do everything we can to locate [Bergdahl] and free him.”

He went missing near his base in eastern Afghanistan on June 30, and is the first American soldier to be captured by the Taliban since the US-led invasion in 2001. In his video he says, “I was captured outside of base camp. I was behind a patrol, lagging behind the patrol and I was captured.”

So let’s get Bergdahl home.

But hold on — there’s another side to the story, being presented in the inflammatory words of Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, a paid Fox News analyst, who called Bergdahl a liar and maybe a deserter. Peters claims that Bergdahl walked willingly away from his base camp and suggested it would be better for everyone if the Taliban killed him. Peters, who CNN is calling a wingnut, is stirring up controversy that not only could jeopardize Bergdahl’s life but also could bring peril to any actions taken by the U.S. military on Bergdahl’s behalf. Can our soldiers now fear abandonment should they be taken prisoner?

I’m appalled that Bergdahl’s situation could be construed as anything other than what it appears: a scared young man whose life is in the hands of others, making a video that appears to be prompted by unseen people from off camera (and therefore making statements under duress) in a situation that he can’t control. Yes, the Taliban are exploiting him for their own purposes, but isn’t that to be expected in any hostage situation?

Maybe I’m speaking from a happy bubble world, but I think there’s a real opportunity for change here. Couldn’t this situation be used to move into a different way of interacting, a little less Us vs. Them slash-and-burn and a little more in the way of attempting to understand another people we don’t know much about? It’s to the U.S. military’s credit that they appear to have neither bombed half of Pakistan and Afghanistan in retaliation nor thrown up their hands in defeat. Maybe Bowe Bergdahl will come home to his very very good family after all. Regardless of how he ended up captive, we should get him back first and then find out how he got there in the first place. I’m guessing that Peters is just blowing smoke and stirring up trouble for a young man who just wants to come home to his family.

What can you do?

Obviously, direct military support is out of your hands, but there are a few things you can do.

Follow the Bring Bowe Bergdahl Home Facebook page.

Write your elected officials and let them know how you feel.