Bowe Bergdahl Refuses To Speak To Parents [Report]
The recently released hostage, Bowe Bergdahl is reportedly refusing to speak to the parents who worked so hard to obtain his release and appeared alongside President Obama shortly after the announcement that the Taliban had released him was made in the Rose Garden.
Bergdahl’s release has been surrounded by a storm of controversy stemming from the deal the Obama administration reached with his captors, in which five dangerous Taliban terrorists imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay facility were set free.
This drew outrage on both sides of the political isle, with prominent democrats such as Diane Feinstein protesting the fact that the President did not consult Congress prior to arranging the deal to secure Bergdahl’s freedom.
Outside of the political criticisms that Bergdahl’s release has generated, his parents have been the focus of much scrutiny.
On his nightly program, The O’Reilly Factor, outspoken Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said that Bowe Bergdahl’s father “looks like a Muslim” at the Rose Garden. O’Reilly took issue with reports that Bergdahl’s father encouraged him to follow his conscience when he expressed a desire to leave the military.
Bergdahl’s father has stated that he grew his hair to indicate how long his son has been gone, and he also learned Pashtu to appear sympathetic to the Taliban’s cause in order to help with his son’s release.
Now there are reports that Bergdhal — who is being treated at the Germany military hospital while he is in transit to the US — has been offered the option of speaking with his parents, but refused.
The report comes from The Wall Street Journal and adds that, according to an unnamed US official, doctors are moving slowly with Bergdahl’s reintegration process because of the controversy surrounding his capture — five-years-ago — his captivity at the hands of the terrorist network Haqqani, and his release.
Members of the military, who served in the same unit that Bowe Bergdahl did — the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division — have accused him of being a deserter and are asking for a court martial in the case.
Some of the controversy surrounding the Bergdahl release was accentuated by comments made by White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, who said Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction” on Sunday morning political programs the following day and some White House staffers are accusing Bergdahl’s unit members of “swiftboating” the former prisoner.
Needless to say, all this has been another so-called “scandal” for the White House, which is facing a number of national and international eye sores including the VA scandal, probes on the Benghazi attack on the US embassy in 2012, and the NSA leaks, among others.
As with much of the Bowe Bergdahl case, there are questions surrounding his parents’ actions during and after his release from captivity. In 2012, a Rolling Stone article reported that Bergdahl had sent an email to his parents indicating he was “ashamed to be an American.”
Meanwhile, additional details are being revealed about the years during which Bowe Bergdahl was kept captive. Reports indicate that he attempted to escape and when recaptured was placed in a cage and shackled, a defense official confirmed to NBC.
Doctors treating Bowe Bergdahl are reportedly seeing improvement in his physical condition, but he continues to receive psychological care because of his many years as a captive. His parents in the meantime are facing the backslash of the desertion allegations and have allegedly received death threats. The hero’s welcome festivities planned in Haily, Idaho, have been cancelled.
[Image via Bing]
