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 But a U.S. military prosecutor said at the end of a two-day
pre-trial hearing that Bergdahl intended to desert his post, his
actions fundamentally altered American operations in Afghanistan and
that he should be held accountable for his actions.
The testimony came at the Army's Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio in
a hearing to decide if Bergdahl, 29, should be court-martialed on
charges brought against him in March of desertion and misbehavior
before the enemy. Bergdahl faces a sentence of up to life in prison
if convicted.
Bergdahl, dressed in his Army service uniform with his hair in a
crew cut, elected not to testify.
Testifying for the defense, Terrence Russell, an expert with the
military's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, said Bergdahl suffered
torture, abuse and neglect at the hands of Taliban forces, including
months of beatings.
After the beatings, Bergdahl was held for 3-1/2 years in a metal
cage barely big enough to stand in, living in isolation and often
blindfolded, Russell testified. Any more beatings would have killed
him, Russell said.
 "His experience ranks at the same echelon of the most horrible
conditions of the last 60 years," said Russell, who debriefed
Bergdahl after the soldier was freed by the Taliban in 2014 in
exchange for the U.S. release of five Taliban prisoners held at the
American naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Russell has debriefed about 125 U.S. POWs, isolated people and
detainees.
Bergdahl never gave up trying to escape despite living in deplorable
conditions in which he was first beaten and then left to waste away,
Russell said.
Russell dismissed as outrageous claims that Bergdahl was a Taliban
sympathizer or tried to dishonor the military.
"He had to fight the enemy alone for four years and 11 months," he
said at the hearing, occasionally wiping back tears.
UNREALISTICALLY IDEALISTIC
Major General Kenneth Dahl, who led the military's investigation of
Bergdahl's disappearance and capture, also said Bergdahl was not a
Taliban sympathizer. Dahl characterized Bergdahl as unrealistically
idealistic soldier who left his post to report concerns about his
unit's leadership to a general at another base.
Bergdahl was motivated to act over what he saw as problems of
leadership so severe that he felt his unit was in danger, Dahl said,
adding that Bergdahl's views of those around him at times were naive
and uninformed.
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"I do not believe that there is a jail sentence at the end of this
process," said Dahl, who led 22 people in the two-month
investigation and interviewed Bergdahl for a day and a half.
Military prosecutor Major Margaret Kurz said although Bergdahl
suffered greatly, he must be held accountable for his actions.
"There are consequences to those actions and the consequences should
be a general court-martial."
Bergdahl's defense lawyer, Eugene Fidell, said Bergdahl should be
held accountable for a one-day absence without leave and continue to
be evaluated medically.
Bergdahl disappeared on June 30, 2009, from Combat Outpost
Mest-Lalak in Afghanistan's Paktika Province.
He left at night and planned to run 19 miles (31 km) to a command
post, believing that reports of him missing would help him win an
audience with a general when he arrived, Dahl said. Instead,
Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban 10 to 12 hours after he left.
A massive search by U.S. forces for Bergdahl lasted 45 days,
covering vast and difficult terrain.
"My conclusion is that there were no soldiers killed who were
deliberately looking for Sergeant Bergdahl," Dahl said.
Prosecutors told the hearing Bergdahl snuck off in the middle of the
night as part of a plan weeks in the making.
The presiding officer at the so-called Article 32 hearing,
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Visger, will recommend the course of action
for resolving Bergdahl's case, whether it should proceed to a
court-martial or handled in some other manner. He did not release a
timetable for his decision.
(Reporting by Will Dunham)
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