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 Bergdahl, 28, was freed after five years as an Afghanistan war
prisoner on Saturday when the Obama administration agreed to release
five Taliban leaders from Guantanamo prison in exchange, a deal that
touched off a firestorm of criticism.
Some soldiers who served in Afghanistan have accused Bergdahl of
deserting from his remote outpost in the eastern region of the
country on June 30, 2009, but the Pentagon has said publicly that
the circumstances were unclear.
The people familiar with classified findings said investigators
learned that Bergdahl, who was broadly portrayed as dissatisfied
with the deployment in Afghanistan, had slipped away in the past,
only to return a short while later. He did this once while
undergoing military training in California, the sources said on
condition of anonymity.
Friends and neighbors in Bergdahl's hometown of Hailey, Idaho, noted
similar behavior before he joined the Army, saying the bookish,
athletic youth was known for abruptly taking long hikes to Ketchem,
about 18 miles away, with no prior notice.
President Barack Obama told a news conference in Brussels on
Thursday that he made "absolutely no apologies" for the deal to
secure Bergdahl's release. As U.S. military commander-in-chief he
was "responsible for those kids" and ensuring no one was left
behind, he said.
"This is not some abstraction. This is not some political football,"
Obama said, suggesting Republican criticism of the agreement was
partisan.
Lawmakers in Congress were angry with the administration for failing
to give them 30 days notice as required by law for any release from
Guantanamo, and voiced concern about whether the Taliban leaders
could effectively be monitored in Qatar, where they were to required
to stay for a year.
One complaint among Bergdahl's former comrades was that their
mission in Afghanistan had involved finding Taliban leaders like
those released in exchange for Bergdahl.
LIFE WAS IN DANGER
The political uproar over the deal has been fueled by the White
House itself, which has had difficulty explaining why it needed to
move so quickly to free Bergdahl and has played down assessments of
the potential threat posed by the release of the Taliban militants.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, in an interview with the BBC, said
the decision to strike a deal with the Taliban was unanimous among
the tight White House group involved in the process because of
concerns Bergdahl's life would be in danger.
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U.S. officials said on Thursday they needed to move quickly because
of concerns about Bergdahl's health as well as fears that leaks
could cause the deal to collapse or prompt a Taliban member who
disagreed with it to kill Bergdahl. "We had both specific and
general indications that Sgt Bergdahl's recovery - and potentially
his life - could be jeopardized if the detainee exchange proceedings
were disclosed or derailed," a senior U.S. administration official
said.
Classified intelligence reports said that two or three of the freed
Taliban leaders were present during a November 2001 prison riot at
Mazar e Sharif in which CIA paramilitary officer Johnny Micheal
Spann was killed, four U.S. officials said.
But in decision-making leading to the prisoner swap deal,
administration policymakers decided that alternate intelligence was
more accurate and, in fact, the leaders in question did not arrive
at the prison until after the riots, two officials said.
Bergdahl was transferred to a U.S. military hospital in Germany and
is undergoing physical and mental evaluation. The Pentagon said on
Thursday his condition was improving but he still had not spoken to
his family.
"He remains in stable condition. His health continues to improve
daily. He is conversing with medical staff and becoming more engaged
in his treatment plan. He is resting better," said Pentagon
spokesman Colonel Steve Warren.
Bergdahl is expected to be moved to a U.S. military hospital in San
Antonio, Texas, for further treatment, but Warren said there was no
set time for the move.
(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Patricia Zengerle and Mark
Hosenball in Washington and Laura Zuckerman in Hailey, Idaho;
Writing by David Alexander; Editing by David Storey and Grant
McCool)
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