by Matt Farwell
died searching for him: O’Reilly Factor, September 14, 2015.
gone and not coming back: Justice with Judge Jeanine, October 11, 2015.
he lobbied Obama: Doug Mataconis, “John McCain Was for Trading Taliban Prisoners For Sgt. Bergdahl Before He Was Against It,” Outside the Beltway, June 3, 2014, http://outsidethebeltway.com/john-mccain-was-for-trading-taliban-prisoners-for-sgt-bergdahl-before-he-was-against-it.
“going to have to have a hearing”: Laurel J. Sweet, “McCain Wants Answers If Bergdahl Avoids Prison,” Boston Herald, October 13, 2015; archived at RealClearDefense, http://realcleardefense.com/2015/10/13/mccain_wants_answers_if_bergdahl_avoids_prison_274999.html.
Hill staffer shared it: Author emails.
Abrams and his legal team: Interview with former JAG Corps officer, November 2017.
Abrams knew the case: Michelle Tan, “Bergdahl’s Lawyers: General Torched Key Evidence,” Army Times, August 12, 2016, www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2016/08/12/bergdahl-s-lawyers-general-torched-key-evidence.
scion of an Army dynasty: Gen. Creighton Abrams, his father, was famous enough that in 1980 the Army named the M1 Abrams tank after him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE NOISE
the series of events: Interview with source with direct knowledge, July 2018.
The Washington Times: Douglas Ernst, “Bowe Bergdahl Busted in California Marijuana Raid,” Washington Times, July 24, 2015, https://washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jul/24/bowe-bergdahl-busted-marijuana-raid.
one sheriff’s deputy: “Mendocino County Today,” Anderson Valley Advertiser, July 23, 2015, http://theava.com/archives/45742#0.
drive him south to Santa Rosa: “Alicia Silverstone’s Brother Arrested for Drug Possession During Raid,” Inside Edition, July 27, 2015, https://insideedition.com/headlines/11185-alicia-silverstones-brother-arrested-for-drug-possession-during-raid.
(future 2018 congressional candidate): In his 2018 congressional campaign, Waltz further claimed that he “led the search for Bowe [Bergdahl],” https://michaelwaltz.com/about.
“I’m glad the Army”: “Bowe Bergdahl found during California pot raid, released by officials,” Fox and Friends, July 24, 2015, http://foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/24/bowe-bergdahl-found-during-california-pot-raid-released-by-officials.html. When it was revealed that several illicit plants had been recovered from the property, which was owned not by Dellacorva, but by David Silverstone, older brother of Hollywood actress Alicia Silverstone, the Bergdahl scandal bled for several days into the pages of Hollywood gossip tabloids; Glenda Anderson, “Brother of Alicia Silverstone arrested in Mendocino County pot raid,” Press Democrat, July 28, 2015, https://pressdemocrat.com/news/4267002-181/brother-of-alicia-silverstone-arrested.
bullet caught Hatch: Anderson Cooper 360, “Former Navy SEAL Describes Mission to Save Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl,” Anderson Cooper 360 video, 6:16, September 12, 2015, https://cnn.com/videos/us/2015/09/11/navy-seal-speaks-bergdahl-mission-part-1-ac.cnn.
Remco was dead: Remco was posthumously awarded a Silver Star. The citation noted the gallantry the trained dog had displayed by drawing enemy fire.
Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia: Mike Hixenbaugh, “Hoping to Repay a Debt, Retired SEAL Makes It His Mission to Help Working Dogs,” Virginian-Pilot, August 9, 2015, https://pilotonline.com/news/military/article_c8135677–6409–574a-a8bf-7113c2421853.html [inactive].
“It was a failure”: “Man Sent to Save Bergdahl: He Needs to Know How Much Was Risked,” CNN, September 12, 2015, https://cnn.com/videos/us/2015/09/11/navy-seal-speaks-bergdahl-mission-part-2-ac.cnn.
Bergdahl was never recognized in public: Author interview with source with direct knowledge, July 2018.
Major General Mark Graham: In rapid succession, General Graham had lost two sons, one an ROTC cadet with untreated depression who committed suicide, and the other a lieutenant killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Pentagon’s legal team: Rowan Scarborough, “Army Goes All-in on Bowe Bergdahl’s Defense, Assigns Four Military Lawyers,” Washington Times, May 17, 2016, http://washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/17/army-goes-all-bowe-bergdahls-defense-assigns-four-.
As the trial neared: Interview with JAG Corps officer, July 2018.
assign fifty JAGs: Defense Motion to Dismiss (Unreasonable Multiplication of Charges for Findings), August 25, 2017, https://bergdahldocket.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/defense-motion-to-dismiss-unreasonable-multiplication-of-charg.pdf.
three hundred thousand pages: Reporter’s notes, Article 32 hearing, September 2015.
Trump called in to Fox News: Evan McMurry, “Donald Trump Now a Fox News Bowe Bergdahl Expert,” Mediaite, July 15, 2014, http://mediaite.com/tv/donald-trump-now-a-fox-news-bowe-bergdahl-expert.
rant of patriotic grievances: Time Staff, “Here’s Donald Trump’s Presidential Announcement Speech,” Time, June 16, 2015, https://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech.
convicted murderer Adnan Syed: Syed’s 2000 conviction was overturned in 2016 by a Maryland Circuit Court of Appeals. In late 2018, Maryland’s Court of Appeals was scheduled to hear the government’s case to reinstate Syed’s conviction (see https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/adnan-syed-case-stalled-for-at-least-another-year-699265 and https://mdcourts.gov/coappeals/petitions/201807petitions).
New York Times reporter: Richard A. Oppel Jr. and John Koblin, “Bowe Bergdahl Case at Center of ‘Serial’ Season 2,” New York Times, December 10, 2015, http://nytimes.com/2015/12/11/business/media/serial-season-2-bowe-bergdahl-recalls-his-afghan-odyssey.html?_r=2.
“these documents could literally”: Defense Motion, February 4, 2016.
Koenig asked for patience: Swanson, “Inside the Making of Serial.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: GUILTY
“not a war hero”: “Trump on McCain: ‘He Is a War Hero Because He Was Captured . . . I Like People Who Weren’t Captured,’” RealClearPolitics video, 3:22, July 19, 2015, https://realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/07/19/trump_on_mccain_he_is_a_war_hero_because_he_was_captured_i_like_people_who_werent_captured.html.
an early sound check: Darren L. Linvill and Patrick L. Warren, “Troll Factories: The Internet Research Agency and State-Sponsored Agenda Building,” Clemson University Researchers, Working Paper, June 2018.
“scared, nerves and trembling”: William Bradford Huie, The Execution of Private Slovik (New York: Delacorte Press, 1970), p. 131.
after Trump was elected: Interviews with Gerald Sutton.
Their only intel: Sworn Statement from Staff Sergeant Walters in the AR 15–6 Investigation.
Nance delivered his final ruling: Nance Ruling, June 30, 2017.
an unlikely résumé: Interview with retired JAG Corps officer, November 2017.
Nance had now presided: Jack Healy, “Soldier Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Killing 16 Afghans,” New York Times, August 23, 2013, https://nytimes.com/2013/08/24/us/soldier-gets-life-without-parole-in-deaths-of-afghan-civilians.html.
Those who performed well: Interview with a retired JAG Corps officer.
On September 27: Courtroom notes, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, September 2017.
As pretrial motions dragged: Interviews with PAO units at Fort Bragg, September 2017.
Bergdahl’s twenty-five hearings: Interview with Army officer, July 2017.
After nineteen hours of evaluation: Department of the Army memorandum, “RCM 706 Sanity Board Evaluation (Conclusions Only) ICO Bowe Bergdahl, SGT,” https://bergdahldocket.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/rcm2070620board20conclusions.pdf.
“has no awareness of his environment”: Testimony of Allen’s doctor, Dr. Rafael Mascarinas.
A JPRA report confirmed: JPRA Report, paragraph 9.
“never my intention”: Courtroom notes, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, October 30, 2017.
“monopoly on suffering”: Courtroom notes, Fort Bragg, North Carol
ina, November 1, 2017.
son had persuaded him: Interview with Army JAG officer, November 2017.
Hatch told the Associated Press: Jonathan Drew, “AP Interview: SEAL Wants Bergdahl Dishonorably Discharged,” Associated Press/Fayetteville Observer, October 27, 2017, www.fayobserver.com/news/20171027/ap-interview-seal-wants-bergdahl-dishonorably-discharged.
specialist in Logar: Jared Richardson, “Army Specialist gets 15 Months for Killing Fellow Soldier,” Q13 Fox, May 1, 2013, https://q13fox.com/2013/05/01/soldier-who-killed-tacoma-private-with-rocket-launcher-gets-15-month-sentence/.
EPILOGUE
Dreyfus’s legal case: Adam Gopnik, “Trial of the Century: Revisiting the Dreyfus Affair,” New Yorker, September 28, 2009, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/28/trial-of-the-century.
after Judge Nance: Daniella Diaz, “Trump Slams Bergdahl Decision: ‘Complete and Total Disgrace,’” CNN Politics, November 3, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/03/politics/donald-trump-bowe-bergdahl-twitter/index.html.
hit its mark: AFP Network Writers, “American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto Killed after US Operation Against al Qaeda on Pakistan, Afghanistan Border,” AFP, April 24, 2015, https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/american-warren-weinstein-and-italian-giovanni-lo-porto-killed-after-us-operation-against-al-qaeda-on-pakistan-afghanistan-border/news-story/fd4bb584defcee8cdf9ee572d39fac2a.
abruptly escorted out: Michael Ames, “Fragging, D.C.-Style,” Newsweek, September 11, 2015.
fourteen-year-old ROTC cadet: Jason Amerine speech, Purdue University, October 2016.
Legion of Merit: Jeff Stein, “Controversial Green Beret Retires Quietly with High Award,” Newsweek, October 31, 2015, https://www.newsweek.com/controversial-green-beret-retires-quietly-high-award-389282.
Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, “FACT SHEET: U.S. Government Hostage Policy,” June 24, 2015, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/24/fact-sheet-us-government-hostage-policy.
This progress carried: Christopher P. Costa, Jen Easterly, and Joshua A. Geltzer, “Trump and Obama Have Something in Common When It Comes to U.S. Hostages Held Overseas,” Washington Post, June 22, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/06/22/trump-and-obama-have-something-in-common-when-it-comes-to-u-s-hostages-held-overseas/?utm_term=.9ee98a733aaf.
On October 13, 2017: Shaiq Hussain and Greg Jaffe, “American Woman, Canadian Husband and Children Freed in Pakistan after 5-Year Hostage Ordeal,” Washington Post, October 13, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/amerian-woman-canadian-husband-and-children-freed-in-pakistan-after-5-year-hostage-ordeal/2017/10/12/5f69e964-af4b-11e7-a908-a3470754bbb9_story.html?utm_term=.2d155100467c.
“return of Americans detained abroad”: David Rohde, “Why Did Donald Trump Welcome American Prisoners Home on Live TV?” The New Yorker, May 18, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-did-donald-trump-welcome-american-prisoners-home-on-live-tv.
totaled twelve hundred pages: Terrence Russell testimony, Fort Bragg Courthouse, October 31, 2017.
as twenty-one congressmen cosponsored: H.R. 4413, “No Back Pay for Bergdahl Act,” November 15, 2017, https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4413.
The multimillion-dollar: United States Air Force Fact Sheet, SERE Specialist Volunteer 66 TRS SRLO, 6 April 2017.
mayor told local businesses: Interview with Hailey resident, December 2016.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
INDEX
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.
ABC News, 124
Abrams, Robert, 299, 334
Afghanistan
“Little America” project in Lashkar Gah, 12
Operation Cyclone, 12
refugee crisis resulting from Soviet occupation, 13
Soviet invasion and occupation of, 10–14
U.S. arming of mujahideen in, 11, 12
See also Afghan War
Afghan War
Amerine’s efforts to negotiate for Bergdahl, 231–35, 240–43, 244
blowback in, 29
Bush’s nonnegotiable demands of Taliban, 22–23
civilian deaths following Obama’s surge, 195
Clinton negotiation guidelines in Germany-mediated peace talks, 213
counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy in, 30–31, 55, 66, 111, 114, 165
Dutch withdrawal from, 195
FBI-JSOC plan for Bergdahl’s release, 244
Gardez incident, 195
Germany-mediated U.S.-Taliban peace talks, 211, 212–15, 218–19, 221–22
ground invasion, 23–24
Guantanamo Five/Bergdahl prisoner exchange, 2, 222–26, 249–54
Haqqani’s role in, 27–29
Holbrooke and Rubin’s diplomatic efforts, 207–15
Jawbreaker operations in, 23
Karzai brought in by CIA and named interim president, 23–24, 25
NATO invokes Article 5 and approves campaign against Taliban, 22
NATO role in, 2006, 30
Norwegian attempt to broker peace, 206–7
post-Iraq invasion, 26–27
Taliban’s conditional surrender offer rejected, 25
transfers of surrendered Taliban to U.S., 26
troop surge in, 2006, 57
2010 NATO summit, four-year schedule for ending war agreed to at, 216
U.S. alliances with tribal warlords, 23
U.S.-Pakistan relationship and, 142–44, 193–94
See also DUSTWUN; intelligence/intelligence operations
AfPax Insider, 101, 121, 122, 123
Agha, Tayeb, 210–11, 213, 214, 218–19, 222
Ailes letter, 134
Albrecht, Michael, 39, 49
Allen, Mark, 317, 324–25
Allen, Shannon, 317, 324–25
Allman, Tom, 301
al-Qaeda, 22, 25, 28
al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), 90–91
“America’s Last Prisoner of War” (Hastings), 226
Amerine, Jason
Army’s criminal investigation and subsequent clearing of, 335–36
FBI refusal to share case files with, 242, 243
Noorzai hostage trade proposal of, 240–43, 244
Obama Administration adoption of hostage recovery reforms of, 336
tasked with getting Bergdahl home, 231–35
Amodei, Mark, 262
Amoore, Miles, 204–5
Andrews, Andy, 266
Andrews, Darryn, 266, 331
Aquinas, Thomas, 18, 20
Army Regulation 15-6. See criminal investigation of Bergdahl (Army Regulation 15-6)
Ashley, Robert, 236, 237
Atlas Shrugged (Rand), 73
Atmar, Hanif, 200
Augustine, St., 18
Ayotte, Kelly, 257
Bagram Airfield, 56–57
Baker, Clint, 60–61, 62, 63, 65–66, 78, 85, 295
al-Balawi, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal, 162
Bales, Robert, 319
Banderas, Julie, 133–34
Banks, Nina, 328
Barbary pirates, 183
Beck, Glenn, 280–81
Beetle Bailey, 18
Beirut embassy attack, 1983, 165
Benson, Charles, 318
Bergdahl, Bob, 35, 216–18, 224–30, 235–40, 245–46, 328–29, 337
builds network of military and government connections, 131–33
CENTCOM trips of, 196–97, 224
cycling career of, 9–10
digital activism of, 238–39
family background of, 9
as FBI intelligence source, 243–44
informed Bowe missing, 129–31
interviewed by Hastings for Rolling Stone, 226
learns about Islam and plans to infiltrate FATA, 239–40
meetings with Grossman, Kerry and Labrador, 225–26, 227
meeting with Mullen, 196–97
National League rally address of, April 2013, 237–38
plan to trade self to Haqqanis for son, 227, 235–36
refuses to participate in Serial coverage of son’s case, 311
Rolling Thunder, attends and gives speech at, 226–30
Rose Garden announcement after release of Bowe and, 258–60
security clearance given to, 196
settles in Idaho and raises family, 14–21
Shaw and, 38–40
speaks at Idaho GOP fundraiser, 199, 200–202
support systems for and Army communications with, 190–97
YouTube statement addressing son’s captors posted by, 220–21
Bergdahl, Bowe
adjustment disorder with depression diagnosis of, 44
appears for interviews and talks at SERE, 2017, 337
Army enlistment of, 49–50
assigned to 1/501 2nd Platoon, Blackfoot Company, 52–54
attempts to join French Foreign Legion, 41–42
at basic training, 51–52
bicycling adventures of, 47
birth of, 16
Boal’s interviews with, for potential movie, 285, 287–88
captivity of, 172–79
capture of, 97–99. See also reaction to Bergdahl capture
childhood of, 16–18, 32
court-martial of. See court-martial of Bergdahl
criminal investigation of. See criminal investigation of Bergdahl (Army Regulation 15-6)
cutting and, 38, 48–49
debriefing and reintegration of. See debriefing and reintegration of Bergdahl
deploys to Afghanistan, 56–59
escape plan of, 71–73
first combat mission of, 58–59
general court-martial of. See general court-martial of Bergdahl
goes AWOL from OP Mest, 79–84
