Father of captured soldier seeks Pakistan's help

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The father of the only U.S. soldier held captive in the Afghan war appealed to the Pakistani military for help in freeing his son in a video posted on YouTube on Friday.

The parents of Spc. Bowe Bergdahl have declined to say much publicly since their son went missing from his base in southern Afghanistan on June 30, 2009. While it's unclear where the 25-year-old soldier is being held, a video that surfaced earlier this week shows him standing next to a senior official in the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in Paktika province in Afghanistan.

In Friday's video, Idaho resident Bob Bergdahl urges members of the Pakistani military to help secure his son's release. He directly references Pakistani Army Chief of Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the head of the country's intelligence service.

"Our family is counting on your professional integrity and your honor to secure the safe return of our son," he said. "And we thank you. Our family knows the high price that has been paid by your men in the army and the frontier corps. We give our condolences and thanks to the families of those who have fallen for Pakistan."

Idaho National Guard spokesman Col. Tim Marsano, a liaison for the U.S. Army in Idaho, confirmed that Bob Bergdahl is the man in the video.

Wearing a long beard he began growing just after his son's capture, Bob Bergdahl speaks in both English and Arabic in the video, and he talks directly to members of the Haqqanis and their military commander, Mullah Sangeen.

"Strangely to some, we must also thank those who have cared for our son, for almost two years, Mullah Sangeen, the Haqqanis, and others who have played a role in sheltering the American prisoner," he said. "We know our son is a prisoner and at the same time a guest in your home."

The video comes after Osama Bin Laden's death in a U.S. raid on Sunday in Pakistan. Bergdahl doesn't allude to any relationship between that and the timing of this video.

The U.S. considers the Haqqani group to be its greatest enemy in Afghanistan. U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, complained last month that Pakistan's military-run intelligence service maintains links to the Haqqani network. The Haqqanis are Afghan Taliban who control parts of eastern Afghanistan and have bases in Pakistan's North Waziristan frontier tribal region.

Speaking to his son, Bob Bergdahl offered reassurances that the family has done all it can — and that they want him home safe.

"We have been quiet in public, but we have not been quiet behind the scenes," Bob Bergdahl said. "Continue to be patient and kind to those around you. You are not forgotten."

In the video, Bergdahl appears to reference the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the government founded by the Taliban in 1996 that was toppled from power in 2001.

"We understand the rationale the Islamic Emirate has made through their videos," Bergdahl said. "No family in the United States understands the detainee issue like ours. Our son's safe return will only heighten public awareness of this. That said, our son is being exploited. It is past time for Bowe and the others to come home."

Bergdahl does not indicate to whom he's referring to with the phrase "the others." There are no other U.S. soldiers in captivity in Afghanistan.

Marsano said he was uncertain about the passage.

"I'm not privy to all the information Mr. Bergdahl has, nor did he ask me to expand upon his remarks," Marsano said.

A phone call to U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Florida, wasn't immediately returned.

The Bergdahls, who live in a home outside of Hailey near the tourist resort of Sun Valley, have largely shunned media attention following their son's capture. Last year, Bowe Bergdahl's mother, Jani Bergdahl, attended an elementary school ceremony after students wrote President Barack Obama urging him to help bring about the captive's release.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

USATODAY.com

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.