AnnabelNew's MyC-SPAN

President Obama made a statement on the release of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was released by the Taliban in Afghanistan that day after nearly five years in captivity. President Obama praised those involved and thanked the diplomats involved and the emir of Qatar. He also commented on the commitment to bring prisoners of war home and to ending the war in Afghanistan and closing Guantanamo Bay. Sergeant Bergdahl’s parents gave thanks for their son’s release. Mr. Bergdahl gave a message in both English and Pashto as he said that his son was having trouble with English.

U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was deployed to Afghanistan in May 2009 and captured by the Taliban on June 30, 2009, in Paktika Province. He was released in exchange for five detainees from Guantanamo Bay who were released to Qatar.

Freelance video journalist David Axe was embedded with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan in March and April. He spent time with the 101st Airborne Division in eastern Paktika Province, along the border with Pakistan, an infiltration route for insurgents.

A video showed U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl being released by the Taliban and boarding a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter in the eastern Khost Province of Afghanistan. The edited video was released June 4, 2014, by the Taliban. Narration in a native language.