Taliban Hostage's Hometown Stayed Quiet on Kidnapping

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 20, 2009 12:43 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Taliban's capture of an American soldier in Afghanistan is old news for some residents of his hometown, but they kept quiet out of concern for his safety, the AP reports. The family of Bowe R. Bergdahl asked neighbors and other community members in Hailey, Idaho, not to discuss his situation publicly—a request they honored for weeks. The Pentagon released his name over the weekend after a Taliban video surfaced online.

"If the military wasn't releasing his name, we didn't feel we should be releasing it either,” Bergdahl’s former employer says. Bergdahl was home-schooled in Hailey, where he liked to ride his bike, attended a local ballet school, and worked at a café. That café now has a sign in its window reading "Get Bowe Back.” Meanwhile, his parents, described as very private, have a sign turning visitors away.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

On the counter at a local cafe where Bowe Bergdahl pulled espressos is a small sign asking patrons to keep the 23-year-old Taliban captive in their thoughts. (AP Photo/John Miller)

This video frame grab taken from a Taliban propaganda video released Saturday, July 18, 2009 shows Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, 23. (AP Photo/Militant Video)

The childhood home of Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, taken prisoner nearly three weeks ago in Afghanistan by members of a Taliban group, sits in the high sage desert just off a gravel road. (AP Photo/John Miller)

Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl worked as a barista at Zaney's River Street Coffee House in this central Idaho resort town just south of the Sawtooth Mountains. (AP Photo/David Seelig)

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Bergdahl is a United States soldier who was captured by Taliban forces in eastern Afghanistan. (Mediabaronau)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 5 comments

kokuaguy

Jul 21, 2009 4:42 AM CDT

And if he is some kind of a turn coat, when this long national nightmare is finally over, the Commander in Chief can pardon him, along with all the Bush Adminstration war criminals.

kokuaguy

Jul 21, 2009 4:39 AM CDT

C_k, why are you so sure there's any more truth in the Army's version than there was in the Jessica Lynch fabricated fables? But I am more interested in seeing a national movement to free the reporters in N. Korea than in invading Pakistan on behalf of young Bowe. He should do exactly as McCain did and wait for the negotiated settlement that will no doubt come within the next year or so when prisoners can be exchanged. There, see how rational I can sound when I'm not drinking Starbucks spiked with Courvoisier?

Snarfeh

Jul 20, 2009 9:34 AM CDT

@2-bits...that's because it is a member of the American Taliban Republican Party....

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Associated Press (Source Grid »)

Afghanistan • Taliban • kidnapping • US military • Idaho • US Army • Hailey, Idaho • Afghanistan war • hostage • Bowe Bergdahl

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