Taliban releases tape of US soldier
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Taliban on Friday released a video in which Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, a US soldier captured by insurgents nearly six months ago, denounces the American military effort in Afghanistan as foolhardy and doomed to failure. Military officials acknowledged that the man shown in the video was Bergdahl and asserted that he spoke under duress. Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, chief spokesman for the NATO forces, called the 36-minute video a "horrible act which exploits a young soldier, who was clearly compelled to read a prepared statement."

Bergdahl's family, of Hailey, Idaho, issued a statement through Lt. Col. Tim Marsano of the Idaho National Guard. In their statement, the family urged the captors "to let our only son come home." And to their son, the family said, "We love you and we believe in you. Stay strong." Bergdahl, 23, an Idaho native and a member of an infantry unit based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, is the only US service member known to have been seized by insurgents during the Afghan conflict, now in its ninth year. He vanished June 30 from his base in eastern Afghanistan's Paktika province, bordering Pakistan, and military authorities acknowledged at the time that the Bergdahl was believed to have walked away from his post for unknown reasons.

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