Clinton says U.S. will do everything to find and free captured American soldier in Afghanistan

BY Stephanie Gaskell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Updated Monday, July 20th 2009, 1:51 PM

Quraishi/AP

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States will do everything it can to find and free Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier captured in Afghanistan.

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Calling the Taliban's capture of Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl "a real sign of desperation," Secretary of State Clinton said Monday the U.S. is working non-stop to find the Idaho soldier.

"We are attempting to do everything we can to locate him and free him," Clinton said in New Dehli.

"I mean, it's just outrageous. It's a real sign of desperation and inappropriate criminal behavior on the parts of these terrorist groups, so we are going to do everything we can to get him."

Bergdahl, 23, of Hailey, Idaho, was captured near a remote U.S. outpost in southeastern Afghanistan on June 30. The details of his disappearance are unknown.
On Saturday, the Taliban released a Web video showing Bergdahl wearing local garb and being prompted to speak.

"Please, please bring us home so that we can be back where we belong and not over here wasting out time and our lives," Bergdahl said.

Bergdahl appeared to be in good condition in the video, purportedly shot July 14. Taliban commanders said the Army paratrooper was snatched from Paktika province and taken to Kandahar province, a Taliban stronghold. Those claims could not be verified.

Law-level militants reportedly captured Bergdahl and sold him to members of the Taliban's Haqqani network, a group with strong ties to al Qaeda that operates freely on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border.

A Taliban spokesman said Bergdahl is "in good shape and good health." He said the group has not decided Bergdahl's fate.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. military is "still trying to locate and bring him back." He declined to give details, saying it was "not in the individual's best interests or our interests in trying to bring him back to safety."

In Idaho, Bergdahl's family and friends prayed for his safe return.

The family, which has known about Bergdahl's capture for weeks but kept it secret to protect him, released a statement asking Americans to pray with them.
"Please continue to keep Bowe in your thoughts and prayers," the family said in a statement released by the Pentagon on Sunday.

A family friend urged Bergdahl to "stand tall, stand firm."

In an interview with local KTVB-TV, Tim Baker told his friend not to give up.

"Bowe, if you see this, know what we love you and we are praying fervently for you and prayers are going up for you from all over the world," Baker said.

Hours after the video was released, a Facebook page called "Bring Bowe Bergdahl Home" was created. Hundreds of people from across the country have written messages of support.

Bergdahl, who was home-schooled and an avid ballet dancer,  joined the Army last year and is on his first deployment to a combat zone.

He arrived in Afghanistan in March with the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division from Fort Richardson, Alaska.

sgaskell@nydailynews.com

With News Wire Services