--- title: Bowe Bergdahl's Lawyer Says Former POW "Very Grateful" to Obama description: Army sergeant held by Taliban believes President’s decision “saved his life,” his attorney Eugene Fidell tells TIME canonical: https://time.com/2995054/bergdahl-lawyer-obama/ author: Mark Thompson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-16T21:27:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:40:28.126Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bowe Bergdahl's Lawyer Says Former POW "Very Grateful" to Obama og:description: Army sergeant held by Taliban believes President’s decision “saved his life,” his attorney Eugene Fidell tells TIME og:url: https://time.com/2995054/bergdahl-lawyer-obama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta741a7499215ad3d/69869c0913c79f87d31931d4/495330957.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Bergdahl Being Treated At U.S. Military Hospital In Germany og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bowe Bergdahl's Lawyer Says Former POW "Very Grateful" to Obama twitter:description: Army sergeant held by Taliban believes President’s decision “saved his life,” his attorney Eugene Fidell tells TIME twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta741a7499215ad3d/69869c0913c79f87d31931d4/495330957.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lawyer: Bergdahl 'Deeply Grateful' to Obama > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Here’s What That Bergdahl Video Really Shows [Watch (HLS stream): Here’s What That Bergdahl Video Really Shows](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/PYBoRFho.m3u8) (2:58)  _Published 2014-06-04. TIME's Mark Thompson on what the video really means_ by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Jul 16, 2014 9:27 PM UTC  Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for nearly five years before being released in May. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban for nearly five years before being released in May. U.S. Army / Getty Images by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Jul 16, 2014 9:27 PM UTC No one’s heard anything yet from Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the former prisoner-of-war [freed](http://time.com/2822102/heres-what-that-bergdahl-video-really-shows/) in a May 31 swap for five Taliban [leaders](http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/31/us/bergdahl-transferred-guantanamo-detainees/) after nearly five years as a Taliban prisoner. He hasn’t spoken to the press—by all accounts, he hasn’t even spoken to his parents. But, in typical American fashion, he has retained—and spoken to—an attorney. “Sergeant Bergdahl is deeply grateful to President Obama for having saved his life,” Eugene Fidell, retained a week ago by the soldier, told TIME on Wednesday. Fidell has traveled to Texas—where Bergdahl has returned to active duty at a desk job in San Antonio following his “re-integration” back into the service—to discuss with his client the investigation into the circumstances leading up to Bergdahl’s abduction in 2009\. The attorney declined to offer any insights into Bergdahl’s mood, legal defense, or relationship with his family. Bergdahl also has an Army lawyer.  Eugene Fidell Yale But Fidell did suggest the case—now being investigated by a two-star Army major general—is more [complicated](http://time.com/2850242/bergdahl-separating-the-wheat-from-the-chaff/) than he originally thought. That’s saying something: Fidell is a prominent military-law expert who lectures at Yale Law School on the topic, and former president of the National Institute of Military Justice. “Before I was in the case, I was skeptical that the investigation called for a major general,” Fidell says. “I thought that a talented lieutenant colonel would be more than enough horsepower—I thought it was overkill.” Army officials say Major General Kenneth Dahl has yet to interview Bergdahl. Fidell said he has changed his mind as he has dived into the case. “Based on what I now know about the complexity of the issues, which are in a number of spheres that I’m not going to get into, I understand why the Army thought that a general officer should be involved,” Fidell adds. “I now understand why management thought that it was a good idea to have a two-star officer doing this investigation.” The lawyer, who has taken the case _pro bono_—without pay—declined to discuss the specifics that led him to change his mind. But Bergdahl’s case is complex: according to the soldiers with whom he served, Bergdahl simply walked away from his combat outpost in June 2009 before being captured by the Taliban along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Some of those troops have called Bergdahl a deserter, and [alleged](http://time.com/2809352/bowe-bergdahl-deserter-army-taliban/) that fellow soldiers died hunting for him. Questions also surround the Army’s decision to allow Bergdahl to enlist, two years after he [washed out](http://time.com/2861963/the-significance-of-bergdahls-washing-out-of-the-coast-guard/) of Coast Guard boot camp after only 26 days. And lawmakers on Capitol Hill have criticized Obama for giving up five senior Taliban leaders for Bergdahl, now 28. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., told TIME on Tuesday that he doesn’t believe the swap was in the nation’s interest. “We were duty bound to bring him back, but I think we’re duty bound to bring him back in the right way,” said the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness subcommittee. “What other opportunities were there for us to secure Sergeant Bergdahl’s release besides releasing these five high-ranking Taliban officials?…we did increase the risk to Americans and American interests by releasing these five.” Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said that Bergdahl is now free to come and go like any other soldier. “He’s free to leave base…he’s not under any particular restrictions,” Kirby said. “And I would remind you, he’s not been charged with anything.” ## Transcript The U. S. Military hasn't told us a lot yet about the rescue of Bowe Bergdahl from the Taliban. However, the Taliban have released a video that offers us some clues and insights into what happened that day deep in the coast valley. We start by seeing Bergdahl sitting in the right rear seat of a pickup truck. His posture is unusual. In fact, his hands may be bound in some way underneath his thighs. He appears dazed at best, terrified at worst. At a minimum he seems plainly out of it. He listens as a masked captor, armed with an AK 47 leans into the vehicle, apparently giving him instructions. Bergdahl, wearing traditional Afghan garb under a striped white shawl, is pale and gaunt as if he's been inside for years. He's blinking incessantly as if he hasn't seen bright light for a long time either. A crude white flag raised by a Taliban on what appears to be a freshly cut branch declares that a temporary truce has been declared at this time and at this place. That's an important sign if we can believe it. Because most of the Taliban shown are armed with AK 47s and rocket propelled grenade launchers. Traditionally someone carrying a white flag is not to be fired upon. Bergdahl wipes dust or a tear from his left eye. Just before the Taliban speaking to him taps him softly three times on his right shoulder. One Taliban is armed with what appears to be a radio, apparently keeping superiors informed of what's happening on the ground. Finally, a helicopter appears overhead. The modified UH60 Blackhawk is the only U. S. military asset clearly seen in the video. But other aircraft are lurking around. Bergdahl stands outside the vehicle with one of his captures. His eyes seem to follow the descent of the approaching chopper. Bergdalh and a pair of Taliban meet with three US personal wearing civilian clothes. As Bergdahl is led to the helicopter, his gait appears unsteady. That could be because he'd been shackled for much of the time, including while he slept, following a reported escape attempt. A fellow American holds him by the left arm, hoping to ease him over the rough terrain. US troops wave goodbye to the Taliban, the Taliban wave back. Bergdahl, who never looks back, does not wave. US troops pat down Bergdahl before they let him into their helicopter. Filled with troops in uniform, that simple due diligence. Bergdahl could have been carrying a weapon or drugs and booby traps by his captors. The most critical part of the pick- up, of course, were the anonymous special operations forces on board Blackhawk Number 41. The touchdown for a minute deep inside enemy territory. 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