On Wednesday, two months after his release from Taliban captivity, Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl told an Army investigator about his disappearance from his outpost in Afghanistan five years ago. While fellow soldiers claim he deserted and previous reports have suggested that Bergdahl’s return to active duty was just a prelude to disciplinary action, the soldier’s attorney painted a different picture of his interview with Major General Kenneth Dahl. “Not a thumbscrew in sight,” Eugene Fidell told The Wall Street Journal. “It’s entirely unadversarial.”
Bergdahl was told he did not have to say anything that might incriminate him, but Fidell said he answered every question he was asked. “I think it was important and useful for him to be able to tell his own story and not have it told for him by anyone else,” Fidell told NBC News, describing the session as mostly “just letting the facts unfold in his own voice.” Bergdahl will be interviewed again on Thursday, and Dahl is expected to complete his examination by August 16. Bergdahl could face prison time or the death penalty if the report determines that Bergdahl deserted.
