American Morning
Capture of U.S. soldier 'breaks our heart'
(CNN) - A family friend of a U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban said his friends and family want Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl to "stand tall, stand firm."
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/07/20/art.captive.inv.jpg caption="Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl shown here in a video made by his captors, members of the Taliban."]
"Bowe, if you see this, know that we love you and we are praying fervently for you and prayers are going up for you from all over the world," Tim Baker told CNN affiliate KTVB-TV in the soldier's hometown of Ketchum, Idaho.
"To all of our valiant men and women, know that the American people believe in you, support you and are 100 percent behind you, and we thank God every day that you have our back."
In a video released Sunday, apparently made by his captors, Bergdahl spoke of being "scared I won't be able to go home."
"It breaks our heart," Baker said. "It's like having one of our own kids in this situation."
The Bergdahl family is not speaking with media, but Baker said prayer is helping. "Prayer means that we are extremely powerful because God is not limited by where we are when we pray. He is there with Bowe, and so we know that he is protecting him and is with him, so we don't feel powerless against these people," Baker said. "We feel very empowered."
Watch friend's comments about Taliban captive »
Bergdahl, 23, was captured June 30 from Paktika province in southeastern Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.
The Taliban has threatened to kill Bergdahl if foreign troops continue targeting civilians in the name of search operations in Ghazni and Paktika provinces, Taliban commander Mulvi Sangeen said by telephone Friday after being contacted by CNN at an undisclosed location.
NATO-led forces in Afghanistan and the U.S. military have repeatedly denied targeting civilians.
U.S. arms in Taliban hands
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/21/intv.berntsen.art.jpg caption="A former CIA officer says Taliban fighters get U.S. arms by container theft and the loss of Afghan police."]
A New York Times report published this week says markings on ammunition collected from killed Taliban insurgents suggest that it's coming from the Pentagon.
Gary Berntsen spent more than two decades in the CIA. He also led CIA forces in eastern Afghanistan after 9/11. He joined John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday.
John Roberts: The New York Times suggested poor discipline and outright corruption among Afghan forces is responsible for some of the weapons getting into the hands of the Taliban. What are some of the other ways?
Gary Berntsen: Part of the problem is there has been a lot of container theft over the last year and a half. Containers moving from the Port of Karachi up into Afghanistan on trucks and to U.S. forces have been broken into, have been robbed completely. This is more of a problem than just the Taliban drinking “Red Bull” and listening to iPods. They're getting equipment out of these things. That's one.
Roberts: So the Pentagon sends these containers full of weapons to the Port of Karachi.
Berntsen: Not so much weapons all the time. It’s body armor sometimes. They try not to send weapons that way but sometimes ammunition gets put in these things. So they pick up some of that stuff there. The other issue too is… we’ve lost 1,000 Afghan police this year. Sometimes you’ll have entire governors compounds that are overrun. They'll lose 10, 15 guys. They’ll recover weapons and ammunition during those encounters as well. Sometimes there's theft or sales by Afghan security forces. About a year ago, the attempted assassination of Karzai, it was a senior Afghan official, a general that sold those weapons to the Taliban who tried to kill Karzai with them.
Taliban 'not going anywhere'
There are new developments in Pakistan today. Taliban fighters have moved out of the contested Bruner district 60 miles west of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. It appears to be a victory for the Pakistani government. But can Taliban militants be trusted to keep their pledge to return to the Swat Valley and stay out of Bruner?
Former CIA officer Gary Bernsten says the Taliban “isn’t going anywhere.” He joined John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Friday.
John Roberts: Would you trust the Taliban to move back and play nice in the Swat Valley?
Gary Bernsten: Not at all. And clearly they may pull back just slightly for reasons of propaganda and to get the film footage. They're not going anywhere. These guys have a desire to seize control of Pakistan. That's the Taliban and other militant organizations. There are at least 25 to 30 militant organizations in Pakistan.
Journalist: U.S. officials skeptical of Obama’s Afghan surge
President Obama is shifting America's military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan. His strategy includes more boots on the ground and more cash and diplomacy. Will the strategy work or should the Pentagon turn to quick intense strikes?
Michael Hastings is a contributor for GQ Magazine. He is just back from the Afghanistan/Pakistan border where he was embedded with American forces. Hastings spoke to John Roberts on CNN’s American Morning Monday.
John Roberts: Some of the soldiers and commanders you spoke with are, according to your article, skeptical of whether or not this surge strategy is going to work. Based on your reporting, what do you think?
Michael Hastings: I think I found there was a significant amount of skepticism among U.S. officials and soldiers on the ground there and that a long-term, 10-25 year, multi-billion dollar commitment to Afghanistan has a very low chance of success. And essentially the question these officials asked was what are we winning? Even if we win in Afghanistan, what is it exactly that we're winning? Maybe the answer is maybe we're winning security gains, but that's not even for sure and there’s certainly no guarantee of that.
Time’s Bobby Ghosh: Obama shouldn’t have visited Iraq
President Obama made his surprise visit to Iraq, he says, mainly to thank our troops for their service. Bobby Ghosh, Senior Editor at Time Magazine, thinks that the president's trip to Iraq sends the wrong message. He spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s American Morning Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: You wrote in your article, Baghdad was the wrong choice for Obama. Iraq is Bush’s war. Obama's main contribution to Iraq has been to criticize the war while on the campaign trail. So you believe that he really shouldn't have visited Iraq?
Bobby Ghosh: I think he should have gone to Afghanistan first. That is the war that he's taken ownership for. That is the war he's said repeatedly must be won. He's sending 21,000 additional troops there this year and he's described it as the right war. If it's the right war then that would have been the right place for him to go.
About this Show
Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
On Twitter
