NCIS investigation reportedly shows Bergdahl had ‘deliberate plan’ to ‘offer himself up’ to the Taliban

Posted 2015-04-07 11:58 by Grunt Report with 0 comments

A 2009 NCIS investigation into Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s activities while in Afghanistan reveal that there is clear evidence Bergdahl was “going over to the other side with a deliberate plan,” Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer said on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” Monday night.

Shaffer, a former military intelligence officer and Fox News contributor, said two senior sources told him that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigation included a forensic review of his computer, which show Bergdahl’s apparent intent to travel to Uzbekistan.

“He was going to go off to Uzbekistan,” Shaffer told Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly. “He had made contact with local Afghans and wanted to be moved to Uzbekistan and then made contact with the Russians because he wanted to talk to Russian organized crime …

“Clearly he was not all there relating to what he was doing,” Shaffer told O’Reilly. “I think we’re going to see more and more, as this report is made public that there were a number of disconcerting things within Bergdahl.”

According to the sources, data collection at the time indicated Bergdahl made contact with an Afghan in an effort to lay the groundwork for his departure.

“He had Afghan contacts and he was actually trying to offer himself up with the Taliban. Both are very severe,” Shaffer added.

Shaffer said that the NCIS investigation, which included interviews with squad mates as well as Afghans working outside the wire, reportedly resulted in Bergdahl being charged with misbehavior toward the enemy.

Officials say Bergdahl, who was charged with desertion in March, walked away from his post in Afghanistan and was captured by the Taliban. He was then released from Taliban control in a prisoner exchange last May for five Taliban commanders.

Fox News reached out to Bergdahl’s lawyer Eugene Fidell but he declined to comment.

Fox News’ Catherine Herridge and the Associated Press contributed to this report