Sister of Soldier Killed Searching for Bergdahl: Trade Was 'a Slap in the Face'

Sister of Soldier Killed Searching for Bergdahl: Trade Was 'a Slap in the Face'

The story of Bowe Bergdahl is also the story of six soldiers killed seeking a man who may have intentionally walked into the arms of the Taliban. Krisa Murphrey, whose brother, Staff Sergeant Michael Murphrey, was killed on a mission reports have linked to the Bergdahl search, tells Breitbart News the swap was “ridiculous.”

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Murphrey expresses anger over the Obama administration’s decision to release five high-ranking Taliban officials to free Bergdahl. “I felt a little angry about the whole exchange,” she explains. “I do feel like eventually at some point Bergdahl should have come home, but the trade they made for him was farfetched,” Murphrey said, “especially for a guy that just walked off and deserted his unit.”

Murphrey, whose husband is also serving in the military, told Breitbart News that her objections were not to Bergdahl’s family but to administration officials’ handling of the situation. “We are praying for the families whose loved ones were involved,” she said for herself and her family, adding, “our family does not blame Bergdahl for my brother’s death. That was my brother’s job, and he loved it… even if it was a mission about Bergdahl, my brother would have fulfilled it.”

Nonetheless, Murphrey notes that the fanfare surrounding Bergdahl’s return is “not fair” to those who gave all in battle and received much less praise. “My brother didn’t get that recognition when he lost his life for our country, and [Bergdahl] does, and it’s just not fair. It’s not fair that Obama took his parents to the Rose Garden [and] we only got a stamped name on the letter from Obama, considering my brother was a real hero.”

The trade similarly diminishes the sacrifices that those who served and died made, both to rescue Bergdahl and to capture the five Taliban terrorists that will roam the world freely after a year of probation in Qatar. “I think that it’s a slap in the face,” she says of the trade. “It just doesn’t make sense to me; we still have troops over there. What about all the people that were hurt or died trying to capture those five guys?”

Murphrey is not sure whether the mission was related to Bergdahl, she says, because “we weren’t told anything about the mission… there were a lot of rumors about how he died.” She notes, “I’ve heard rumors that it was a humanitarian mission, and I’ve also heard that if Bergdahl didn’t walk off the camp that missions wouldn’t have been pushed out so far and the helicopter could have gotten to my brother quicker, which ultimately could have been beneficial to my brother’s life.”

Six soldiers died in circumstances believed to have been triggered by Bergdahl’s disappearance. Many more died trying to find and capture the five Taliban officials now set free in exchange for Bergdahl. As the fallout from Bergdahl’s release continues, the White House’s dedication to those of unquestioned loyalty lost in the theater of war will remain at the core of the conversation.

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