Saxby Chambliss: Classified File Didn't Mention Bowe Bergdahl's Desertion Note

Saxby Chambliss: Classified File Didn't Mention Bowe Bergdahl's Desertion Note

Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), ranking member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said that the classified file he read today on Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl did not include information about the note Bergdahl left on his bed in his tent before he abandoned his unit and was captured by the Taliban five years ago.

Appearing on Fox News Channel’s Kelly File on Tuesday, Chambliss said, “This article in The New York Times shocked me. This note that he supposedly left that indicated that he was sympathetic to the Taliban and unsympathetic to the American interest in this conflict was not included in that file, and I’m very surprised by that. Normally those classified files are pretty informative, but–I don’t know–Iwas pretty shocked by it.” 

Chambliss added that the file also did not include any interviews with any of Bergdahl’s platoon members. “There was nothing in that file in regards to statements from those individuals as to what they saw that night, and there’s just a lot of unanswered questions,” he said.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Bergdahl left an e-mail before slipping away from his post, saying he had become “disillusioned” with life in the army, did not support the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, and was leaving to begin a new life.

Members of Bergdahl’s platoon describe Bergdahl now as either a “deserter” or “traitor.” The Times also notes that his platoon mates said that Bergdahl would stare at the mountains around them and wonder if he could get to China from there. Others said that Bergdahl wrote “Jason Bourne-type novels,” in which he inserted himself as the main character.

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