The NATO-led international coalition troops in Afghanistan confirmed Friday that the captured soldier shown in a video released by the Taliban earlier in the day was Pfc. Bowe Robert Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier who went missing in eastern Afghanistan almost six months ago.
Earlier in the day, the Taliban had released a 36-minute video of Bergdahl, which included several clips of the captured U.S. soldier. Though it is not clear when the video was made, it's release on Friday coincided with the Christmas day. While one of the clippings showed him wearing U.S. combat fatigues, including a helmet and sunglasses, he was seen shaven-headed and wearing grey robes in another.
In the video, Bergdahl appeared to be calm and healthy while giving identifying details about himself, including his name, rank, hometown, date and place of birth and deployment details. Bergdahl said he is a prisoner of war of the Taliban, and criticized the U.S. leaders for their treatment of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"I'm afraid to tell you that this war has slipped from our fingers and it's just going to be our next Vietnam unless the American people stand up and stop all this nonsense," Bergdahl said in the video, emphasizing that he has been treated humanely by the Taliban ever since his capture in June.
"To all you soldiers out there who are getting ready to come over here for the first time because of the stupidity of our country and leaders ... you are fighting very smart people who know exactly how to kill us and are extremely patient," he added.
Meanwhile, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, condemned the release of the video as a horrible act, saying that it "exploits a young soldier, who was clearly compelled to read a prepared statement."
"To release this video on Christmas Day is an affront to the deeply concerned family and friends of Bowe Bergdahl, demonstrating contempt for religious traditions and the teachings of Islam," Smith said in a statement.
"It reflects nothing more than the violent, deceitful tactics of the Taliban insurgency. We will continue our search for Bowe Bergdahl as well as our efforts to ensure the security of the Afghan people and our coalition partners," he added.
Bergdahl, a 23-year-old airborne infantryman from Idaho, went missing from his combat outpost in southeastern Paktika province, a Taliban stronghold, on 30th June. Bergdahl was captured shortly after after he finished his guard duty shift the night before, making him the first US soldier to be captured in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001.
This is the second video of Bergdahl released by the Taliban since his capture in June. In an earlier video released in July, just days after his capture, Bergdahl appeared to be shaken and frightened. In that video, Bergdahl appealed for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and became emotional when speaking about his girlfriend and family and going home.
Presently, there are some 110,000 foreign troops from more than 42 countries in Afghanistan under the commands of the NATO and the United States, fighting Taliban insurgents. U.S. is the biggest contributor to the coalition forces in Afghanistan, with about 70,000 troops on the ground.
Further, U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged 30,000 additional American troops for fighting a resurgent Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Other NATO allies are also expected to contribute more than 5,000 new troops to the international force in the war-torn south-west Asian country.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.