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13 Jun, 2014 00:12

​Bergdahl prison letters cite lack of leadership, bad conditions in his Afghanistan unit

​Bergdahl prison letters cite lack of leadership, bad conditions in his Afghanistan unit

American solider Bowe Bergdahl, who will return to the US on Friday, told his family in written letters sent while he was in Taliban captivity that his disappearance in Afghanistan was related to his disappointment in the leadership of his US Army unit.

The Daily Beast revealed Thursday two letters that Bergdahl sent to his family via the International Committee of the Red Cross, in which he said he was not confident in his unit commanders at the time of his disappearance from a US base.

"Leadership was lacking, if not non-existent," he wrote in a March 23, 2013 letter. "The conditions were bad and looked to be getting worse for the men that where actuly (sic) the ones risking thier (sic) lives from attack.”

“Orders showed a high disconcer (sic) for safty (sic) of troopers in the field, and lacking clear minded, logical and commonsense thinking and understanding from the topsides,” he added in the same letter.

He also urged his family and others to reserve judgment about him leaving his base.

"If this letter makes it to the USA, tell those involved in the investigation that there are more sides to the cittuwation (sic)," he wrote.

"Please tell D.C. to wait for all evadince (sic) to come in."

The Daily Beast obtained the letter from sources in contact with the Taliban, according to the news website. US and Western officials confirmed the letters were the same ones delivered to the Bergdahl family by the International Red Cross.

Meanwhile, Bergdahl is “expected to arrive on Friday” at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, a US defense official told AFP on Thursday.

The US Army sergeant was eventually flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany after he was handed over by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan on May 31.

Bergdahl has not spoken to the media about his five-year captivity, but Pentagon officials say his health has improved in the time since his release.

The deal that resulted in his release has prompted much speculation and criticism as to how he was captured off-base in eastern Afghanistan in 2009.

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