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Army Investigation: Bergdahl Search Left Outpost Vulnerable To Brutal Attack

Chuck Ross Investigative Reporter
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The search for Bowe Bergdahl left a U.S. military outpost vulnerable to a fierce attack, according to a U.S. Army investigation obtained by The Daily Caller.

An internal investigation conducted in the wake of one of the bloodiest battles to take place in the war in Afghanistan found that “priorities shifted” from an outpost attacked by 300 Taliban, in part, because of the search for Bergdahl.

Eight soldiers died and 27 were wounded at U.S. Army Combat Outpost Keating during the Battle of Kamdesh, which occurred on Oct. 3, 2009 in the eastern Afghan province of Nuristan.

Keating was manned by around 60 troops.

In an investigation of any failures during the battle, an Army report, obtained by TheDC, put at least some of the blame on the ongoing search for Bergdahl.

“During July [Combined Joint Task Force] priorities shifted, largely driven by the intensity of operations in support of [Afghan National Security Forces] in the Barg-e Matal area and the personnel recovery efforts to find missing PFC Bergdahl in RC East,” the investigation found.

During that period, Gen. Stanley McChrystal had ordered a shift from rural areas, where COP Keating was located, to more urban centers, such as Barg-e Matal, the report’s lead investigator, retired Lieutenant General Guy Swan told TheDC.

“ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] availability became more challenging at the brigade and squadron level as allocations only supported approved CONOPs [concept of operations],” the investigation reported.

“This severely limited the brigade, squadron or troop’s ability to do target development or to confirm or deny other intelligence reporting, such as bottom-up HUMINT [human intelligence] reporting received in the days prior to the 3 Oct 09 attack.”

In an interview with TheDC, Swan confirmed that officers in the chain of command expressed concern to him that the search for Bergdahl diverted resources from COP Keating.

“Some of the folks in the chain of command at the battalion and brigade level did tell me that Predators and other Intelligence, Security, and Reconnaissance assets were diverted to some degree to participate in the search for Bergdahl,” said Swan.

“It’s hard to say how much was being used for him,” he added, saying that he did not have that specific knowledge.

“I don’t know if we can draw the direct linkage [from the search for Bergdahl] to the fatalities at Keating,” he said.

After being held by the Taliban for nearly five years, Bergdahl, originally from Idaho, was released last Saturday, in exchange for five of the Taliban’s top commanders.

Bergdahl went missing on June 30 from his unit’s outpost in the Paktika province. He was taken in by the Taliban, though it is still unclear if they captured him or if Bergdahl sought them out.

His exchange for what some have described as the Taliban’s most ruthless leaders has drawn criticism from members of Congress who said they were not given advance notice of the deal. Others have expressed concern that the five commanders will continue to wage war against the U.S.

Bergdahl was characterized as having served with “honor and distinction,” according to national security adviser Susan Rice.

But others who served with Bergdahl have called him a “deserter.”

“I was pissed off then, and I am even more so now with everything going on,” former Sgt. Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl’s platoon, told CNN. “Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war, and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him.”

Six soldiers were reportedly killed in August and September of 2009 while searching for Bergdahl in the Paktika province.

A report from the Daily Mail Tuesday shed light on how the search for Bergdahl — who was promoted from private to sergeant while in captivity — may have led to more bloodshed at the Battle of Kamdesh.

“The COP Keating battle was so deadly because ISAF numbers were so low,” the Pentagon official told the Daily Mail, referring to the International Security Assistance Force.

“And that was because so many U.S. troops were off searching for Bergdahl.”

Outlets such as the New York Times have raised questions over whether the deaths of U.S. soldiers can be tied to the search for Bergdahl. A report published Wednesday in the Times called the facts surrounding those deaths “far murkier than definitive.” The report claims that the areas where the searches in Paktika took place were already being heavily targeted by the Taliban.

The Department of Defense did not return TheDC’s request for comment.

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