The father of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told Idaho Republicans in 2010 that one of the Taliban members who captured his son lost his own son in a drone strike by the United States.
"The man who we believe holds Bowe grew up on the lap of his mother learning the Koran. He is a powerful man," Robert Bergdahl said in the speech at a GOP fundraiser.
The speech was reported Friday by The Daily Beast.
"We pray for him," Bergdahl said. "He recently lost a son to a CIA missile drone strike. The fact that he didn't kill Bowe right then is incredible. So we pray for him."
U.S. drone strikes allegedly killed members of the Taliban's Haqqani network in the winter of 2010, according to The Daily Beast.
Berghdal's 28-year-old son was exchanged last week for five senior Taliban detainees held at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The released detainees included Afghanistan's deputy defense minister under Taliban rule and others who played major roles in the regime that helped shield those behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Bowe Bergdahl had been held by the Taliban since June 30, 2009. The swap has since been attacked by Bergdahl's former comrades, who say that he is a deserter who should be held accountable for his actions.
The Obama administration has also come under fire for not notifying Congress before the release occurred and over its terms.
According to The Daily Beast, Robert Bergdahl spoke at the fundraiser, which included other speakers such as Idaho Sen. Jim Risch and Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee at the time.
He also said that the Pentagon reassured him that returning his son to the U.S. safely was a top priority.
"Everything that can be done has been done," he said, according to The Daily Beast. "I have [then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff] Admiral [Mike] Mullen's cell phone number on me right now."
The report also notes that Bergdahl spoke directly to his son’s captors in a video he posted on YouTube in May 2011.
"No family in the United States understands the detainee issue like ours," Bergdahl said. "Our son's safe return will only heighten public awareness of this. That said, our son is being exploited. It's past time for Bowe, and the others, to come home."
In addition, Bergdahl sent this message to a Taliban spokesman via Twitter three days before the swap: "I am still working to free all Guantanamo prisoners. God will repay for the death of every Afghan child, ameen!"
The tweet, which was later deleted,
was reported by The Gateway Pundit.
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