A photo of a smiling Bowe Bergdahl posing with a former Taliban leader has surfaced on Twitter.
According to Fox News, the Middle East Research Institute, or MEMRI, said the photo posted on Twitter account @khorasasn3 shows Bergdahl with Taliban Commander Badruddin Haqqani, who was killed during a 2012 U.S. drone strike. It’s not known when exactly the photo was taken, but MEMRI said the Twitter account is associated with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Urgent: Do You Approve Or Disapprove of President Obama's Job Performance? Vote Now in Urgent Poll
Bergdahl, 28, was released by the Taliban on May 31 as part of a deal struck with the Obama Administration to release five Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He had disappeared from his post in eastern Afghanistan in 2009. Some members of his Army unit have said he left by his own choice.
Having grown up in Idaho, Bergdahl hasn’t yet publicly commented on his disappearance and his time with the Taliban. The Army is still investigating his disappearance and officials haven’t yet filed any charges against the Army sergeant.
Bergdahl’s father, Bob Bergdahl, came under fire when he was shown to have grown a beard, similar to one his son had during his capture, and one that resembled a beard worn by members of the Taliban. He shaved off the controversial beard
soon after his son was released, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported.
The elder Bergdahl said he grew the facial hair as one way to understand his son’s captors. He also reportedly immersed himself in the Arabic language and culture of Islam as well.
But Bergdahl drew even more fire for when he spoke Pashto and Arabic during an appearance with President Obama in the White House’s Rose Garden when it was announced that his son was released from the Taliban. Bergdahl said, “bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim,” which translated means, 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'.
Bergdahl tweeted in March that his family’s town of Hailey, Idaho, was similar to Afghanistan and that "'democracy' is a cult in the West" in response to a comment about the Afghan elections.
Urgent: Assess Your Heart Attack Risk in Minutes. Click Here.