A new book that documents an attempt to rescue an Idaho soldier in Afghanistan will not likely interfere with efforts to bring him home. That’s according to at least one national security expert. The book is getting attention because it describes the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. It also says in 2009, Navy SEALs went after Bowe Bergdahl’s captors too.
Former Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette details a moonlit raid on a house in central Afghanistan in his book “No Easy Day.” He says it was one of several attempts made in the summer of 2009 to rescue Idaho native Bowe Bergdahl from the Taliban. Bissonnette describes one gun battle that left a SEAL injured and several Taliban fighters dead.
Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution says other classified information in the book could harm national security, but he doubts this passage poses a threat to efforts to get Bergdahl back.
“First of all it was three years ago. Secondly, there has to be an awareness, at least the more senior ones, that this sort of thing is attempted and so when you add it all up, I’m not overly concerned by this passage, even though it’s, again, one more thing that probably should not have been said publicly,” says O'Hanlon.
The Pentagon has been tight-lipped about Bergdahl. In an email, a spokesman said “we can’t confirm or deny this author's recollection of events, however Bowe Bergdahl's safe return remains our highest priority.”
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network