Obama Administration Official: Bergdahl ‘Did Not Look Well’

In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, stands with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afgh... In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, right, stands with a Taliban fighter in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban on Wednesday, June 4, 2014, released a video showing the handover of Bergdahl to U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan, touting the swap of the American soldier for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo as a significant achievement for the insurgents. Bergdahl was freed on Saturday after five years in captivity, and exchanged for the five Guantanamo detainees who were flown to Qatar, a tiny Gulf Arab country which has served as a mediator in the negotiations for the swap. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video) MORE LESS
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With Republicans disputing the idea that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s declining health necessitated a swift rescue, a senior Obama administration official defended the rationale on Thursday.

The official cited a video that American intelligence officials received earlier this year that purportedly showed the POW in a woeful condition.

“Our judgment was that every day Sgt Bergdahl was a prisoner his life was at risk, and in the video we received in January, he did not look well,” the official said in a statement. “This led to an even greater sense of urgency in pursuing his recovery. We can’t disclose classified comments from a closed congressional briefing. However, we are able to say that the Senators were told, separate and apart from Sgt Bergdahl’s apparent deterioration in health, that we had both specific and general indications that Sgt Bergdahl ‘s recovery — and potentially his life — could be jeopardized if the detainee exchange proceedings were disclosed or derailed.”

Many Republicans have never bought it. Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, a pitbull of a surrogate on Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, said Monday the “health issue” has echoes of the White House’s initial characterization of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

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