Video of soldier violates international law

Reuters:

The U.S. military denounced on Sunday the release of a video showing a soldier captured in Afghanistan, describing the images as Taliban propaganda that violated international law.

The video shows Private Bowe Bergdahl in traditional Afghan dress, being prompted in English by his captors to call for U.S. forces to be withdrawn from Afghanistan.

The U.S. military confirmed the identity of the Ketchum, Idaho native, saying he served with the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. His identifying dog tags are displayed to the camera by his captors in the video.

"We condemn the use of this video and the public humiliation of prisoners. It is against international law," U.S. military spokesman Colonel Greg Julian said. "We are doing everything we can to return this soldier to safety."

The U.S. military has been distributing leaflets this week seeking the release of Bergdahl, missing since late June.

Military spokeswoman Captain Elizabeth Matthias said it was the first case she was aware of in which a U.S. service member was held captive by the enemy in Afghanistan, although there have been similar cases in Iraq.

In the video, portions of which were posted on the internet video sharing site YouTube (www.YouTube.com), Bergdahl appeared with his head shaven and a slight beard, wearing traditional grey, loose-fitting Afghan shalwar kameez clothing.

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Finally!

I have been pushing for the military to call the enemy on its violation of the requirements of treating prisoners for years. This soldier is one of the fortunate ones, because at least at the present time, he is deemed to valuable to have a video of his head being chopped off which is the norm for the barbarians we are fighting.

The enemy in Afghanistan routinely violates numerous aspects of the laws of war and this is one of the first times I recall seeing them be called out on the issue. It is more important than you might think, because it puts the enemy on the defensive in his information operations. Recall, that the enemy has said that half the war effort is in the media battle space. For too long we have acted as if we were in the defensive in that battle space. It is about time that we fight back.