Bergdahl returns to US amid political controversy

U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, held for five years as a Taliban prisoner of war before being released on May 31 as part of a controversial prisoner swap, returned to the United States on Friday, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed.

Bergdahl, released in a swap orchestrated by the Obama administration for five Taliban leaders held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for further treatment after receiving care at a military hospital on Ramstein Air Base in Germany since his release.

The Department of Defense released a statement on Friday saying "there is no timeline" for Bergdahl's recovery process.

"Our first priority is making sure that Sgt. Bergdahl continues to get the care and support he needs," Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement announcing Bergdahl’s departure.

His release sparked a political uproar because the Obama administration did not notify Congress beforehand of the Guantánamo prisoners' release, as required by law.

The circumstances surrounding Bergdahl’s capture have also been fuel for criticism. He is believed to have left his U.S. Army base in Afghanistan, with some suggesting that he was disillusioned with the war.

Some have even called for the U.S. to press desertion charges against him, but legal experts say that’s unlikely.

Officials said Thursday that the Army has not yet formally begun a review into the circumstances of Bergdahl's capture and whether he went AWOL or had deserted when he was found and taken by insurgents.

The answers to those questions will be key to whether Bergdahl will receive more than $300,000 in back pay owed to him since he disappeared. If he was determined to have been a prisoner of war, he could also receive roughly another $300,000 or more, if recommended and approved by Army leaders.

Obama administration officials have stressed that Bergdahl was at risk of losing his life because of deteriorating health, prompting military officials to carry out a quick exchange with the Taliban.

Officials said they couldn’t tell Congress about the planned release because doing so would risk leaking information about Bergdahl, potentially complicating the exchange.

The secretive release prompted a torrent of controversy, mainly from Republicans, who said the swap for five Taliban members posed security risks and perhaps broke the law.  

The operation to secure the release of Bergdahl saw Taliban members handing him to U.S. forces close to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Later in the day, the Taliban detainees were flown from the controversial U.S. detention camp in Cuba to Qatar, which brokered the exchange.

After his release, Bergdahl was flown to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for the beginning of his “reintegration process,” officials said.

A spokesman for Bergdahl's parents released a statement to media which said the family was "overjoyed their son has returned to the United States." The family has asked for privacy as Bergdahl recovers.

The five released Guantánamo detainees — Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq — were all high-ranking members of the Taliban government toppled by the U.S. in 2001. They are to be monitored by the Qatari government and restricted from leaving the country for one year.

Al Jazeera and wire services