Jim Miklaszewski, chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News, revealed on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl’s life was never in danger while he was held in captivity by the Taliban.
Refuting the Obama administrations claims that the Taliban had previously threatened to kill Bowe Bergdahl, Miklaszewski told the panel, "We are told categorically by senior defense officials that is absolutely not true. The Taliban did not threaten to kill Bowe Bergdahl. They did say, however, that there was concern, as the war dragged on and winded down, actually, and American troops started to withdraw, that they felt that Bowe Bergdahl just didn't have the cache anymore and they might be driven to kill him."
The NBC correspondent also reacted to claims made by the White House that Bergdahl’s rescue was deemed urgent because of his ailing health. The Obama Administration has cited a video of Bergdahl being held by the Taliban in which they allege there is visible proof that the sergeant’s health was quickly deteriorating and was "on the verge of death." At the time of the video, sources gave reports contrary to those of the administration.
The sources said that while it appeared his health was failing, he did not look to be in danger. "We’ve been subsequently told that medical teams who studied that tape said ‘Yeah, he’s probably not eating as well as he should, but he does not appear to be in grave danger. It does not appear that his life is threatened by his condition’…Categorically, again, across the board, people…are saying that tape did not show that his life was in danger."