Defense

Bergdahl questioning not confrontational

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on Thursday morning again faced more questioning, which so far has not been confrontational, multiple reports say.

Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl began interviewing Bergdahl at Fort Sam Houston in Texas on Wednesday. That session lasted from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., according to ABC News. Dahl has been tasked with looking into the nature of Bergdahl’s 2009 disappearance from his Army base in Afghanistan. 

Bergdahl’s attorney, Eugene Fidell, told ABC News that Dahl was “respectful” on Wednesday. 

“He has great bedside manner,” Fidell said. “It was not an interrogation.” 

{mosads}On Wednesday, Dahl first warned Bergdahl that he didn’t have to say anything that might incriminate himself, but Fidell told The New York Times that Bergdahl didn’t remain silent.

“He has responded to every question asked of him, and he has been afforded an opportunity to tell his story,” Fidell told the Times. It was mostly “just letting the facts unfold in his own voice.”

“It has been a combination of a conversation and a narrative, and it has been entirely nonconfrontational,” Fidell added.

After his disappearance, Bergdahl was abducted and held captive by the Taliban for nearly five years. He was exchanged in late May for five Taliban prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay.

Bergdahl’s Army comrades have accused the sergeant of deserting their base. Desertion would be punishable under the military’s code of justice.

After completing a reintegration process, Bergdahl returned to regular duty last month and has been assigned administrative tasks at the base where he is being questioned.