Bergdahl 'declared himself a warrior for Islam and played soccer with his captors after being found by the Taliban wandering along a roadside cursing America'

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl converted to Islam during his captivity by the Taliban



Bergdahl would play soccer with his captors and was permitted to carry a firearm

But was also imprisoned 'like an animal' after escaping for five days in June 2010



Top secret files have been obtained that claim US officials were aware of his conversion to Islam

This comes as reports claim Bergdahl is in the second phase of his reintegration treatment and is meeting daily with a psychologist

He is being held at an American military hospital in Germany but has still not had any direct communication with his parents, who are in the U.S.

Taliban commanders revealed today that at first they thought it was a set up when they discovered him walking alone in Afghanistan

Said that he was behaving 'erratically' and 'cursing his country'

Investigation underway into the circumstances that led to his 'abandonment' of his base in 2009

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl converted to Islam during his captivity, declaring himself a 'mujahid', or warrior for the faith according to once-secret documents revealed today.



Bergdahl, who was taken prisoner by the Taliban in 2009 after being found wandering a road alone and cursing America, became accepted by his captors to the point where he was allowed to fire an AK-47 during target practice, played soccer with them and was permitted to carry his own firearm.

Psychologists who spoke to Fox News' James Rosen about the purported eyewitness accounts of Bergdahl's imprisonment said the documents illustrated a possible case of Stockholm Syndrome - the condition which causes hostages to sympathize or even join the cause of their captors in order to survive.

However, the documents reveal that Bergdahl, who was returned to American custody during a POW exchange over the weekend, endured a checkered relationship with his Taliban captors.

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The hand off: The Taliban released this video showing a seemingly-healthy Bowe Bergdahl being given over to American allies in spite of President Obama's earlier claims that his declining health prompted the trade

In late June 2010, he is said to have escaped for five days and on his recapture was confined to a specially designed metal cage, where he was kept 'like a caged animal'.

At other times during his five-years of internment with his Haqqani captors, Bergdahl conversed in friendly terms with them and would frequently use the word 'Salaam', which is the Arabic word for peace.

This information was obtained by and seen by Fox News provided by the secretive Eclipse Group.

It is a top-secret private firm of former intelligence operatives subcontracted by the Defense Department to obtain ground reports from every corner of the globe.

Using a source within the 200 or so Taliban captors who kept Bergdahl, the former spies compiled reports for the US Central Command, or CENTCOM, which is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, from November 2009, to May 31, 2010.

Eclipse is operated by Duance R. Clarridge, who used to be a senior operations officer for the CIA in the 1980s.

However, he is best remembered for being indicted for lying to Congress about his role in the Iran-Contra scandal. He was pardoned by President George H. Bush in December 1992, during his trial.

Using his groups assets, Clarridge compiled 13 situation reports or SITREPs, which were sent to Brig. Gen. Robert P. Ashley Jr. - who in April 2010 was named the director of intelligence at the J-2 level at CENTCOM.

Despite the initial contract expiring in 2010, according to Fox News, Clarridge used $50,000 of his own money to continue the providing the reports.

Relief: No specifics about Bergdhal's medical condition have been publicly released but a spokesman said today that he is getting better on a daily basis

It was SITREP # 3023, dated August 23, 2012, that provided information from Clarridge's Haqqani sources, which makes the claim that that Bergdahl had declared himself a 'mujahid'.

This was allegedly provided to Brig. Gen. Robert P Ashley, who is now commanding general at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence and Fort Huachuca.

Calls to that base about what was known about Bergdahl were not returned.



The documents seen by Fox News date from October 2009, which is around three-months after Bergdahl walked away from his base in Afghanistan to August 2012.

They paint a picture of a turbulent period in captivity - which included bouts inside a metal cage after his failed June 2010 escape.

Other reports reveal that Bergdahl would play soccer with his Taliban captors and was granted the use of an AK-47 for target practice.

Bergdahl was also allowed to carry his own firearm during certain times of his imprisonment.

Retired US Marine Corp Gen. James N. Mattis, who was CENTCOM commander from August 2010 to August 2012 told Fox News he knew of some intelligence from Eclipse, but there was never any intelligence to suggest Bergdahl was a collaborator.

SITREP #3023 was compiled using a source close to Mullah Sangeen, the Haqqani commander charged over the past five years with the care of Bergdahl.

Eclipse admit in the report that he was not 100 percent trusted by the group but 'does have plausible access to the information reported and claims to have seen Bergdahl personally in Shawal' - which is in North Waziristan.

Waiting for a call: Bergdahl has been in American custody for five days but has not yet called his parents Jani and Robert, seen with President Obama during the announcement of Bowe's release

In a prior report, seen by Fox News, it outlines how Bergdahl and his captors changed their behavior after his June 2010 escape attempt.

'Conditions for Bergdahl have greatly relaxed since the time of the escape. Bergdahl has converted to Islam and now describes himself as a mujahid,' cites the report.

'Bergdahl enjoys a modicum of freedom, and engages in target practice with the local mujahedeen, firing AK47s.

'Bergdahl is even allowed to carry a loaded gun on occasion. Bergdahl plays soccer with his guards and bounds around the pitch like a mad man.

'He appears to be well and happy, and has a noticeable habit of laughing frequently and saying 'Salaam' repeatedly.'

The top secret files were released to Fox News by Clarridge, who had his agents' reports described by the New York Times in 2011 as, 'an amalgam of fact, rumor, analysis and uncorroborated reports'

He released them to demonstrate, 'We know what we're talking about'.

This information comes as a Taliban commander told NBC News that when Bergdahl was picked up, 'Our people at the time couldn’t understand his language, but it was after he was shifted to a safe location, he said he wasn’t happy with his countrymen, but he didn’t intend to convert to Islam or join mujahideen (holy warriors)'.

This revelation comes as U.S. government officials reported that Bergdahl's medical condition is 'stable and improving daily'.

Even though he has been in American custody for five days and remains in treatment at a hospital in Germany, he has still not spoken with his parents- even though he has been able to communicate with others.

'He is conversing with medical staff and becoming more engaged in his treatment plan. He is resting better,' Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said Thursday.

USA Today reports that Bowe's father Robert Bergdahl sent a video message to his son earlier this week and recorded a portion of the tape in Pashto, the language of his son's captors.

That would have been Mr Bergdahl's first communication with his son in five years and there is no way he would have known anything about his son's linguistic abilities.

Waiting: Though they have still not spoken with their son, Robert Bergdahl, seen here on Sunday, apparently sent a taped video message to Bowe and Robert recorded a portion of it in Pashto

CNN reported this evening that Bowe is speaking in English while in the American military hospital in Germany.

The spokesman would not elaborate on the timetable for his transition from the American military hospital in German to the mainland United States. He is believed to be in the second part of the three-part transition process that will end with him reuniting with his parents- likely in a military hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

The 28-year-old Idaho native is meeting with psychologists on a daily basis to help him 'regain control of his emotions'.

Bergdahl was initially found by Afgan civilians, but word traveled to the local Tali ban leaders who went to collect the strange American.

Apparently the group first thought it was a staged subterfuge tactic, with the idea being that Bergdahl intended to be picked up so that he could spy on the Taliban.

'As we never saw their soldier patrolling alone... we would ask him how he managed to walk out of his base... He would tell us that it was personal issue,' the unidentified commander told NBC.

The circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's alleged desertion in 2009 are currently the subject of a federal investigation, but President Obama reiterated today during a press conference in Brussels that he will 'make no apologies' for arranging the prisoner swap with the Taliban in order to secure his release.

When the exchange was first announced over the weekend, the administration said that Bergdahl's declining health was a cause for concern, but the video released by the Taliban showing the hand-off appear to show Bergdahl in relatively good health.

Today the administration added that it was not only his health that prompted the deal to be made but also an alleged imminent threat to his life.