American Cipher

by Matt Farwell

  Thank you for all the help along the way.

  Elsa Givan and Megan Parry merit special mention for their invaluable contributions to the research for this book. You are both brilliant.

  MICHAEL AMES:

  This book began with a story that never belonged to me, but that through the trust, generosity, and goodness of others has been shared with us by those who lived through it.

  As an Idaho resident from 2002 to 2011, and as a Wood River Valley local during the first years of Bowe’s captivity, his family’s ordeal was a daily reminder of the sacrifices made by so many American families who send their children across the world to serve their country. As a civilian, I had little comprehension of their lives, and this project has brought me an invaluable education. I would like to thank Matthew Farwell for asking me to join him on this journey and encouraging me to learn about the vital, and too often hidden, realities of my own country.

  This book would not exist without Chris Parris-Lamb, who had a vision before we ever began. Chris, in times good and less than good, your support and insight was indispensable. Thanks as well to Farley Chase for your thoughtfulness and skill bringing this to life. I will never be able to express my gratitude to Emily Cunningham at Penguin Press. Thank you, Emily, for sticking with us, your tirelessness, and your persistent optimism, which has carried the day.

  This book came at a hard time, and I am indebted to each of you who refused to let me give up. My everlasting gratitude and love to Danielle Travers, for understanding all of it, and all of me; to Dean Sluyter, for setting me on this path before I was old enough to drive, your stubborn belief in me, and your effortless and graceful kindness. You are a Sherpa of the soul and a damn-good proofreader too. To my father, Roger Ames, who took the first flight to New Jersey in March 2017, and my sister, Jennifer Ames Yarznbowicz, for your undying support every day since. And to Jennifer Tuohy, for believing in me even when I worked in the basement, for your friendship and wisdom, and for always making time to read.

  Research and reporting took me back to Idaho so many times, and those trips would not have been possible without the generosity and warmth of Deborrah Bohrer. Thank you, Deb, for understanding the time and energy of creative work. Equal thanks are owed to Bill Fowler and the Silver Creek Writers’ Residency, and Sabina Dana Plasse, for introducing me to such kind and smart readers and fellow writers.

  Sometimes in Idaho, office space was scarce, food forgotten, and work a form of madness. Thank you Nina Jonas and Andreas Heaphy for the office space and the spicy sustenance; to Shaun, Casey, Cru, Rome, and Bender Mills Kelly, for taking me in, always making me feel at home, and for your hearts full of love, and trees full of chickens; to Evelyn and Jim Phillips, for feeding me food from your garden and history about the community that shaped this story (and for the VW loaner when times were tight); to Dana Dugan and Ken Ferris, for your extended hospitality; to Phoebe and the entire Pilaro family; and to Matt Furber, for your support and your magical Saab.

  Like all writers, I share any and all credit with my editors, mentors, and colleagues. I am indebted to Robert Young Pelton, who has been both a source and an inspiration; and to Sean Langan for your trust, compassion, and unreasonable good cheer. I am also grateful to Bob Roe, without whom this story would not have been told; to Chris Beha for giving me a shot and showing me the way; to Jeremy Keehn for seeing the longer tale within; and to Andrew Cockburn and Anand Gopal for inspiration and encouragement. And a second thank you to Evelyn Phillips for contributing your tireless creativity and energy in our maps; and to Jason Nadler for reading; Aaron Pearson for IT and various other emergencies; and Tad Tuleja for the writing boot camp back in Waterville, Maine.

  When overwhelmed, which was not uncommon, I was beyond fortunate to work with brilliant researchers: Anudari Amartuvshin, I can never thank you enough for being a part of this. Thanks also to Ben Rashkovich for taking the meandering detour before law school, and to Elsa Given, who was a critical part of our team in our reporting phase.

  This book is the product of hundreds of interviews with dozens of sources, more than we can ever thank in full. But a few stand out for your trust, patience, and time: At Fort Bragg, Monica Cash for the education on the POW-MIA movement; in Idaho, Bob and Jani Bergdahl; and on countless interviews, phone calls, text messages, and emails: Barney Rubin, Gerald Sutton, Joseph Coe, Frank Rosenblatt, Jason Amerine, Amber Dach, Terry Russell, “Ron Wilson,” Nate Bethea, Admiral Michael Mullen, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, David Sedney, Joe Kasper, Johnny Rice, Rachel VanLandingham, John Mohammed, Qayum Karzai, Michael Furlong, Joshua Cornelison, Greg Leatherman, and Dr. Frank Ochberg. In Idaho: Mark Farris, “Anna Fontaine,” Sue Martin, Jane Drussel and the crew at Jane’s Artifacts, Noah Bowen, Matt Larson, Jeff Gunter, John Shaw, Chip Deffé, Hailey Tucker, Willy Cook, and so many others in the valley who took time out of their days to help.

  Beyond the work, I am grateful for my friends and my tribe who helped propel me across the finish line: Cameron Alice Packer, for the cartography and dog booties; Dr. Michael Schlatter, for the feels and the tunes; Peter Boice, Greg Hedin, and Jay DiPietro for the brotherhood; and the entire Purple House Society. In Brooklyn, perpetual props to David Schoetz, Nick MacInnis, and Amdé Mengistu for the abundant texts, bountiful sticky flags, moral support, and emergency pluots. To the Nielsons, for our garden and your friendship; to Cyrus Garrett for keeping me honest and laughing, and Wafa Ghnaim for your expertise and translations; Michael Rollins for fixing my body; and to Julie and Michael Corwin, Jane Brick, Ken and Karen Englander, and Mary Ore for checking in on me.

  Finally . . . Chris Pilaro, you are a brother to me always, and your spirit lives on in everything and everyone you touched. Peace, love, and healing. And Elyse Ames, the only thing in this world greater than the void you have left is the love that you brought. You will carry me for the rest of my days.

  IMAGE CREDITS

  1, 2, 3, 4, and 5: Courtesy of Bob and Jani Bergdahl; 6 and 7: Sean Smith/Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2009; 8: Keith Maupin, General Data Company, Inc./Courtesy Monica Cash; 9: Al-Emara; 10: Unknown Taliban photographer; 11: Al-Emara; 12: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak; 13: Roland Lane/The Idaho Mountain Express; 14: Courtesy of Patrick J. Hughes; 15: Courtesy of Jason Amerine; 16: John Harrington/Pool via CNP Photo; 17, 18, and 19: Andrew Craft/The Fayetteville Observer.

  NOTES

  PROLOGUE

  Major General Kenneth Dahl: Bowe Bergdahl sworn statement, U.S. Army 15-6 Investigation, August 6, 2014, p. 3, https://bergdahldocket.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/stmt20of20accused202014_redacted.pdf.

  The prisoner swap that freed: Kendall Breitman et al., “Polls: Plurality against Bergdahl Deal,” Politico, June 10, 2014, http://politico.com/story/2014/06/bergdahl-poll-swap-wrong-usatoday-pew-107640.

  The night of Bergdahl’s release: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), “At some point Sgt. Bergdahl will have to explain his capture. In 2009 he simply wandered off his base without a weapon. Many questions!,” Twitter, May 31, 2014, 9:31 p.m. http://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/472913311596441601.

  When the city hall: Hailey City Hall press release, “Bring Bowe Back/Bowe Is Back Event Canceled,” Hailey, Idaho, June 4, 2014.

  Bowe wasn’t the only target: Ashley Ross, “Serial Bowe Bergdahl Story: What to Know While You Listen,” Time, December 10, 2015, http://time.com/4144493/serial-new-season-bowe-bergdahl.

  The Army was his life: Michael Winerip, “After 30 Years in the Army, Cocktail Hour Counts,” New York Times, March 15, 2013, http://nytimes.com/2013/03/17/booming/after-30-years-in-the-army-cocktail-hour-counts.html.

  Or he wanted to walk: Bowe Bergdahl sworn statement, U.S. Army 15-6 Investigation, August 6, 2014, p. 259.

  One soldier couldn’t recall: Lt. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, “Investigation into Private First Class (PFC) Bowe Robert Bergdahl’s Disappearance from Afghanistan and Related Matters,” September 28, 2014, p. 02450.
(Notated hereafter as “Dahl Report.”)

  CHAPTER ONE: LITTLE AMERICA

  Bob’s sister was: Interviews with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, 2012, 2018.

  After qualifying for: Author interview, July–August 2018.

  Moscow, Carter said: “Jimmy Carter: Address to the Nation on the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan—January 4, 1980,” American Presidency Project, http://presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=32911 [inactive].

  Protests, many organized: “Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Draws Protests,” UPI, January 1, 1970, http://upi.com/Archives/1979/12/31/Soviet-invasion-of-Afghanistan-draws-protests/6310753428720.

  In notes Brzezinski: “Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski,” National Security Archive, June 13, 1997, http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/coldwar/interviews/episode-17/brzezinski1.html; David N. Gibbs, “Brzezinski Interview,” http://dgibbs.faculty.arizona.edu/brzezinski_interview.

  Operation Cyclone, as: Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (New York: Penguin, 2011), p. 308.

  The American initiative: David Rohde, A Rope and a Prayer (New York: Viking, 2010), p. 15.

  Southern Idaho, like: U.S. Agency for International Development, A.I.D. Evaluation Special Study No. 18: The Helmand Valley Project in Afghanistan (USAID: December 1983), p. 1, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a518306.pdf.

  Before the Soviet withdrawal: Andrew J. Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East, (New York: Random House, 2016), p. 54.

  About six million: Rüdiger Schöch, “Afghan Refugees in Pakistan During the 1980s: Cold War Politics and Registration Practice,” UNHCR, Geneva, Switzerland, p. 5.

  Moscow learned the hard way: “Background Report: Paktika Province, United Nations High Commission on Human Rights,” September 1, 1989, http://afghandata.org:8080/xmlui/bitstream/handle/azu/3338/azu_acku_pamphlet_ds374_p35_p36_1989_w.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, p. 4.

  A 1989 Army report: Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East, p. 56.

  The seed Brzezinski planted: Barnett R. Rubin, Afghanistan from the Cold War through the War on Terror (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), p. 25.

  With a job building: Author interviews with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, July–August 2018.

  Tourists were a good thing: Wendolyn Holland, Sun Valley: An Extraordinary History, (Ketchum, Idaho: The Idaho Press, 1998), p. 223.

  Bob and Jani decided: John Accola, “To Most Idahoans, A Plague of Locusts Is Californians,” Washington Post, December 22, 1979.

  He tuned skis and bikes: Interviews with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, July–August 2018.

  In twenty-eight years: Interview with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, April 2012.

  Ten feet of snow: Author interviews with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, July–August 2018.

  “We don’t have safe deposit”: Interview with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, April 2012.

  Gunter watched Bowe: Interview with Jeff Gunter, October 2016.

  ninety Nez Perce lay dead: “Nez Perce NHP: Nez Perce Summer, 1877 (Appendix B),” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, http://nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/nepe/greene/appb.htm.

  “only one going to heaven”: Author interview, April 2016.

  CHAPTER TWO: BLOWBACK

  “The United States is now at war”: Idaho Mountain Express, September 12, 2001.

  a set of nonnegotiable demands: George W. Bush, “President Bush Addresses the Nation,” Washington Post, September 20, 2001, http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html.

  For the first time since: Suzanne Daley, “For First Time, NATO Invokes Joint Defense Pact with U.S.,” New York Times, September 13. 2001, http://nytimes.com/2001/09/13/us/after-attacks-alliance-for-first-time-nato-invokes-joint-defense-pact-with-us.html.

  “When I said no negotiations”: Elisabeth Bumiller, “President Rejects Offer by Taliban for Negotiations,” New York Times, October 15, 2001, http://nytimes.com/2001/10/15/world/nation-challenged-president-president-rejects-offer-taliban-for-negotiations.html.

  American greenbacks shrink-wrapped: Gary Berntsen, Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA’s Key Field Commander (New York: Crown, 2005).

  Take away that safe space: Eric Blehm, The Only Thing Worth Dying for: How Eleven Green Berets Fought for a New Afghanistan (New York: HarperCollins, 2010).

  It took little more: Norimitsu Onishi, “Taliban Leader Is Hiding in Mountain Province Near Kandahar, Afghan Official Says,” New York Times, 18 December 18, 2001.

  “Don’t the Americans”: Kate Clark, “2001 Ten Years on (3): The fall of Loya Paktia and why the US preferred warlords,” Afghanistan Analysts Network, November 24, 2011, https://afghanistan-analysts.org/2001-ten-years-on-3-the-fall-of-loya-paktia-and-why-the-us-preferred-warlords.

  In the south, Omar’s exodus: Interview with Barnett R. Rubin, September 2016.

  They gave Karzai: Anand Gopal, No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban and the War through Afghan Eyes (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2014), p. 47.

  On December 7, 2001: “The United States and the Global Coalition against Terrorism, September 2001–December 2003,” U.S. Department of State Archives, 2001–2009, https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/5889.htm.

  “When we’re through with them”: CBS News, “Hank Crumpton: Life as a Spy,” CBS Interactive, http://cbsnews.com/news/hank-crumpton-life-as-a-spy.

  They had “captured”: The President’s State of the Union Address 2002, National Archives and Records Administration, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html.

  Dostum was ready: Dexter Filkins and Carlotta Gall, “A Nation Challenged: The Standoff; Foreign Militants Seek Safe Passage from Afghan City,” New York Times, November 22, 2001.

  Fazl even vowed: Carlotta Gall, The Wrong Enemy (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014), p. 10.

  It would be more than: “Shackled Detainees Arrive in Guantanamo,” CNN, January 11, 2002, http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/central/01/11/ret.detainee.transfer/index.html.

  budget slashed to a scant: Amy Belasco, The Cost of Operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Enhanced Security, Congressional Information Service, Library of Congress, 2005, p. 14.

  The official mission statement: Operation Enduring Freedom: March 2002–April 2005, U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2005, https://history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-122-1/CMH_Pub_70-122-1.pdf, p. 16.

  Jalaluddin Haqqani had been: Mapping Militant Organizations, Stanford University, 2017.

  In the mid-nineties: Mapping Militant Organizations, Stanford University, 2017.

  Kahn was a truck driver, criminal: Mark M. Bryant, Afghan Militia Forces: ODA 361 2nd Battalion 3rd Special Forces Group March–October 2002, in Long Hard Road: NCO Experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq (Fort Bliss, TX: U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, 2007), p. 21–25.

  According to one CIA: Interview with CIA Operations Officer A, June 2016.

  president’s hour-long weekly briefings: The White House Office of the Press Secretary, “Fact Sheet: President Bush Receives Briefing From Military Commanders,” February 17, 2006, National Archives and Records Administration, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/02/text/20060217-2.html.

  Chairman Mao described guerrillas: “Mao Tse-Tung on Guerrilla Warfare: Fleet Marine Reference Publication 12–18,” United States Marine Corps, April 5, 1989, https://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/FMFRP%2012–18%20%20Mao%20Tse-tung%20on%20Guerrilla%20Warfare.pdf [inactive].

  “have the patience to persevere”: U.S. Government Counterinsurgency Guide, Department of State, January 2009, https://state.gov/documents/organization/119629.pdf.

  CHAPTER THREE: ADJUSTMENT DISORDER

  At fencing, Bowe: Author interviews, December 2016.

  the teacher, Anna Font
aine: Interview with “Anna Fontaine,” December 2016. The source’s name has been changed.

  The bully had it coming: Interviews with Bob and Jani Bergdahl, July–August 2018.

  She talked about her Hollywood: Interview with Kyle Koski, September 2016.

  They had an extra room: Interview with Kyle Koski, May 2018.