As security threats rise, Trump faces uphill battle in Afghanistan

New members of the Afghan Special forces march during their graduation ceremony at the Afghan Corp, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. More than three 3.7 million Afghans, about 11 percent of the population, now live in areas under the control or influence of the Taliban and other armed groups, a new report by the top U.S. watchdog in Afghanistan has found.

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s attorneys prepare for closing arguments

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, left, arrives at the Fort Bragg courtroom facility for a sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, on Fort Bragg, N.C. Bergdahl, who walked off his base in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years, pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

Agents: Bergdahl debriefs were intelligence ‘gold mine’

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was a "gold mine" of intelligence, helping the military better understand insurgents and how they imprison the enemy, two agents testified Tuesday as The testimony runs counterpoint to the case prosecutors presented at Bergdahl's sentencing hearing, calling on severely wounded soldiers to offer gripping testimony about the injuries that troops suffered while searching for Bergdahl after he walked off his post in Afghanistan in 2009.

Defense to push for leniency for U.S. Army deserter Bergdahl

Lawyers for U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl will build their case on Tuesday for why he should be spared prison time for walking off his Afghanistan post in June 2009 and endangering the troops who searched for him. The 31-year-old soldier, a polarizing figure who spent years in captivity and was released in a 2014 Taliban prisoner swap brokered by Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, took the stand at his sentencing hearing on Monday.

More wounded soldiers to testify at Bowe Bergdahl sentencing

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives to the Fort Bragg courthouse for a sentencing hearing on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, on Fort Bragg, N.C. Bergdahl, who walked off his base in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years, faces up to life in prison after pleading guilty last week to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The wounds and hardships soldiers suffered during their fruitless search for Army Sgt.

U.S. Army deserter Bergdahl’s sentencing hearing delayed until Wednesday

The sentencing hearing for U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who could go to prison for life for deserting his duties in Afghanistan in June 2009 and endangering the lives of fellow troops, was postponed on Monday for two days due to an emergency for a lawyer in the case. The proceedings at North Carolina's Fort Bragg will resume on Wednesday, Army Judge Colonel Jeffery Nance said in court.

Dramatic sentencing hearing expected in Bergdahl case

The fate of Bowe Bergdahl - the Army sergeant who pleaded guilty to endangering his comrades by leaving his post in 2009 in Afghanistan - now rests in the hands of a judge. A sentencing hearing for Bergdahl starts Monday at Fort Bragg and is expected to feature dramatic testimony about soldiers and a Navy SEAL badly hurt while they searched for the missing Bergdahl, who was held captive for five years by Taliban allies after leaving his post.

Afghan troops go AWOL in U.S.; IG says wastes taxpayer money, poses security threat

More than 150 Afghan troops brought to the U.S. for military training have gone AWOL since 2005, with 13 of them still unaccounted for and perhaps living as here illegal immigrants now, an inspector general said in a new report Friday. Part of the problem is that the U.S. never puts the trainees through an in-person interview and exempts them from registering as aliens when they arrive - both steps that other visitors would normally have to go through.

Bergdahl: Trump has reaffirmed criticism, tainting case

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl returns to the Fort Bragg courthouse after a lunch break on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, on Fort Bragg, N.C. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl made a last-minute argument Tuesday that President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his criticism of the soldier - preventing him from receiving a fair sentence on charges he endangered comrades in Afghanistan.

Bergdahl guilty pleas leave room for drama at sentencing

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl returns to the Fort Bragg courthouse after a lunch break on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, on Fort Bragg, N.C. Bergdahl, who walked off his base in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years, is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. By JONATHAN DREW, Associated Press FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Army Sgt.