Analysis: Talks in Bergdahl release had wider goal

By Kathy Gannon

Published June 4, 2014 9:17pm ET

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Analysis: Talks in Bergdahl release had wider goal — In this image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, sits in a vehicle guarded by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. The announcement that the U.S. government had secured Bergdahl's release and that it was freeing five senior Taliban figures from Guantanamo Bay has been portrayed first and foremost as a prisoner exchange. But the four-year history of secret dialogue that led to Saturday's release suggests that the main goal of each side may have been far more sweeping. (AP Photo/Voice Of Jihad Website via AP video) | Uncredited

The announcement that the U.S. government had secured the release of missing U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and that it was freeing five senior Taliban figures from Guantanamo Bay has been portrayed first and foremost as a prisoner exchange. But the four-year history of secret dialogue that led to Saturday’s release suggests that the main goal of each side may have been far more sweeping.

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