Washington: President Barack Obama is
"evaluating what our options are" in response to the capture
of a US soldier in Afghanistan, whose plight the US leader
described in an interview broadcast on Tuesday as "heartbreaking."
Asked by NBC television about his response to a videotape
showing emotional footage of 23-year-old US soldier Bowe
Bergdahl, who is being held by the Taliban, Obama said: "It`s
always heartbreaking.
"Our young men and women who are serving in our armed
forces do such an extraordinary job; put themselves in harm`s
way each and every day -- especially those who are deployed in
Afghanistan and in Iraq," the president said.
"Seeing something like this, it makes you think about
families. It makes you think about the young man. We are
hopeful that it will have a good ending. And we are doing
everything we can" to secure his release, said Obama, adding
that he was unable to reveal more information about those
efforts.
In the interview taped yesterday but broadcast today,
Obama also expressed gratitude for "what these young men and
women are doing on behalf of our safety, and our security."
The president said that he has not yet spoken to
Bergdahl`s family "simply because we want to make sure that,
before we do, we have something to tell them. "We`re, at this
point, evaluating what our options are."
Bureau Report
