The Pentagon on several occasions had ground-level intelligence on where Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was being held captive at various times -- down to how many gunmen were guarding him -- but special operations commanders repeatedly shelved rescue missions because they didn't want to risk casualties for a man they believed to be a "deserter," sources familiar with the mission plans said.Commanders on the ground debated whether to pull the trigger on a rescue several times in recent years, according to one of the sources, a former high-level intelligence official in Afghanistan, who said the conclusion each time was that the prospect of losing highly trained troops was too high a price to pay for rescuing a soldier who walked away from his unit before being captured by the enemy.
And the reason President Hussein wants to promote him? One and the same?
