Doesn't it seem a little curious as to why he was described as "walking in a haze" and it was only a half mile from the installation. Now, I don't know the terrain that he had to traverse, but say it was grueling, why would he turn down "bread and water"?
When have you ever heard of a Taliban lunatic who wasn't in a haze?
He turned down bread and water because among the Taliban,
once you accept food/water (or give it) from a person, they are your family and you are obliged to protect them.
He was planning on turning over information to the Taliban...and do you know what they do to people who provide succor to Americans? If he went to them after being helped by the villagers they plan to kill, he would have been killed along with them as one of them.
He is an American soldier, if he was a HOSTAGE of the Taliban, how can he be Taliban?
I haven't heard of that custom; I'm not sure what you are saying is accurate. I have heard of the custom that if the villagers give you food and water, they are obligated to protect you (see Marcus Luttrell's book Lone Survivor).
Your last paragraph is conjecture, I think that there is a lot more to the story that we are hearing. Maybe he has some good intel for us.That said; if in fact he did desert, he should be subject of Court Martial for it, if in fact he did feed information to the Taliban he should be tried for Treason.