Transcripts For CNNW Smerconish 20140607

How. We saw an opportunity and we took it. I make no apologies for it. One of our values is we bring everybody home off the battle field the best we can. It doesnt matter how they ended up in a prisoner of war situation. As a prisoner of war, Bowe Bergdahl deserved, and we had the obligation and the commanderinchief had the obligation to do what was necessary to bring him home. Our first headline comes from abc news. What the u. S. Gave up to get Sergeant Bergdahl back. The price was high. Five socalled enemy combatants freed from Guantanamo Bay then greeted as heroes upon arrival in qatar. White house opponents say the president cut a bad deal. Senator john mccain called the price incomprehensible. Hes among those republicans who publicly challenged the president to bring bergdahl home and then criticized how it was done. So did president obama break the law . Did the u. S. Negotiate with terrorists to win Bowe Bergdahls freedom . What about bergdahl himself . His doubts about the war, his interest in islam . Here we go. My first guest is retired u. S. Marine corps general james mattis, the former commander of the u. S. Central command under which afghanistan falls. General mattis, you are a retired four star marine general. Thank you for your service and for being here. I understand, sir, that a horseshoe from the bergdahl family home in idaho used to hang outside your ops center, so, clearly, this has been on your radar screen for a long time. Good morning, michael. Of course, whenever we lose an american serviceman taken prisoner we keep that on right foremost in our operations. Our obligation is to bring all of our troops home. As the commanderinchief has said. And we did not ever let this escape from our attention. Have you recently spoken with the bergdahl family, and if so, what can you tell us about their mindset as they watch these events unfold . Well, you can imagine how they feel right now. Yes, ive spoken with the bergdahls. We maintain contact with them throughout the period of their sons captivity. They, like any mother and father, are unbelievably relieved that he is back in our hands. General, what, sir, do you think they would want americans who are paying close attention to know about this story as it unfolds . Well, michael, you look at what this familys been through. Go back to our own lives the last four plus years, almost five years, every moment in their lives has been colored by what was going to happen with their son. I think the most important thing right now is we all just, as we call it in the military, we take a breath, we get the facts, we get him home, and the u. S. Army is quite capable of investigating this situation and coming up with ground truth. Theres been a lot of speculation. People who have knowledge and people who dont have any knowledge talking about it. I think the first thing we do is give the army time to figure out what happened and give the lad time to rejoin america and then well sort out the circumstances of his disappearance. General, there are two edicts ive heard repeated in the last several days. One that we leave no one behind and of course the other that we dont negotiate with terrorists. How can the two be reconciled . Well, Bowe Bergdahl was not a soldier. He was a u. S. Soldier. Hes one of us. And even if we have disagreements or disappointments or worse, if the investigation were to find misconduct, we leave that as a separate issue to be handled quite capably by the u. S. Army under the u. S. Constitution and the laws that have been passed by the u. S. Congress. These are difficult moral and Foreign Policy decisions and our country paid a serious price, heavy price to get Bowe Bergdahl back. Thats something we have to work out and determine how best to handle it. I would just tell us, michael, you are often in a situation like this to take the least bad option. What is the one that you can call not good but the least bad option in order to gain a release like this. Its very hard to reconcile those two competing points as you pointed out. You reference, general, the price that was paid and you note that the criticism by some was that the price was too high. Let me ask, general mattis, was the price we paid for the release of Bowe Bergdahl too high . I dont know, michael, the fact is we had to get him out of there. We could not leave him in the hands of this enemy and a year and a half or whatever here were going to probably be in a position to release those guys considering the way the country has gone about holding them, and if thats the case, to use their release, a release of these guys in order to gain our soldier back, well, that was an option that had to be considered. But ive not drawn a conclusion yet about whether the price was too high or not. Susan rice made reference to his, quoteunquote, honorable service, and then i think she tried to explain those remarks a little further later in the week. Honorable service seems at odds with the military ethos of one never leaving his base or his command position. Will you speak to that issue . Well, once we get all the facts. And i dont have all the facts right now. Obviously, we all had concerns about what we could derive from what we found after he was gone from his post. But i would just tell you that we need to let the army figure out all the facts. Lets not prejudge him. Thats not the way we do it in america. And if, in fact, there is something that he should be held to account for, the u. S. Army knows how to do this. Theyve proven themselves quite capable of holding fast to good order and discipline and in the cases where someone is sel someones selfdiscipline let us down the army can hold him accountable, but i think it is premature to make that decision right now and weve got to let the facts sort themselves out here and well i think well see the u. S. Army do that in the days ahead. General mattis, many seem to be conflating al qaeda with the taliban in the context of this debate. How important, sir, that we differentiate between the two as we evaluate the Bowe Bergdahl situation . Well, theyre not one and the same organization. That said, confronted with one of the conditions for the taliban to rejoin the political process in afghanistan, one of those conditions was they break with al qaeda. They declined to break with al qaeda. So we have to consider a synergistic relationship of some kind and, of course, the taliban are not monolithic. The haqqanis were an organization and there is a dichotomy between some of them and the taliban. That was the reason we had to go after the haqqanis very heavily and i would point out during those times when general mcchrystal, general petraeus, general allen, today general dunnford conducts operations against the haqqanis in the back of my mind although i supported those field commanders 100 , i was always concerned that with Bowe Bergdahl being held by them that they could make a propaganda film showing themselves killing him, because they obey none of the laws of the Geneva Convention law of war. So with Bowe Bergdahl no longer held by them, it also makes the haqqanis more vulnerable, i think, in the sense that we have no concern about what they might do to a captive american soldi r soldier, however they got their hands on him. Finally, general, there is a move afoot to put your name forth as a secretary of veterans affairs. Have you been contacted by the administration in that regard . No, i have not, and im relatively certain i will not be. Thank you so much for your service and for having been here. We really appreciate it. So you remember the old headline what the u. S. Gave up to get sergeant Bowe Bergdahl back what i would have written, getting bergdahl back is only the beginning. The night Bowe Bergdahl disappeared from his post, youre about to hear from one of the men who was there, the man who trained bergdahl, and the man who says bergdahl deserted and caused americans to die. Obviously, it happened because he walked off and they were doing those missions specifically. Everything changed. The mission was to find bergdahl. That was the mission. And thats what everybody did. I mean, the whole game changed after he left. W, its what we do. But when we put something in the ground, feed it, and care for it, dont we grow something more . We grow big celebrations, and personal victories. 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Learn about all of our programs at capella. Edu. Heres a headline from politifact that requires redefinition. Did bergdahl serve the u. S. With honor and distinction . Sergeant Bowe Bergdahls release has sparked a lot of outrage not only from the political pundits with an agenda or the arm chair quarterbacks of the twitters verse but also from his very own unit. Some former members of bergdahls platoon call him a deserter and refer to the taliban swap as a joke. Sergeant matthew veercamp was a member of bergdahls platoon and joins me now. You trained before the, quote, desertion. What kind of soldier was he . He was actually a pretty good soldier. He was always reading the ranger handbook, you know, asking questions. Thats why when it happened, you know, it was pretty shocking to us, too, because he wanted we saw the effort he wanted to put forth and learn the general knowledge of Weapons Systems and how to become better and really wanted to understand how it worked and why it worked, why we did things that way. So it was very surprising. There was no sign of something being amiss with him that you picked up on before the disappearance. Not before the disappearance, no. The day of the disappearance, what happened . I was up on the op. Got a radio call asking if bergdahl was up there. We replied, no. And we saw frantic activity down below, people running around checking trucks, you know, everywhere, leaving no stone unturned. Called down and asked whats going on, they tell us, the whole thing probably developed in ten to 15 minutes, searched everything. Okay. This is serious. Were sending it up the chain of command. If anybody knows anything Say Something right now. Okay. Its going up. Sent it up. You know, then they come back down, tell us, you know, kick out in the immediate area. Question people. Search, you know, see if hes within the immediate area. He wasnt. Desertion is a pretty strong charge. Whats the basis for you using that to label this situation . The basis is i believe it was premeditated. I believe before we went on that mission he had planned to do exactly what he did, walk off. I mean, with the email to his father coming out now, you know, mailing his lap top home or somewhere, i mean, and then leaving his weapon and equipment, you know, asking questions about am i going to get in trouble if i take this with me, you know, all the stuff that comes out after the fact, it can only point to one thing but premeditation and plans. The email to dad among other things said the horror that is america is disgusting. I take it when you first heard of that it came as a surprise because youd never heard him verbalize or write or email or text anything of a similar nature. Exactly. I mean, just hearing that disgusts me. I mean, just because, i mean, i love america and we thought he did, too. Sergeant vierkant, did men die searching for Bowe Bergdahl . Oh, yes. Men were injured and killed in the search for him. The New York Times looked at it this week. The word choice they used, murky. Can g. I. Be tied to six lost lives . The facts are murky. Are the facts murky . Is there an individual you can point to and say, his death was caused by Bowe Bergdahl . Yes. From our company. Darren andrews, lieutenant Darren Andrews . And matthew martinek. What happened to them that causes you to tie to that to Bowe Bergdahl . They were on specific missions searching, questioning to find bergdahl when it happened, so if he wouldnt have walked off then they would never have been on those missions to begin with, you know, probably wouldnt have been in that area. Could have been somewhere else. I mean, obviously, it happened because he walked off. They were doing those missions specifically. Everything changed. The mission was to find bergdahl. That was the mission. And thats what everybody did. I mean, the whole game changed after he left. Is your criticism of the way this has turned out that an effort was made to bring him back or that we paid too high of a price . Because it sounded like at the outset of our conversation that you dont object to efforts having been undertaken to get him back. Oh, no. Everybody that i know and military guys, they dont object to getting him back. Yes, hes an american. He did serve in the army. Whether he deserted or not, yes, were going to get him back. But, i believe it was too high of a price. Especially considering who they were, spending ten to 12 years in prison, thats only going to bring in the result to retaliate against us. Just because theyre sent to qatar doesnt mean they cant give orders and send it out somewhere else or whatever. What is going to happen in five years . Final question. By the way, thank you for your service. Thank you. What should happen now . What i believe should happen now, there should be an investigation encompassing all of the evidence and information from 2009 and all of the evidence and information leading up and to his release. Go over that. Send him to trial. Article 85 desertion under ucmj. Have his day in court and well see what hams. Would the fact that he spent five years in taliban imprisonment be a mitigating factor . In other words, if he were tried, if he were convicted, would he get some form of credit for the time that he spent being locked up by the taliban . Foreme, personally, no. Especially if they find him to be a deserter or, you know, plus other things that could happen from that, then definitely not. Especially if he deserted. He put himself in that situation. So, you know, he is going to have to pay for his actions. Matt vierkant, thank you so much. You remember the old headline, did bergdahl serve the u. S. With honor and distinction . What i would have written . No band of brothers now. After five years in captivity, Bowe Bergdahl is on his way home, but some families are saying that because of him their loved ones will never return. Youll hear from the parents of one of those soldiers, who say they now know who to blame for his death. And just give them the basics, you know. I got this. [thinking] is it that time . The son picks up the check . [thinking] im still working. Hes retired. I hope hes saving. I hope he saved enough. Who matters most to you says the most about you. At massmutual were owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. Whether youre just starting your 401 k or you are ready for retirement, well help you get there. Over 150 years of swedish coffee experience. Xists thats 150 years of experience in refining and perfecting the rich, never bitter taste of gevalia. And we do it all for this very experience. This very second. This exact moment. 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Sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep well get back to Bowe Bergdahl in a moment but first more of this weeks headlines, recall them headlines redefined because they got the story only half right. First from the wall street journal, gm fires 15 employees over recall failures. Gms report written by a former u. S. Attorney was released this week about the whole ignition fiasco. It was 315 pages long. Theyve taken ownership thus far of 54 crashes and 13 fatalities. 15 were fired but theres one engineer whose name is 200 times referenced in that report, and this one engineer approved the switch even though he knew it failed the safety standards. He then tweaked the design but told no one and then he didnt change the part number so it made it much more difficult to unravel what had really gone on here. This is also the story of a different engineer, an engineer by the name of mark hood. I once interviewed him here on cnn. He was hired by a Trial Attorney representing the estate of brook melton, one of the victims of the whole gm catastrophe, 29yearold young woman. And mark hoods sleuthing in junk yards allowed him to solve what had gone on here because he compared different parts that had the same number but were different in configuration. Bottom line for me is that this case speaks to the power of individuals and the effect that individuals can have on our lives both for good and for bad. You remember that original headline, gm fires 15 employees over recall failures . What i would have written, the power of one. The next headline is from the los angeles times. Donald sterling to drop fight to keep clippers and allow sale to ballmer. The clippers owner you know made those racist statements about Magic Johnson is now saying ill allow the sale to go forward. Why wouldnt he . He bought the team for 12 million. Hes about to sell the team for 2 billion. Thats four times the record that was paid. The Milwaukee Bucks just sold for only 550 million. You know, sports economists say they cant justify, they cant rationalize. They cant explain the price being paid by steve ballmer. I can. I think its all of the publicity albeit negative publicity surrounding what sterling said that drove interest in the franchise and, hence, in the purchase price. You remember that original headline, Donald Sterling to drop fight to keep clippers, allow sale to ballmer what i would have written . Racism pays sadly. Troops who dropped everything to search for Bowe Bergdahl say he deserted and caused americans to die. Youre going to hear from the mother of one of the men killed action. She blames his death on a mission to rescue bergdahl. mother vo when i was pregnant. I got more advice than i knew what to do with. What i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. 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Com tv and never go to the post office again. Summed up the conundrum over Bowe Bergdahl with a bracing headline. We lost soldiers in the hunt for bergdahl, a guy who walked off in the dead of night. Thats not all. Some of bergdahls own platoon mates now are saying they hold him to blame, that is they blame sergeant Bowe Bergdahl for the deaths of six americans, perhaps even more, during harrowing operations to try to find him. Maybe you were with us a moment ago and saw this. From our company. Lieutenant Darren Andrews. And matthew martinek. What happened to them that causes you to tie that to Bowe Bergdahl . They were on specific missions, you know, searching, questioning to find bergdahl. It happened because he walked off. They were doing those missions specifically. Everything changed. The mission was to find bergdahl. That was the mission. And thats what everybody did. Still, some say the facts are murky. The troops now blaming bergdahl have coalesced behind the names of six soldiers as those who died trying to find Bowe Bergdahl. You heard Matt Vierkant speak of Darryn Andrews killed in an ambushes two months after bergdahl vanished. He left behind a toddler and a wife expecting the couples second child. His mother joins me now from houston. Im so sorry for your loss. First, please, tell us a little bit about your son. Well, thats easy to do. Darryn was a remarkable young man. He was always passionate about everything he did. He was an adventurous child. He contained himself by some restrictions in that he knew he had to focus on a career and go through school, but he still enjoyed subeh diving, sky diving, climbing mountains, just all around activities. But he always had a deep desire to help people. He started at an early age assisting people, running to open doors and carry groceries and do things in the parking lots for elderly people or anyone that needed some assistance. He taught school and coached. We had a lot of information from his students about what an outstanding role model he had been for their lives. When he passed on september 4th of 2009, what were you told by the military as to the cause of death . What was he doing at the time . They were on a mission to capture a taliban that had was highly regarded and they felt like was pivotal that if they could capture him it would benefit the american troops. We were told that what is it that you now believe . Weve been led to believe they were not on that mission, that they were strictly on a mission looking for bergdahl. Has the military said something to you in a formal sense, or is this based on those who served with him . Thats based on the men that served with darryn. What is it youd like to see happen now . Theres a couple things i would like to see happen. Id like to see bergdahl given an opportunity to tell his story, be on trial, have the witnesses come forward, and tell their story and get the truth through that and then i would like to see the full measure of the law followed for his punishment. And i would appreciate information from the military to us and our family on what darryn was doing and why they lied to us. I would think you would be owed that information, mrs. Andrews. Thank you so much, again, for being here and we apologize for your loss. Here with me now is a reporter from the New York Times. Hes done some deep digging on the claims that Sergeant Bergdahl caused the deaths of fellow soldiers. Andy, good to see you again. In the headline of the times can gi be tied to six lost lives, facts are murky. How come . We wanted to take a step back and look at the secret military dispatches being written at the time both before and after bergdahls abduction. To try to bring readers back to what afghanistan and in particular this Eastern Province right along the pakistan border to see what the war was like both before and after. The reason why thats important is that in that area you had a Haqqani Network commander. The haqqanis you may know are deeply tied with the taliban. They were bringing over pakistani insurgents. They were having a lot of activity in that area. Mortar fire, small arms fire. This was in both the months leading up to bergdahls kidnapping as well as afterward. So you read the secret dispatches and what do you see . You see that both before bergdahl walked off the base, you see before that, that bases were being targeted. I. E. D. Blasts were going off. Afterwards you see the same thing continuing. So let hes look at the first two deaths that we know of that people have been claimed are tied to bergdahls being kidnapped. Those happened on july 4th in 2009. By the way, these deaths are happening in 2009, which is by far and away, you know, its going to become the bloodiest year in the war up to that point and paktita, itself, was becoming very bloody. So july 4th, 2009, mortar fire hitting a base. These soldiers are not out on patrol. Theyre not having road blocks. Theyre being attacked. This had been attacked both before bergdahl walked off the base as well as afterwards. So in the militarys own assessment, their own words, how are they assessing the situation . Theyre saying, this is all part of the overall increasing in violence in this area. Theyre not tying it to the bergdahl case. The military, itself, at this point is saying, this is part of the complete increase how about that moms case before we have to shut down . Very powerful story. She says he was on a Reconnaissance Mission on september 4, 2009, and thats what the colleagues are saying. Right. I guess i want to ask i dont think were disputing what these people are saying. Were just saying that the military, itself, in their own words, written at the time before all of this other freight is being brought onboard, the military in its own words is painting a more complicated story. And were just trying to say, to readers, lets just take a step back and try to see as much as we can of the whole record. Youre still on it. Going to pursue this. Were all still working on it and the times i know continues to work on this story. Andrew lehren thank you so much. Thank you. You remember the original headline from the daily beast, we lost soldiers in the hunt for bergdahl a guy who walked off in the dead of night. What i would have written . Nothing murky about a parents pain. Politicians quickly took to social media to celebrate sergeant Bowe Bergdahls return, but then some couldnt find the delete button fast enough. N. Little things, anyone can do. It steals your memories. Your independence. Insures support. A breakthrough. And sooner than youd like. 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Estrogen should not be used to prevent heart disease, heart attack, stroke or dementia. Ask your doctor about premarin vaginal cream. And go to premarinvaginalcream. Com this is worth talking about. At od, whatever business youre in, thats the business were in. With Premium Service like one of the best ontime delivery records and a low claims ratio, we do whatever it takes to make your business our business. Od. Helping the world keep promises. It was inevitable but perhaps happened faster than people expected. On capitol hill Sergeant Bergdahl now represents a political football each party is hurling at the other. To that point, the ap wrote this week, bergdahl swap a flashpoint of rival charges. Members of congress are demanding answers. Some appear to need them personally to calibrate their own faulty messaging. Shortly after bergdahl was handed over to special forces, massachusetts democrat Stephen Lynch tweeted eed unqualified approval but it didnt take long before the tweet was deleted as were other tweets by mark amodi who called it the best news he heard in a long time and senator cochran tweeted out thanks for bergdahls service in the military. That tweet gone as well. The about face done by many politicians led to the question, for gods sake, wheres the humanity . Bunch wrote on the Political Blog entry entitled, america, what the hell is wrong with us . Will bunch joins us now. I tell my sons, dont hit that send key. Somebody needs to tell the politicians. Absolutely. You know, first of all, mike, i want to say my heart goes out to the andrews family and the family of anyone who lost a loved one in afghanistan. I think thats why it is so important we get the reaction to this right and that our political leaders act like adults. You know, you have to ask where are the grownups on this one . I think a lot of times your first reaction is the best one. Here are people, there was a fiveyear search, fiveyear hunt for them, bringing Sergeant Bergdahl home was the completion of this mission. People were happy. His hometown was planning a victory celebration. I think these tweets were natural and human. Then we saw panic. They were afraid of what, you know, fox news, afraid of what Rush Limbaugh would say, afraid of the reaction from voters on the far right in some cases although as you know weve seen craven behavior by democrats, too, like congressman lynch. You know, i read your piece in tandem with something that frank bruni wrote for the times full screen ahead, im sure you read it. We no longer have news. We have spring boards for commentary, cues for tweets. Unfortunately, you know, many among us are not reading long form stuff. Theyre taking news and information from 140 characters. To me, thats the big picture beyond the hypocrisy that you point out. I think so. But, you know, like i said, i just think the welcome home tweets were a natural reaction and the fact that these congressmen and people like joni ernst, the Republican Senate candidate in iowa who tweeted her thoughts and prayers were with the bergdahl family. She deleted that. Another tv personality said, you cant take back thoughts and prayers. People are doing that. Youre right. I think it is the simplicity of this twitter world we live in. The hypocrisy, i think, as you point out in your piece, is indefensible. You cited several different examples. There remain legitimate issues to be sorted out in this case. For example the five for one transaction, was it fair . Were we out negotiated . Who are those five guys . Youd agree that there are many matters of substance we need to get to the bottom of. Absolutely. Thats, you know, why were looking for congress cess to look at these issues seriously. Most people dont have a problem with the army having an inquiry. We always want more facts and information. You know, and the same with congress. Theyre free to ask questions. You have to wonder, michael, about people like senator john mccain, who back in february was asked about this very deal, about trading these five taliban for Sergeant Bergdahl. He said he was fine with it. You know, he wanted to bring Sergeant Bergdahl home. He put his finger up to the wind and gauged the reaction and suddenly thought it was a terrible idea. That isnt helping us get answers at all. Will bunch, thank you so much for being here. Good to see you. You remember the old headline from the ap . Bergdahl swap a flashpoint of rival charges, what i would have written, social media highlights hypocrisy. An american tale of dwo brothers in arms as told by a father, a marine. One last thing on the bergdahl deal. Why president obama may be trying to get the most out of the notorious Detention Center he has vowed to shutter. More aws than im equipped for, because im raising two girls on my own. Ill worry about the economy more than a few times before theyre grown. But its for them, so ive found a way. Who matters most to you says the most about you. At massmutual were owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. Ready to plan for your future . Well help you get there. But with less energy, moodiness, and a low sex drive, i had to do something. I saw my doctor. A blood test showed it was low testosterone, not age. We talked about axiron the only underarm low t treatment that can restore t levels to normal in about two weeks in most men. Axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18 or men with prostate or breast cancer. 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Visit airoptix. Com for a free onemonth trial. America as a female announcer get on board for better sleep. Its sleep trains interest free for 3 event. Get three years interestfree financing on beautyrest black, stearns foster, serta icomfort; even tempurpedic. Plus, get free delivery, and sleep trains 100day low price guarantee. Youll never find an Interest Rate lower than sleep trains interest free for 3 event, on now. Sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep in this weeks book club a story made in america. A story of two best friends buried side by side at Arlington National cemetery and hailed by their commanderinchief. The friendship between First Lieutenant travis menin and lieutenant brendan reflects the meaning of memorial day. Brotherhood, sacrifice, love of country. They were Naval Academy roommates who tragically had their lives shortened. They define an entire generations it was a wakeup call down in annapolis that they locked the campus down and these guys, these young men and women knew they were going to combat. Your son was a yeah. Two guys that had a lot of character, they were athletes, good students, but as you talked to the set in the beginning, they represent a lot of these young men and women that have served our country. You hear so much about the greatest generation and i think that tom brokaw has done a wonderful job in writing about the greatest generation. But what i took away from reading brothers forever were in the midst of a new great generation and the reason you wanted to write this book. Thats exactly it, mike. When the president talked about these two guys and they met at 9 11, their time spans through the capture and killing of osama bin laden, they represent this whole generation, and, you know, their story represents americas story with these great young men and women that are serving. They gave their lives, your son and brendan n service to their country and a decision was made they should spend eternity together . Yeah. We actually had travis up at home in the cemetery near home and we found out after we buried him that he really wanted to be in arlington. We never really got him settled. When we lost brendon and brendons wife said she wanted brendon and travis side by side we decided to move him to arlington and we got a lot of help making it happen and theyre down with the heros. Your son didnt come home, the bergdahl son is coming home. Youre a marine veteran yourself. Watching these events unfold give me a 30second perspective on how you look at the bergdahl case . Well, you know, as a as a father of a son that didnt come home, im really thankful that they have their son back. You know, thats thats a good thing for them. I think general madist summed it up well this morning, we have to wait and see what comes out of the circumstances when he left the camp, but right now, its great to have him back home with his parents. I think thats a sound approach. The book is called brothers forever. Colonel tom manion. Congratulations. Thank you. The president makes a top seat see cret deal to top taliban prisoners for at an american prisoner of war. But at what cost . I think i know why and a lot more to do with a move on the political chessboard. [ female announcer ] grow, its what we do. But when we put something in the ground, feed it, and care for it, dont we grow something more . We grow big celebrations, and personal victories. We grow new beginnings, and better endings. Grand gestures, and perfect quiet. We grow escape, bragging rights, happier happy hours. So lets gro something greater with miraclegro. What will you grow . Share your story at miraclegro. Com. 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Give at mattressdiscountersdogs. Com, or any mattress discounters. Mattress discounters good deed dogs helping dogs help people one last thing. You know, usually a story about a prisoners release marks its wind down. In the case of sergeant Bowe Bergdahl i get the impression the National Debate is just beginning. Look, there have some among us who would oppose sunshine if president obama were for it, but i dont think this story is another benghazi. While im pleased an American Family is getting a loved one home safely there are legitimate questions that require thoughtful resolution, namely at what cost did we secure bergdahls release . Were we outnegotiated in the five for one swap with the taliban particularly in light of the circumstances that gave rise to bergdahls capture. The white house has not made a convincing case that the deal was proper and necessary much less that requirements were met for congressional consultation. We would question the release of five taliban prisoners at guantanamo seems to be expected, only furthering the perception that the entire situation was not thought through. Politically speaking, announcing a deal with the taliban is the sort of thing you do in a friday document dump not in a rose garden speech with a father that had gone to Great Lengths to establish simpatico for his sons captures. Robert bergdahl tweeted to a taliban spokesman quote, i am still working to free all guantanamo prisoners, god will repay for the death of every afghan child. Amen. The tweet has been removed. Did Michael Hastings Rolling Stone piece from 2012 not make the briefing book . How is it not relevant to the swap that two days prior to his departure according to hastings, bergdahl emailed his dad, the horror that is america is disgusting. To which his father replied with a subject line, saying obey your conscious. While its important we not convict bergdahl based on a magazine story its difficult to dismiss the testimonials from his military colleagues who suggest that men died while trying to locate bergdahl, although how many is not entirely clear. Regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an american soldier back if hes held in captivity, period. Full stop. We dont condition that. I can think of two reasons for the president to ignore the circumstances surroundi ining d neither which assuages my concerns over the taliban leaders. This is part of a larger deal with the taliban intended to secure a lasting peace in afghanistan as our involvement winds down. Second, that the president is intent on closing guantanamo, where we havent sentenced much less tried the detainees and hes concluded that he may as well get something of value in return for their release. Whatever the rationale, now that the call has been made the real path is for a full investigation to commence. If its determined that bergdahl deserted, he should be prosecuted in a court of military justice. If an impartial review reveals his service was with honor and distinction, some are going to owe him their thanks and an apology. But the rule of law demands that the case not end with his return. Thank you so much for watching. Ill see you back here next week and until then, have a great weekend. I hope saturday has been good to you so far. Im christie paul. Im victor blackwell. 10 00 on the east coast, 7 00 ot out west. Were going to start this hour with live pictures of the private Memorial Service thats beginning now for poet, singer, dancer, maya angelou. Family and friends and some of whom as you know are famous figures, first lady michele obama, oprah winfrey, gathering at Wake Forest University here in winstonsalem, north carolina, so they can say their farewells to the legendary literary voice. Were going to continue to watch the proceedings here and have more for you in just a mome