And then an extraordinary moment of candor. Not everyone at white house agreed with me. On what part of this . Probably on the pace of releases. Because youve been cautious . Because i had the responsibility and i play my own game here and that is because by law i am the one, the one official in government charged with certification of release of detainees. Have you had pressure . Weve had a lot of conversations. What he is talking about is the pressure he felt to sign off on releasing more detainees and releasing them faster. Secretary hagel made clear he was never willing to sign anything he wasnt comfortable with. Barbara star cnn, the pentagon. For more on this lets bring in former u. S. Delta force Commander Lieutenant colonel james reese. I think there is a big picture question that needs answering. What do we do when our guys or those of our allies end up in enemy hands . Jordan may be making a swap for an iraqi wouldbe suicide bomber, the female but to answer that underlying question we first need to determine are we dealing with terrorists or are we dealing with an enemy thats akin to, say, the axis powers of world war ii the North Vietnamese in the korean conflict you understand the question im raising . Michael, i do. Good morning. I think first off, we spend an enormous amount of time trying to decide what box to put these people in. I think were wasting our time. The bottom line is they are enemy. Whether they are the taliban, which the white house called an insurgent group, whether its isis they called a terrorist group. I understand theres policies and these type of things that folks in washington kind of get around and sit around and discuss. But the end of the day does it really matter . My point is no it should not. There are enemy, we should treat them as our enemy. And the second part there, jordanians one thing we have got to stop doing is pushing our values u. S. Values on top of some of our partners such as the jordanians who have their own issues they know how to do this and we need to sit back and let them as they are a major part of the coalition against isis. Its interesting that you say that because last weekend on state of the union i had the opportunity to Ask White House chief of staff Denis Mcdonough whether the white house believes the jordanians should go ahead with that swap. Watch what he had to say to me. Should that exchange be made . Should that kind of a swap be entertained with terrorists . You know our policy on that michael. We dont either negotiate or make exchanges or pay ransoms. We think that results in more cash flopting around with these hateful characters who will just have more ability to ply their trade. Therein lies the distinction. We dont negotiate with terrorists at least thats what we say, but we do entertain p. O. W. Swaps, in fact in that interview with barbara star chuck hagel says that he regarded bergdahl as a p. O. W. Swap. Thats why i ask the question into which category do these individuals fall . Because that seems to govern how were going to respond. Michael, youre right. The problem is we get everyone everyone we got to get out of the box. Terrorism is an act. When we start out we go my goodness isis they are terrorists. But now after a year year and a half we have got to have the mental capacity to pull ours also away from this what i would call a dramatic aspect of throwing terrorism out and saying okay they are conducting terrorists acts but they are acting as a nation state. Now they are enemy, now theres other thing we have to take a look at and maybe help coach, teach and mentor the jordanians into doing this to get their people back if need be. You know its interesting is when you say that they are like a nation state it occurs to me colonel, then they are the caliphate, then they are the caliphate that they are seeking to establish and its almost as if were justifying that stature if we treat them thusly. Well michael, ill disagree. I dont think we justify that they are the caliphate. I think everyone understands that saudi arabia is the true caliphate in the middle east. But they are attempting to do it. The bottom line is they are an enemy, but if you look at it parallel with the taliban, all right, the taliban, they have its a political aspect the white house said the other day the reason they discuss with the taliban they wanted to leave the opportunity open to bring them to the table for discussion. At the end of the day, we have to have diplomatic discussions or discussions with these enemy states because if we just continue in this bombing, fighting bombing, fighting you know its that gerbil going round and round. Thank you for your commentary. When Army SergeantBowe Bergdahl was swapped for taliban prisoners critics said it would put militants back on the battlefield. Now u. S. Military and intel against officials suspect one of those five freed prisoners has made contact with suspected taliban associates. At the time the Obama Administration praised bergdahl for serving the u. S. With honor and distinction. But members of bergdahls platoon, the people who served along side him, are painting a different picture. They say he is a deserter and should face consequences for his actions. I spoke with one of bergdahls platoonmates in june. This is what he had to say. Desertion is a pretty strong charge. Whats the basis for you using that to label this situation . Basis is i believe it was premeditated. I believe before he went out on the mission he had planned to do exactly what he did, walk off. My next guest is a former Army Ranger Sniper one of the greatest special ops sniper. The author of the reaper. He has strong feelings what should happen to Bowe Bergdahl. What do you think should happen to Bowe Bergdahl . Well tucmj is clear and its punishable by death. Right. Presuming of course that there is a finding. Right . As far as we know theres not been any such finding with regard to bergdahl. You say if in fact he is convicted in a military tribunal. Exactly. Yes. If he is convicted then yes, he is punishable by death. A lot of his teammates died and a lot of good men were wounded looking for Bowe Bergdahl. A lot of folks you know rightfully so, say weve got to support our troops. You see bumper stickers yard signs, you hear it said in whatever the town square might be. Doesnt it mean a guy like Bowe Bergdahl until we know the circumstance should have been negotiated for his release, in other words that the administration did the right thing in bringing him back . I dont think they did the right thing by one, negotiating with terrorists. Especially like when you trade five known high value targets essentially for a deserter his platoon mates called him a deserter. Guys who were with him. I dont think that is supporting the troops when it comes from the white house. I dont think that is supporting us. Secretary hagel you heard told barbara star he regarded bergdahl as a p. O. W. In fact he was saying he was under pressure from the white house to speed up the pace of gitmo releases. When it comes to bergdahl he has no regrets because he regarded him as a prisoner of war. Do you think he was not a prisoner of war . I dont think he was a prisoner of war. He left his post in the time of combat. And i dont think that his platoon mates would go on tv and make public appearances stating that he walked off the post. Why would they lie about that . I read your book and i learned that in a span of four months in mid 2009 you tallied 33 kills as a master sniper. Of course because of american sniper and chris kyle theres a lot of talk in this country about snipers. Heres the question i wanted to ask. Is each of those 33 kills engrained in your mind part of your memory that you relive and have difficulty separating from . No its not. I dont think about anything as far as the targets. I think about the one man i could not save corporal kopp. I dont think about bodies. I cant remember a face. What do you make of the controversy around american sniper. You know that some folks have questioned the role of snipers. Well the controversy comes from people who were never on the ground never in iraq or afghanistan. So their controversy or what they say i take i dont really have anything to say about that. Why would i listen to people who have not been in that position. Nicolas irving thank you for your service. Thank you. Were going to take a short break. When we come back he was back and now hes not. The inside story on mitt romneys sudden decision not to run again. And deflategate. The nfl commissioner faced reporters with tough questions. Ill talk to the reporter who asked him the toughest one. Major heres our new trainer ensure active heart health. Heart i maximize good stuff like my potassium and phytosterols which may help lower cholesterol. New ensure active heart Health Supports your heart and body so you stay active and strong. Ensure, take life in. Tripadvisor not only has millions of real travelers reviews and opinions but checks hundreds of websites, so people can get the best hotel prices. To plan, compare book the perfect trip visit tripadvisor. Com today. Welcome back. Count me among those stunned yesterday when mitt romney opted out of the 2016 race for the white house. I was convinced that he was jumping in not out. Today, the back story emerging over what led to his decision. Kevin madden was romneys senior communication strategist in his 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Thanks for being back. Ashley parker and Jonathan Martin have a good analysis in the times. It paints a picture of jeb having outmaneuvered mitt romney both among political organizers and financial donors. Is that your impression of what transpired . Yeah. Look one of the reasons that governor romney went through this third course of consideration of a third run was that he did worry i think that somebody with a general election profile, somebody who wouldnt be able to bring the Party Together wasnt going to emerge as part of that process. And so he started to get more active and considering it. What we saw was the second mitt romney got active thinking about a romney 3. 0 jeb bush got much more active and recruiting donor, in recruiting the grass root activists so important in early primary states and got active recruiting some of the keet operatives that are crucial. I think you put all that together and i think that did have an impact on governor romneys decision. The statement seemed to exude confidence at least that he could capture the nomination but seemed to say, you know him better than i, it seemed to be between the lines saying i think id end this primary process so bloodied that im not convinced i would be the strongest guy to win the general election. Thats right. The way i looked at it michael, it felt like governor romney was going through this tug and pull between the heart and the head. And in his heart i think he feels he would be a great president. So many of those who are close to him those of us close to him also believe hed be a great president. But there is this reality. This recognition how brutal that primary prosells is and how divisive it could be if you have two very big campaigns with maybe 50 to 80 million shooting at each other all the way through a calendar ultimately that could hurt the partys position and the one thing thats driving governor romney is this desire to see a republican president come january 2017. So he knew this was much bigger than him and i think thats one of the reasons why he dropped out. Kevin, i want to zabruder the tape. Things id love to hear your expertise on. Roll the first if you would. Ive been asked and will certainly be asked again if there are any circumstances whatsoever that might develop that could change my mind. That seems unlikely. Unlikely. This is like the clintonian what does is mean. Thats not a definltive answer. I dont like when that door is not all the way 100 shut. Look i think that is a nod to one of the elements that had governor romney considering this. That somebody may emerge he didnt think has the credentials to be a good general election nominee, may emerge in that primary process. And then there would be this need for maybe someone like him to bring together all of the different factions of the Republican Party and actually beat Hillary Clinton in a 2016 matchup. Again, i think this round of consideration that hes gone through, we have crossed a rubicon to a certain extent. I think its little chance that he can go back after having looked at this thing three times and then said no. I was eating crow yesterday because i went on new day and predicted he was about to formally announce he is getting in. So now im tell people you knowdid say unlikely. One other aspect play that tape please. I believe that one of our next generation of republican leaders, one who may not be as well known as i am today, one who has not yet taken their message across the country, one who is just getting started, may well emerge. Kevin, he said one who may not be as well known as i am today. That doesnt sound to me like a reference to the bush family. Whats the relationship between he and jeb . Well look. I think there is a very good relationship. They have a mutual admiration and respect. I was somewhat caught offguard by that as well. It did seem to me the wrong type of statement to make because so many folks are going to scrutinize every element of a statement that he would make like that. And maybe take it the wrong way about governor bush. Look i think you could make a case that governor bush is not as well known and he would represent a new level of leadership inside the Republican Party. But it did seem like that was an opening for someone like a marco rubio or Governor Walker to cap toolize and again, further make the argument in a republican primary. I read it as a slight to jeb but maybe im scrutinizing too closely. Final thought. Gut reaction from you. The big winner yesterday is chris christie. I mean obviously jeb but christie now there is much oxygen to take a serious shot. I would agree. I think jeb bush and krils christie those are the folks with more fully developed National Profiles that donors are going to look toward. Remember this its not always about donors. Its about voters. And some of those early primary states like iowa, new hampshire, folks like Governor Walker or marco rubio they have an opportunity to build a profile nationally one hand shake at a time. So it may help a little bit but theres a long way to go. Like im not a betting man. I would have bet too so dont feel bad. Im in good company. Thank you. Good stuff. Coming up israels Prime Minister coming to washington the white house fighting mad. Is this visit threatening the special relationship between the u. S. And israel . When we come back big money, and the vatican. Will pope francis end his reforms reach into the vatican bank amid new allegations of ties to nazis, murder, even corruption. The exhilaration of a new engine. Painstakingly engineered without compromise. To be more powerful. And, miraculously, unleash 46 mpg highway. An extravagance reserved for the privileged few. Until now. Hey josh new jetta . Yeah. Introducing lots of new. The new Volkswagen Jetta tdi clean diesel. Isnt it time for german engineering . Bulldog mattress discounters president s day sale get up to four years interestfree financing on the entire tempurpedic cloud collection and, get a queen size serta mattress and box spring set for just 397. Mattress discounters weve all been following the consternation at the white house over the speaking invitation House Speaker john boehner extended to israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu. Speaker baseballer didnt consult the president about the invitation and the white house is furious and now the criticism of boehners actions is growing. The New York Times is reporting that a Top White House official is criticizing israels ambassador to the u. N. Calling him undiplomatic. To dig into this im joined by jeremy the president of jay street a democrat aligned pro israel group who feels the u. S. Should be tougher with mr. Netanyahu and his policies and rabbi, a supporter of netanyahu. Gentlemen, welcome. Rabbi, let me start with you. The way in which this invitation was extended to me seemed to signify that the partisanship that has been so much a part of the domestic narrative now spilled over into foreign affairs. That cannot be good for the u. S. I dont see it that way. I attended mr. Netanyahus about three years ago. It ha as lot of precedence. There are many foreign heads of state who address add special session of congress. This is a nation we the jewish people who experienced a genocide we had the 70th anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz. One out of three turned into lamp shades and soap you have a moral responsibility and sacred duty to get the message out that iran is a genocidal power that repeatedly threaten annihilation of israel. What dont we get. The president of the United States is not an emperor, he is our head of state but we throughout the devine right of kings a quarter of a millennium ago, we dont go about our lives day and night afraid were going to offend the president when there are three branches of government and the speaker of the house can invite who he wishes. I dont know thats the argument im making. Im saying were all looking at this the three of us looking at this in terms of whats best for israel israel has enjoyed unanimity in terms of support from both paerpts in this country. The iron dome when it came up for funding i think it was last august it was by unanimous consent of the senate. Im suggesting to you that israel now risks the bipartisan support that it has enjoyed because now this becomes a political football. Take another shot at that rabbi then ill go to jeremy. He is addressing democrats and republicans. Why is this partisan. Israel enjoys bipartisan support. You mention iron dome. Iron dome the missiles fired by joan 0 sidle hamas at israel cities represent a threat to individual citizens and civilianings. Its serious. Iran however is a threat to israels survival period. There are 6 million jews in that tiny land. One nuclear bomb can kill million