demanding money from do you want to react to that? mr. sterling, asking for money, and mr. sterling said no, he >> we've made clear to members wasn't going to give her up to of congress and senator $10,000, and then this lawsuit feinstein our reasonings behind comes. >> she was not paid her wage, not deploying the 30-day and she has a right to be page notification in this case her wages. because it involved recover the she was his caretaker. she was introduced as his sergeant and the view held by caretaker. and she was promised wages and she was not paid those wages. the secretary of defense anctin on behalf of the president that so she is entitled to be paid for her work and that's what moving forward with the 30-day notification would jeopardize this lawsuit is all about. >> be interesting to see how his life because the window of this develops, especially in the opportunity may close and the opportunity to recover him may parallel, what's going on that no longer be present for us. clearly may have had a lot of so might not have been present launching ground for this as well. for us. gloria, always good to see you. this was the right thing to do. again, this was a unique welcome back to practicing in circumstance that didn't just new york. >> thank you. have to do with moving detainees >> i'm flat out of time. wolf blitzer starts right now. out of guantanamo bay but had to right now, president obama's do with recovering the last prisoner from either armed in warsaw, poland, for a conflict in iraq and four-day trip through poland. afghanistan. >> so why did tony blinken need he defended his decision to swap to apologize? >> i wasn't privy to that five gitmo detainees for a conversation. my understanding is tony blanken captive american soldier. and others on the national >> we don't leave our men or security team have been

communicating with members of women in uniform behind. the senate and leaders in congress about our rationale for >> this hour, we'll hear from proceeding the way we did. the white house press secretary, >> jay carney is the outgoing jay carney, and republican white house press secretary. congressman peter king. jay, thanks very much for also right now, mysterious noise joining us. >> wolf, thank you for having recorded after flight 370 went me. >> changing gears now, a midterm missing could become a key clue to finding the missing plane. election's only five gears away we'll assess. but primaries today in eight right now, republican senators john mccain, tom coburn, among states will determine who appears on the number of ballots. others, are getting ready to all you need to know is some pitch their plan to try to fix simple math. the department of veteran a net gain of six seats in affairs. november would put them back in control of the u.s. senate, which makes today's primary in mississippi one to watch. six-term republican thad cochran >> hello, i'm wolf blitzer of mississippi is being reporting from washington. challenged by state senator we start today with the president defending his decision chris mcdaniel who's backed by on sergeant bo bergdahl. the tea party. the latest polls show it's a toss-up now. president obama has come under our chief political analyst fire for the deal where the u.s. gloria borger is follow what's traded five guantanamo detainees going on. this is going to be a squeaker in mississippi if you believe from the base in cuba for all the polls. >> it is, it's very tight. it could wind up with a runoff, sergeant bergdahl. here's the president this wolf. morning. >> i wouldn't be doing it if i what you're seeing is a republican party in the south thought it was contrary to american national security. that's been dominant.

and we have confidence that we what happens when one party has been dominant? will be in a position to go don't forget, thad cochran has after them if, in fact, they are been around since 1978. what happens when you're engaging in activities that dominant, you get factions within your party. the tea party, other factions, threat en our defenses. both ideologically and this is what happens at the end demographically. so they're challenging cochran of wars. because they can. that was true for george because he's been around for a washington. while. the tea party says, you know that was true for abraham lincoln. what, he's too old, he's too out that was true for fdr. that's been true of every combat of touch, he's too willing to work with democrats, he's too willing to work with president situation, that at some point, obama, let's get him out. you make sure you try to get >> this is a race between an your folks back. establishment republican figure and that's the right thing to like senator thad cochran and a do. >> there's been a chorus of tea party challenger? >> it is, it's one of those criticism, however, much of it races that sort of has taken up from fellow soldiers who called bergdahl a deserter. a side road because it's got >> the facts on the ground were tied up with the seamy side of he left his weapon and his politics. a picture was taken of thad equipment, took minimal supplies cochran's ailing wife in a and walked off to either join uniform. they blame the competing campaign for it. the taliban or do something so it's kind of gotten off else. only he can answer that course. but in the end, you have the question. >> what was the feeling on the establishment rallying arounded ground about what had happened that cochran because they believe that if they were to to him? lose him and potentially make

>> general feeling was he that seat vulnerable, then deserted us and walked off and republicans would have a really uphill battle in taking control left us. >> also on cnn this morning, of the senate. which is one thing -- >> there's another important arizona senator john mccain said contest in iowa tonight. the reason for bergdahl's >> another, you know, you've got disappearance doesn't matter but there a retiring democratic the price paid for his release senator tom harkin, been there for 30 years, wolf, and you see does. >> there's overwhelming evidence and testimony coming forward you've got a large republican primary there, but what's interesting about this race is that sergeant bergdahl left of the woman in the primary, johnny his own free will and that will ernst, a farmer's daughter, who be the subject of investigation. brags in an ad that she can c s that does not mean he shouldn't have been brought home. the problem that i have and many castrate pigs, rides a others have is what we paid for motorcycle, backed by -- get that release, and that is, this, who can unite mitt romney and sarah palin? releasing five of the most she is. she's the odds-on favorite. you've got the establishment and hardened, anti-american killers. the tea party together because >> covering all angles of the they think she can really grab a seat. story, we have white house the president won iowa in the last election by six points so correspondent michelle kosinski. democrats believe they can hang pentagon correspondent barbara on to that seat but it's an starr. interesting race and the one she's over at the pentagon. place we can see where actually michelle, i'll start with you.

republicans are united behind did the president have a response for his critics who say he paid too high a price for his the can't. >>harkin retiring after 30 freedom for bergdahl? >> well, to some extent, yes, he years. >> there could be a runoff there called it a sacred rule that we too, you never know. she has to get 35% of the vote. don't leave our men and women in that's a pretty big field. uniform behind, he said the >> gloria, thanks very much. administration had been could be a startling consulting with congress on exactly this deal for some time, development in the search for malaysian flight 370. that they had the opportunity to why scientists think they may secure bergdahl's release. have heard the plane crash. they were concerned about his also, we'll have a rare look health. and they seized that inside a terror group that has opportunity. this was a short press operated inside syria. conference. there was on one question on the we'll get an exclusive report on subject. not a lot of time to get into how social media plays a role to details. and the president pretty much recruit new members. echoed what we've been hearing that's coming up as well. from his administration for days now. on the subject of the real possibility that bergdahl was a deserter, though, he did say this. >> regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable be, we still get an american way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. soldier back if he's held in they're delicious, and an excellent source of fiber captivity, period. to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good!

full stop. marge: the tasty side of fiber. we don't condition that. from phillips. and that's what every mom and nineteen years ago, we thought, "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" dad who sees a son or daughter so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. sent over into war theater should expect from not just you can easily buy and schedule services their commander in chief but from the united states of from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. america. >> what we haven't been hearing details on is what happened and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects after this year that the administration has described as with our snapfix app. visit angieslist.com today. monitoring and travel bans. i thought it was interesting ♪ when the president did say is there a possibility that these five will return to jihad after this period of time is over. he said absolutely, but he would tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 life inspires your trading. not have done this deal if it was contrary to american tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 where others see fads... tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 ...you see opportunities. security. i think what we heard in more detail was from the national security team and the chairman tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 at schwab, we're here to help of the joint chiefs of staff. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 turn inspiration into action. they got into detail about the tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 we have intuitive platforms contested legality of this move tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 to help you discover what's trending. without the 30-day sort of heads tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and seasoned market experts to help sharpen your instincts. up that they could have given to

tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 so you can take charge congress, and national security team said, well, this was within tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 of your trading. the legal rules, that they have this short window of time to ♪ wait and to notify congress honey, we need to talk. we do? first, could have jeopardized i took the trash out. i know. and thank you so much for that. bergdahl's health and safety. they felt this move was within i think we should get the interest of national a medicare supplement insurance plan. security. right now? [ male announcer ] whether you're new to medicare or not, and also on whether bergdahl could face punishment, the you may know it only covers about 80% president wouldn't answer that of your part b medical expenses. today. he said that's not something being asked right now. it's up to you to pay the difference. the chairman of the joint chiefs so think about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, said the army would not shy away from that, if necessary. insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, wolf. >> michelle kosinski, thank you. fellow soldiers who say he they help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay. walked off his post, put others i did a little research. in danger. with a medicare supplement plan, barbara, you've heard all the you'll be able to stay with your doctor. allegations, that u.s. troops may have died as a result of his oh, you know, i love that guy. mm-hmm. [ male announcer ] these types of plans let you visit supposedly leaving, voluntarily any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. leaving that base. what are you hearing? and there are no networks. >> well, wolf, here at the is this a one-size-fits-all kind of thing? pentagon, they're very adamant they're going to take this step by step. no. there are lots of plan options.

that the first priority is it all depends on what we need bergdahl's health and welfare, his physical and mental state. and how much we want to spend. so he is in landstuhl, in [ male announcer ] call now to request germany, will be there for some your free decision guide. period of time until he is able it could help you find an aarp medicare supplement plan to travel back to the states. that's right for you. at some point, the next step, once he is in better shape, they what happens when we travel? the plans go with us. will decide when to begin more anywhere in the country. i like that. formally asking him exactly what you know what else? happened, why did he leave, how unitedhealthcare insurance company has years and years of experience. what do you say? did he come not to be on the ♪ base, what was going on, what i'm in. was his reasoning, what happened to him. [ male announcer ] join the millions already enrolled this is not going to happen in in the only medicare supplement insurance plans exactly per chronological order. they're going to find out what endorsed by aarp. remember, all medicare supplement plans happened to him. as they talk to him in this help cover some of what medicare doesn't pay medical phase, at some point, the more formal questioning and could really save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. phase will begin. you'll be able to choose your own doctor or hospital at some point, the army has to decide how it wants to legally as long as they accept medicare patients. proceed. and with these plans, there could be low or no copays. does it have a fact finding investigation? does it immediately begin some you do your push-ups today? kind of legal proceeding. prepare to be amazed. does it, in fact, make this -- [ male announcer ] don't wait. call today to request your free decision guide the army make the decision to simply dismiss bergdahl from the and find the aarp medicare supplement plan

military. to go the distance with you. they can go in any one of a number of directions. go long. and that's what we're all looking for, what will be the next steps the army will take. members from both parties wolf. >> barbara starr at the are working on plans to try to pentagon, thanks very much for fix the problems over at the that. certainly, one of the key nation's va hospital. questions out there facing the president is the matter of the republican senators are holding a news conference to unveil legality of his decision, their plan that would give veterans more flexibility to see whether he should have given doctors outside the va. congress notification of his decision to release those we're listening in. some democrats are backing a detainees. you're pretty firm, you believe plan by senate veterans affairs committee chairman bernie the president broke the law? >> absolutely. sanders, which would send veterans to outside doctors if they can't get care within 30 the law says clearly he has to notify congress and give 30 days. the bill gives the va secretary days. i'm interpreting that law to mean exactly opposite of what it more power to fire senior officials because of poor job performance, it would speed up says, that i have the right not the hiring of more doctors and to do that. it's important to note that nurse, it authorized the va to they're not -- that provision's not limiting his power to lease 27 new facilities. it's being described as a transfer individuals. it's a simple notification provision that you find in a kind of dull thump type of great variety of different laws. sound. >> they argue in this legal australian researchers say it could be the sound of flight 370 opinion they put out, the nse hitting the water.

microphones normally used for spokesperson argues that the detecting under water noise may constitution of the united states assigned to the have actually recorded the plane's impact. president, quote, protecting the lives of americans abroad and peter goelz is joining us, a cnn protecting u.s. soldiers. aviation analyst, former he apparently was in danger. managing director at the ntsb. his health was deteriorating. so what do you make of this, they had him move quickly. being described as a long shot, otherwise, his life could have this thud, if you will, what do been in danger as a result. you make of it? >> well, long shot it is, wolf. they didn't wait 30 kdays. we talked about this, you know, >> this is a process of years some weaks ago, whether there apparently this negotiation was were any listening devices in going on. you clearly could have notified the south indian ocean. us earlier -- after twa crashed off of long >> they say they did notify in 2011. there was an extensive island, there were a number of them. discussion with democrats and we now got this return from two republicans in congress when there was some consideration of a swap, these five at guantanamo separate, one, an oceanographic bay, in exchange for bergdahl. listening device, the second tied into the nuclear monitoring at the time, there was agency from vienna. widespread opposition. the problem is, they've narrowed they say they should not have been surprised because there it down to an area the size of earlier had been consultations. texas. doesn't help us. >> i don't think they're arguing >> so as we go along more and those earlier consultations more information that we assumed complied with the law. had been reliable is now being they're arguing they really interpret this law as saying you sort of discounted, those pings, never intended to limit us in for example, those four pings

from the so-called black box. that way. when i look at the law, i don't see that lee way given to the some people are discounting the handshakes from president. >> even in the signing statement, once he signed that defense authorization bill into law, he did include these words, are we pretty much back at the executive branch must have the flexibility, among other ground zero right now at this things, to act swiftly in point? >> everything that we've done, conducting negotiations with and are doing now, is based on foreign countries regarding the circumstances of detainee the analysis of inmarsat. transfers. that's what he said he wrote in if that analysis is thrown into that signing statement at the time he signed that law. question, we are back at square that's the argument he's made. one. but right now, everyone that president bush did similar kinds of thing, when he was president i've spoken to still has high of the united states, signing confidence that the handshakes statements that would disqualify various provisions of the law. puts the plane 1,000 miles off >> as you know, wolf, many of us have objected to signing of perth somewhere. statements as something that >> somewhere in the indian is -- ocean. we'll see if this thud, this >> the supreme court hasn't ruled on -- >> they haven't. noise that was picked up bears >> so it's a legal question now. any fruit. peter, thanks very much for when the president has the signing statement, is he joining us. even al qaeda's no longer violating the law or not? i assume at some point that associated with a group. might go up to the supreme how one terror group uses twitter to recruit new members. court. >> it's not a violation of law to put in a signing statement [ female announcer ] there's a gap out there.

because a signing statement is meaningless. basically the president saying, this is how i interpret the law. it's his actions that violate the law. this president promised in fact, that's keeping you from the healthcare you deserve. ran on a promise not to use signing statements to negate at humana, we believe if healthcare changes, federal law. the answer is not to sign the law, not to sign the law and if it becomes simpler... say, by the way, i intend to if frustration and paperwork decrease... violate this when i have to. if grandparents get to live at home instead of in a home... the law here is a simple notification law. the gap begins to close. i think the backlash you've seen afterwards explains why so let's simplify things. notification is not given. this is a very controversial let's close the gap between people and care. deal. they did not want to bring congress into the loop. ♪ >> jonathan turley, thank you very much for coming in. the president defended the bowe bergdahl prisoner swap today. up next, reaction from a member of the intelligence committee, pete king, standing by live.

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some syrians are actually going to the polls, but only those who live in pro-syrian government controlled areas, getting a chance to vote for a president. there's no doubt who is going to win the so-called election. syria's state tv released this video of president bashar al assad and his wife actually voting. russia and iran, sending observers to watch these elections. our own christiane amanpour interviewed the ambassador to syria describing the situation there as messy, chaotic, with rebels fighting rebels. that'sant bowe bergdahl bashar al assad losing ground. listen to the u.s. ambassador to recuperating in germany. many questioning with the syria. >> this is not a surprise. president had the right to bypass congress. we were warning years ago that president obama defended the prisoner swap today while on his european trip. >> the united states has always as bashar al assad's regime lost control of large segments of the had a pretty sacred rule. country, this election notwithstanding, he physically does not control about two-thirds of syria.

and we warned even as long as and that is we don't leave our two years ago, that terrorist groups would go into that vacuum, as we had seen in places men or women in uniform behind. like afghanistan and somalia and yemen, this is not rocket science. that dates back to our >> peyton walsh is on syria's border with turkey right now. revolution. we have consulted with congress the syrian election, as it's for quite some time about the possibility that we might need called, is effectively rejected by almost everyone on the outside, except iranians, maybe some russians. but some say there is a little to execute a prisoner exchange bit of importance to it, even to recover sergeant bergdahl. though it's widely seen, of course, as a sham, with no doubt we saw an opportunity. we were concerned about sergeant that bashar al assad will get reelected. bergdahl's health. >> reporter: well, certainly, in we had the cooperation of the recent history there have been qataris to execute that exchange other candidates on the ballot papers against him, some critics and we saw an opportunity. say mocking the democratic the process was truncated reform request. i think many observers see the because we did not want to miss that window. >> let's bring in representative elections held as sort of a statement of defiance by king of new york. a key member of the house human

damascus. militarily on the ground, land security committee and the they're doing a lot better now. intelligence committee. he's joining us from long they used to be a rebel strong island. what's your reaction to the president's decision to go ahead, do the swift deal, point. i think you could cast your mind back to a year ago, western without formally notifying officials thinking we never even get to the point where this congress? >> i sort of have a mixed position on this. election could happen. i do not think it was a good it will give bashar al assad the deal we made. i tried to find a way at the part of syria that he actually gipping to support it but i just can't until all the facts are controls. they're hoping a peace process will put in a transitional out. i do disagree with probably a government. the rebels are so fractured, and number of republicans. i do believe the president would assad so much in the military in the areas of backing of hezbollah on the ground, some not have to consult with congress on this because it iraqi shia militant groups as directly affected an american well, that i think are calling soldier. having said this, he should have this vote fraudulent in many consulted congress. whether or not he was bound to legally, he certainly should ways. have. the house intelligence damascus saying, we're still here and we're not going committee, they've been told anywhere. many, many secrets, if you will, and look how messy the rebels over the years, top secrets. are at this point. >> it does look like a total they've never revealed them. sham. nick, you've got incredible akson to a brutal terror group the president to me really hurt himself and, to me, he's hurt on the streets in syria.

how are they using social media now to recruit potential new himself. he had the parents of bergdahl at the white house. terrorist members? basically a ceremony. knowing the background of the >> reporter: it's remarkable testimony from a man who used to soldier. be involved in the act of to somehow give him this type of hero status. recruiting, informing, and the mothers and fathers of other beginning to filter out people soldiers killed in afghanistan, from the west, to fallen especially those out trying to countries who were willing to come to parts of northern syria find their son. held by al qaeda-linked groups. and susan rice saying he was you heard the former u.s. ambassador referring to them. and they used twitter initially conducted himself with honor and to begin those contacts, and distinction. it makes you wonder about all the things the president is eventually bring them to syria. saying, including the fact he if you want to be one of these, thinks qatar is going to somehow provide security so these five an al qaeda fighter, filmed detainees will not be back on secretly here in the stronghold the battlefield. in the syrian city of raka, it again, technically, i think the president had the right to do what he did, but i think it was can be a long and complex road. wrong. >> listen to what the president if you're a westerner, the said when he was asked about the journey to this radical utopia circumstances surrounding sergeant bergdahl's where women must dress like this can start here on twitter. disappearance. this man is now in hiding. >> with respect to the he told us he helps recruits circumstances of sergeant westerners, using direct messaging on the twitter accounts of the islamic state of bergdahl's capture by the iraq and syria.

taliban, we obviously have not or isis. been integrating sergeant it was special treatment for the bergdahl. he is recovering from five years europeans, he says. of captivity with the taliban. one british guy told me he was from manchester. he's having to undergo a whole one asked my boss if he should battery of tests and he is going fight in his own country or come to syria. he was told, if god doesn't give to have to undergo a significant you martyrdom in syria, then he could wage war in his own transition back into life. country. he has not even met with his syria now has a new horror. family yet, which indicates i will western recruits take their think the degree to which we jihad back to their home take this transition process countries. some won't. seriously. something that we learned from the vietnam era. like this man, the first but let me just make a very american to die in this blast as simple point here. a suicide bomber in syria. that is, regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to he was well known in the area, adding their foreign recruits be, we still get an american were first vetted carefully in their home countries. soldier back that was held in part of an offense that ran a captivity, period, full stop. welcome online chat about life we don't condition that. under isis, though with very strict rules. and that's what every mom and

dad who sees a son or daughter there's some questions i am allowed to answer, he says, and things i must ask my supervisor about. sent over into the war theater specific questions about should expect from not just religion. their commander in chief but the i have to get their permission to message anyone. united states of america. i can't talk on skype. everything is written down, so >> general martin dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs, they can monitor everything. followed up by saying bergdahl he fled this city when isis is innocent until proven guilty. murdered two relatives, was go ahead, congressman, respond jailed when he spoke out of to the president. turn, and was rarely allowed to >> i would disagree with the meet the recruits. president. chats could last hours. obviously, it is our intention but some of the questions were to get every soldier back. strange. in this case, the president had i remember one guy asked me for to make a decision, should he a video of a public execution, sent five terrorists back into he says, but one that hadn't qatar and ultimately to the been put online before. battlefield in return for, you strange ones, too, about know, an agreement at this time. marrying syrian girls. all of the available evidence is i got mad once when i was asked if someone could marry three or raising the most serious doubts about sergeant bergdahl. four girls. the motives often selfish, the obviously, he's entitled to his goal violent, and its most day in court, court-martial, radical offspring turning their article 15, what are whatever h. sights on the west. you know, wolf, it's not having on the available evidence we

have for the president to decide much of an effect in syria. these five, hardest of the hard these radicals come back to core, should be returned to the europe, and possibly the u.s., the real focus of the syrian conflict here changing. battlefield, in exchange for bergdahl, i believe was just wolf? >> it's a dangerous situation, wrong. this was a judgment call here. indeed. nick, thanks very much. it was not an absolute. that's it for me. the president talks about other i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern wars. that's when wars are over. in "the situation room." the president somehow declared "cnn newsroom" with brooke he thinks this war is going to be over in one year or two "cnn newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right now. years. the fact is, the war will not be -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com over. also, at the end of vietnam, there was no ending. the world war ii, there was no we have to begin with this ghost story. a character named slender man ending. this is not the situation here. this war is still going on. allegedly inspired two young and if the decision was going to girls, i'm talking middle be made to do this deal, considering all of the questions sergeant bergdahl -- i think it school, to lead their young friend into the woods and stab was wrong to do. >> i want you to stay with us. her 19 times. this is all according to police i'll take a quick break. we have more to discuss. in this chilling case of how fantasy has become reality. more comments from the president, more of your morgan geyser, and anisa weir reaction, right after this. allegedly lured their friend into a wooded area outside of milwaukee. all of this after the three

girls went roller skating, and had a slumber party. according to this criminal complaint, this one victim wa

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switch to comcast business internet and get two wifi networks included. comcast business built for business. back with congressman peter king of new york. congressman, the president was very firm in talking about the potential threat posed by these five released detainees. listen to what he said today. >> in terms of potential threats, the release of the taliban who were being held in guantanamo was conditioned on the qataris keeping eyes on them and creating a structure in which we could monitor their activities. we will be keeping eyes on them. is there the possibility of some

of them trying to return to activities that are detrimental to us? absolutely. that's been true all the prisoners released from guantanamo. there's a certain recidivism rate that takes place. i wouldn't be doing it if i thought it was contrary to american national security and we have confidence we will be in a position to go after them if, in fact, they are engaging in activities that threaten our defenses. >> you have that same confidence the u.s. would be in position to go after them if they lead qatar, go back to the battlefield and engage in activities against america? >> no, i hate to say this, but the president seems awful casual there about hardened killers. the fact that -- i don't know how he's so certain we can -- in qatar, they're going to have supervision over them. qatar or qatar, depending on

what they're calling themselves, they're at best 50/50. they're not loyal allies. they go both ways, quite frankly, and these issues. i would hate to think that the security of american lives in afghanistan is going to be based on trusting we get security from qatar regarding these five terrorists. i don't have faith in that at all. it was hard enough to police in our own country to keep somebody under surveillance. never mind rely on qatar to keep these five under surveillance in their own country. i am looking forward to seeing what the cia director and the director of national intelligence, general clapper, how they tell us that the u.s. is prepared to monitor so we can first of all know what they're doing and secondly be able to react if they take improper action. illegal action or violent action or go back to the battlefield. i just don't see how that can be

done logistically. it would be one thing if it was a close ally but to be relying on qatar to be in effect guaranteeing american lives is just wrong. >> peter king, thanks so much for joining us. >> wolf, thank you. we're going to get a very different perspective coming up from the obama administration as it faces lots questions about the release of bergdahl. the white house press secretary jay carney standing by live. we'll discuss when we come back. but most of our employees , live in the same communities that we serve. people here know that our operations have an impact locally. we're using more natural gas vehicles than ever before. the trucks are reliable, that's good for business. but they also reduce emissions, and that's good for everyone. it makes me feel very good about the future of our company. ♪ and cialis for daily user you. helps you be ready

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welcome back. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. the white house is firing back at critics of the deal that freed the former p.o.w. bowe bergdahl. for more on the administration's response, we're joined by the white house press secretary jay carney. thanks, jay, for coming in. i want to give you a chance to clarify a couple questions, detailed questions, about bowe bergdahl. there have been some conflicting things apparently said about his health. listen to what the national security adviser susan rice said on sunday on abc. >> he's now in landstuhl hospital, in germany, he's going through all of the requisite evaluations and care. and he is said to be walking and in good physical condition. >> all right, good physical

condition. yet secretary of defense hagel said his health was in jeopardy and that's why the u.s. had to act quickly and didn't provide notification to congress. is he doing fine or not so fine? >> i think you're making a connection there that doesn't exist. point that the secretary defense made on behalf of the president is it was absolutely right thing to do, to seize the opportunity to recover bergdahl, because not doing so could potential he jeopardize his life. and that is obviously also the reason why it was important to act quickly and not to activate the 30-day window of notification to congress. again, allowing for that notification, allowing for the 30 days could, in effect, jeopardize a member of our military's life. so the decision was made to take advantage of this window of opportunity, to recover our last remaining prisoner from the iraq and afghanistan conflicts, and to make sure he was brought back

into u.s. custody and returned to the united states. >> here's another clip of what susan rice said about bergdahl's military service that's generating a lot of buzz, shall we say. listen to this. >> he's going to be safely reunited with his family. he served the united states with honor and distinction. >> did he serve the united states with honor and distinction? because, as you know, a lot of his fellow soldiers are suggesting he deserted. >> here's what i'd say about that, wolf. sergeant bergdahl put on the uniform of the united states voluntarily and went to war. for the united states. vol untaril voluntarily. that takes honor and it is a mark of distinction. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, martin dempsey, has addressed the issue of the evaluation that will take place, of the circumstances around his disappearance and his detention by the taliban as is appropriate. i will quote to you what

chairman dempsey said. the questions about this particular soldier's conduct are separate from our effort to recover any u.s. service member in enemy captivity. this was likely the last best opportunity to free him. so i think what the principle at stake here, the highest ranking member of the united states military making this point, is that the point -- the print pell at stake here is do we, the united states, leave our uniformed members of the military behind when they've been held captive by the enemy, and the answer's no, we don't do that. that's why the commander in chief acts as he did. >> the other argument being made against the administration's decision is the u.s. policy has consistently been the united states does not negotiate with terrorists. and the accusation is, in this particular case, through qatar, you effectively negotiated his relief with terrorists and that encourages more u.s. soldiers and diplomats being taken

prisoner down the road. so what do you say to them? >> look, here's what i would say, sergeant bergdahl was held by the enemy in an armed conflict. we don't get to choose who holds him. but we do hold a principle we always uphold, which is we recover every uniformed men and women who serves the united states military and is being held by an enemy. in this case, sergeant bergdahl was the last such member of the military being held in either the iraq or afghanistan conflict. it was the right thing to do. and the fact is, as you know, talks with the taliban had broken down in 2012 and they have not resumed. we negotiated his relief through a third party, the qataris, in this case, but the point is, the principle at stake here is do we allow members of the military who are being held captive by the enemy to sit and rot or do we take action to recover them?

in this case, wes d did the rig thing. >> even though he was being held by the terrorist organization, you were willing to make that deal? >> wolf, i know, because you've covered this for years, this war that's been going on now for more than a dozen years, this is not a typical conflict, but we were engaged in an armed conflict. the taliban was the enemy. and they were holding bowe bergdahl, a member of the united states military -- >> let me interrupt you -- >> hold on, wolf, he was a prisoner, not a hostage. we have a long history, as i know you're aware, of exchanging prisoners at the end of, especially, armed conflicts. we exchanged prisoners with the germans. we exchanged prisoners with the north koreans. it was entirely appropriate that the united states was able to receive from the third party here the threat posed by these five members of the taliban

would be mitigated, that we would be able to exchange him and recover sergeant bergdahl. >> he was being held by the haqqani network. in 2012, then secretary of state hillary clinton declared the haqqani network in pakistan and afghanistan for that merck but mostly in pakistan, to be a terrorist organization that was placed on the state department list of terror organizations like al qaeda and others. so he wasn't simply being held by the taliban, he was being held by the haqqani network, which your administration deemed to be a terrorist organization. >> wolf, again, i would note the process here, where previous efforts to recover sergeant bergdahl were part of a general effort to see if we could help move along afghan-led reconciliation talks. those broke down. and then we dealt through the qataris in try to retrieve sergeant bergdahl in this case.

in the end, he was recovered from afghanistan and returned to our care and that is entirely appropriate. again, consistent with the entirety of the united states history when we've had armed conflicts. and not just our history, by the way, history that predates the birth of the united states and history that includes actions taken by some of our closest allies, when it comes to making sure that prisoners that are being held in situations by the enemy, that they face, where they have engaged in exchanges. >> i just want to get to one other point, but before i do, i just want to make the point,okay now for the united states to negotiate with terrorists? >> wolf, our position is very clear. sergeant bergdahl was a prisoner in an armed conflict. we had a long history in this country in our military of not leaving anyone behind. any member of our military behind. we have been trying to recover sergeant bergdahl through any

means possible since he disappeared and was detained by the taliban and was held captive by the taliban more than five years. when this window of opportunity presented itself, we seized it, because that's what we in the united states do. >> one final question. are we just hearing from senator feinstein of california. she just said this, she said, it's very disappointing that there was not a level of trust to justify alerting us to have, that 30-day not fa i ka, why the chairs of the committees weren't notified this deal was in the works. she said this, i had a call from the white house last night from deputy security adviser tony blinken apologizing for it, apologizing for not notifying her and, i guess, the chairman of the house intelligence committee at the same time, with