really took off. >> that's it for me. i will be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the situation room in the meantime, newsroom with brooke baldwin starts right now. >> wolf, thank you. hi, everyone. we begin this hour with in american's longest war it may be the most trusting moment we have ever seen. we will watch this over and over and dissect it. the brief truce as soldier bowe bergdahl. the defense department says there is no reason to doubt this video. this is part of 17 minutes of footage during which the taliban congratulate themselves after

getting back their leaders. the need for bergdal's release was urgent because of his deteriorating health. look at this clip. in the footage, narrator says 18 fighters came armed in the hills. after it lands, bergdahl moves towards three members of u.s. special forces. there is a lot to look at here. two of our guys shaking hands. a couple times, patting time

bowe bergdahl before they take him away. we will rerack this so you can see it. at one point there wasn't a handshake but he waved his left hand. that's kind of the equivalent of a middle finger. we will show that again. final pat down before they hop on that helicopter and away they go. before bergdahl's exit, one did have a message. don't come back to afghanistan. see the screen? you will not make it back alive. there are a lot of pieces and texture to this video. we brought in our veteran international anchor. as we roll the video, this is after the exchange and he waves. what does that mean in afghan

culture? >> it's definitely bad. the left hand is the hand that you do all of your bathroom activities with. you would never use that as a greeting or good-bye to anyone. it's not good at all. >> do you think that is something he knew exactly what he was doing? maybe he is clutching something else in his right hand and all he had was his left hand to shake and wave. >> that is a thought, did they do it on purpose? there is debate as to what that object was. so, it was still a bad practice. he should have known better it was -- whether it was done by design, i don't know. but it was none the less, not a very good thing to do. >> i have so much more for you, chris. this portion of the video is part of a much larger video.

bowe bergdahl dressed up, holding a plastic bag, clean shaven. the taliban making a big deal about this. they knew this video would be splashed all over the world. >> some members of the taliban love this. it says look, the americans are recognizing us. we will be a force to be reckoned with and don't forget it's important for the other side, too. this was negotiated with the taliban that sank almost instantly last year. it was about a year ago that they had their own flag and it said the islamic emrit of afghanistan. the americans are recognizing us as a political entity. this is important. it may be very important for the united states as well as it prepares to pull its soldiers

up. >> let's get back to the orchestration and how well orchestrated this was. down to the number of, you know, u.s. special forces on which side of the helicopter, how many members of the taliban down to the white flag? point out all of that. >> the white flag is a universal sign of peace. we're not going to have any gun play. the taliban guys were not armed. the operatives that came to greet them were not armed. there is some debate that a guy had something in his right hand. i believe that was a radio. rest assured we had two gun shifts orbiting in the sky which gave us 360 degree of massive fire capability on the area. we had the immediate potential to inflict damage. i really think the taliban was

looking at this as probably the biggest pr event in the history of their organization besides 9/11 itself. so cameras, narration. you know, as evidenced by the fact that i'm talking to you about it right now. >> keep in mind the taliban didn't do 9/11. their crime was sheltering al qaeda and al qaeda did that. the taliban probably looking back and saying what a bad idea that was. >> chris, go ahead. >> go ahead. >> we're being too polite. let me ask you about when we see bowe bergdahl, this is the first time the world really sees him, he's just sitting in this truck. we see his eyes blinking. presumably he has been through hell for the past i don't know how many years. what's your best guest as you see his eyes blinking like that.

>> no, he is very nervous. here is my professional opinion as a medical professional and also as a special forces professional. this guy knows he walked away from the post. >> he is nervous. he is extremely afraid. >> so you don't think he knows, he was very knowledgeable when it came to languages. you don't think he picked up or knew what was going on. >> he is very clued into the language. my point is that i don't think i was sure what he was walking into, being taken back by the americans. i firmly believe he did dessert

his post. i believe he should have been rescued. bring him back and now let's investigate and now he needs to stand trial for desertion. under what us a misses? i'm sure he thought about this. what am i walking back into now? >> we're going carry this over a commercial break. stay right with me.

>> they can put down a lot of fire and innone date an area, basically killing anything that moves under them. i have no doubt there was probably an immediate reaction

force talking 20, 30 seconds away. there may have been a predator. >> you were pointing out that the taliban had brought elders. >> they wanted to have something initial. they were proud of this moment that they have arranged this. >> months this was going on. told by anybody what's

happening. this is seen as a political rival, interests, they have had an election, they are moving on. there are real interests that are at stake here for all of the political leaders in afghanistan. >> we knew that his health was deteriora deteriorated. as we look at him in the video. >> five or so years, dressed up. fixed up. does that strike you.

what? >> very for the moment. he was in his sunday best. and obviously to me he looked well. i'm a medical professional. he looked just as healthy the taliban. believed him to be in good health. i don't know where they -- you know, the urgency of getting him getting him out of there. saying we need to and use our executive authority to do that. he looks healthy to me. he appeared to be in great health. >> okay. great having you on. appreciate you very much. >> thanks. >> just ahead here, those five

detainees released in exchange for bowe bergdahl. they are said to be staying in luxury villas in qutar. we will take you there live. plus this. >> i am the father of captured u.s. soldier bowe robert bergdahl. >> bowe bergdahl's father grew a beard, learned the language and pushed. some of his tweets pose questions about his true intentions. that's next.

>> new questions are being raise

today about the father of sergeant bowe bergdahl. he also delved into afghan books and the language, pleading in videos for his son's release. what are you learning about the father? >> the people who have been closest to the family as the last years as they have seen them go through this are fully aware of the controversy surrounding.

>> bob bergdahl released this video three years ago. it wz the first time he had spoken pubically about his son's captor. >> strangly to is some we must thank those who have cared for our son. >> he attempts to connect to his son's captors. >> our son's safe return will only heighten public awareness. that said, our son is being exploited. it's past time for bowe and the others to come home. >> but sergeant bowe bergdahl is coming home to a fire storm of criticism and his father is being criticized for a tweet

which read i am still working to free all guantanamo prisoners. the bergdahl family has declined to comment on the tweet that was deleted shortly after it was posted. >> drone strikes have killed afghan civilians. he told the guardian news paper that he hoped began t ed guanta would be shut down. i'm thankful that those most

likely in the house, that at least it's not chain link and cement and bashed wire. my son is a prisoner of war. wars end with reconciliation and negotiations with the enemy and prisoners of war should be part of that. >> bergdahl family friends say those are thoughts of a father fighting for his son's life. >> wouldn't you try to connect with the people who had your child? they did everything they could to insure bowe's safety. if bob was trying to connect with them it was to keep his son safe, i'm sure. >> and brooke, bowe bergdahl's parents have not spoken pubically since they arrived back here in idaho on sunday afternoon.

you know they are here in idaho. they have been holed up in their house watching the news. we still don't know if they have had a chance to speak with their son just yet. >> i am just curious, ed, what some of these family friends' reaction is to the criticism that the u.s. traded one american soldier for these five mid to high level members of the taliban? >> what you hear repeatedly, leave the controversy outside and let other people deal with that. they are also urging people to be patient and let all of this play out. let bowe tell his side of the story.

they want to let bowe tell his story. >> thank you so much. the bergdahl's home down. just ahead, president obama says sure, it is possible these five taliban detainees freed could return to jihad but now they are said to be living in the lap of luxury. we will take you live to where these five men are staying. also ahead, what has happened to other deteen yeahs and returned to their own countries, that is next. nba finals get underway tomorrow night in san antonio. sit is a rematch of last year's finals. the spurs hosting the miami heat. last year the heat won in seven games. game one is key for the nba finals. the winner of the first game has gone on to win the series about

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they are senior leaders. guantanamo detainees exchanged for u.s. sergeant bowe bergdahl as this intense exchange took place. >> they are supposed to tear under strict security measures including a one-year travel ban but right now we hear they are living in the lap of luxury with their families. let me begin with you. when we say living in luxury, let's be specific. how are they living? with whom are they living and what are their parameters for this next year?

>> to be honest we're trying to find out their location. we have been able to confirm that they would be living in some kind of alleged lap of luxury here. what they have presumably come here to the area, they have been brought here and we have been informed they will not be able to leave for at least a year. there is a representative office of the taliban in this country. it's in the. but there is also some pretty poor housing in this country, too. so a question of whether these guys will be playing on the

beaches or perhaps living in far more modest circumstances, that's something we will have to dig up in the days and weeks ahead. >> will they be able to use the phone? the internet? will qutar have the resources and will? the documents and passports from afghanistan, for example. they are not terribly popular right now. it seems unlikely. will a country like pakistan provide them that sort of citizen ship? i imagine these men are coming

to grips with the immense changes they have gone through. some of these guys have been in guantanamo for more than a decade. >> we spend the first 20 minutes really dissecting the video. let me ask you a video about the five former detainees. why did the taliban release that video? what kind of value would that have to them? >> well, certainly, you have got a conflict underway. and it's not only fought on the battlefields and mountains of afghanistan but it's also fought in public relations. the initial video of the sergeant being released comes with a a victory.

more than a decade ago. we're going back to the year 2000, 2001, when they were effectively flushed out of afghanistan. they will naturally try to portray this as a victory to their other people? to get guns for their fight against the afghan government and the u.s. military in afghanistan. >> it's incredible to think of the taliban. bringing cameras to the optics of the whole sit. >> coming up, imagine this. we all fly right? imagine someone getting on the loud speaker and saying is there

a pilot on the plane? that happens and my next guest was a passenger on that flight and he actually hit the call button and helped. we will talk to him next.

>> you're in the air and the flight attendant asks is there a pilot on board. the pilot had a heart attack. the crew was in luck. a passenger helped save the day. here he is, u.s. air force captain on board traveling with his wife and he joins me now live. welcome. >> the thing that we thought was fun is you turned to your wife,

captain, and what did she tell you? >> she said i think you better ring your call button. understatement. >> so you did? >> yes. i rang my call button. i sad there and realized i know what they're going to ask me to do so i may as well start getting up and moving to the cockpit so that's what i did. >> you get up and start heading that way. describe the moment for me when the first officer takes a good long look at you. after a couple of other passengers got the captain out of the cockpit and got him laid out. i walked into the cockpit and the first officer heard me walk in and said, okay, who are you like a oh what now thought. >> not like you had a resume on

you. she had to trust that you knew what you were doing, yes? >> that's exactly right. she looked at me and i said i'm a pilot and she said what's your experience, what do you fly? i said i'm an air force guy, i flew d-1s. she said okay, and shut the door. she said i want your help on the radios and checking the checklist. >> how good did you feel about this once you hopped in the see seat? >> i have not been flying since december 2011. i have since transferred to the ohio international guard to fly c-130s now. it had been just over two yeas s but it had been two years since i had flown anything substantial, any heavy iron.

>> was that all the first officer and you sat there just in case? >> that was all the first officer. she did all of the flying and thank you for asking that. i wanted to clarify that. there has been some unintentionally misleading headlines. your report was absolutely fantastic. >> good, good, good. >> she did all the flying. i just backed her up. i just made sure she hit every checklist eyed. it gave her a little extra time to do other things. the pilot, he's okay. have you had a chance to say anything or vice versa? >> yes, actually he gave me a call, probably a few weeks after

the incident. he was very gracious and said thank you. and of course i said you're very welcome. he survived, obviously and is doing very well. be at the right place at the right time to help out. >> we begin with your wife. so the plane lands. you finally meet her eyes. what did she say to you? >> good job, honey. a woman of few words. >> i love it. wonderful job. >> thank you for having me. >> coming up next. there are all kinds of different

accounts of exactly what happened. we will tell you what we know. and have you noticed who is interviewing clinton? there is a common theme.

>> she dropped this hint at a

speech in denver. she assured the crowd that she has -- >> a lot of resill yant and stamina. he doesn't think so and he has an enormous amount of energy. and monica lewinski. clinton tells people that she has not read it and says everyone needs to look to the future. "dancing with the stars." >> it's all about location, location, location. >> and house of cards which she and bill totally bing watched. here i am, whether you like my hair or not.

>> a lot of thought, calculation and other things are going into every single detail. just look at the wlin up. a live town hall. there is also jane paulie for cbs. so let's bring in our senior media correspondent and listen. is it a coincidence or a conscious choice? >> nothing is a quince defense.

r a person close to the decision, you can guess who that might be said it was unintensal. nonz if i believe that. but that's what i said. whether or not it is intentional it's interesting. when you are sitting it affects the tone of the conversation. i might consideration that if it was seven men, not seven women, that might be just as interesting and maybe weirder. there is still an imbalance between men and women. i wonder if she is tipping the scale. >> obviously i love seeing the different women who get a chance to sit down with hillary clinton, you wonder if they are thinking in terms of voters and the female vote. who knows, that's way down the line. >> you might get asked tougher questions. >> absolutely. >> you might get asked more

about the hair or monica lewinski. there might be more tough questions that you can deliver more effectively. every detail is scrutinized so closely. >> can we talk about the hair still? >> did i mention the hair? it's people magazine. second of all, much of the -- i mean this is not, to quote my friend this is not the economist. our friend -- >> one of the most twittery producers. he was making the point that this hair thing is valid because she puts it in our twitter bio. >> hair icon pants suit ofish that toe. >> she has leaned into this idea.

do men get asked about their hair? i don't. but some do. i remember jimmy carter changed his hair style. >> people pay attention to his hair color over the years. it is different for women. >> we will look for your article. each interviewer is for a very specific reason. the book is a lot about hillary clinton's time. but that gender dynamic is very interesting. >> it's a prime time interview. a lot of tough questions.

>> and eyeballs on the screen. >> just ahead, i will talk life to a former cia operative about the fascinating video of bergdahl's release. here how the u.s. forces were ready for a surprise if something went awry. also ahead, separating fact and fiction in capture and release. we will bust some myths next.

>> sergeant bowe bergdahl, the former prisoner of war held by the taliban for nearly five years is recovering at a hospital in germany right now. but when it comes to how that or deal began and where he was when he was captured, there are a lot of questions here.

>> trying to get real true and false is difficult. did bergdahl simply walk away from his post? that will be important if the army takes up this question of whether or not he is guilty of desertion. we know he stacked his body armor, left his weapon there and disappeared. that's their version of events and they say people in neighboring places saw that. we have still jet to hear his version. another question that has been coming up a lot, did six or more troops die searching for bergdahl? talk to some of the troops in the field and they will say yes because initially their primary objective was finding him. everyone who was hurt or killed was hurt searching for him.

they don't necessarily draw the line between bergdahl and these other troops being hurt or killed in all of that. did bergdahl seek contact with the taliban? again we have this same circumstance. people who said they were close to him and considered him a friend say that he talked about this idea of reaching out to the taliban. local people said there is an american roaming around searching for the taliban. we still have to hear bergdahl's side of it. it's very hard to figure out at this point without hearing from him, what really is true and what is really false. we know the president of the united states is supposed to notify congress within this 30

daytime period as to whether or not they would do this. what have you found? >> other legal experts have all said the same thing. did the president break the law in this case? they almost ault say yes he did. there may be a constitutional question which excuses him. that will have to be determined by the court of public opinion and congress. >> now this. >> we roll on. hour two, top of this hour. this moment, these pieces of video could be the most trusting moment the public will ever see. you see the white flag here as bowe bergdahl goes from taliban captivity. the defense department says there is absolutely no reason to

doubt this video. >> the need increased as his health was deteriorating? note this clip from the video. 18 fighters came armed. one looks like he is holding an rpg as this black hawk helicopter approaches.

>> hands raised ate first. two of these men they shake hands. one man uses his left hand to shake and then to wave. >> one is a covert operation's office for the cia and our chief national security officer. welcome to both of you. mike baker, just first to you, when you watch all of this. there are so many layers what jumps out to you as item number one.

>> they understand the importance of social media. they understand the important of marketing and public relations. this is a script, a prop began ta piece for them. they controlled the environment. they show strength to warriors and reporters.

>> they got what they wanted. they have got five of their own back. it really is a remarkable moment, particularly that one on screen right now. >> up to his chest there, an afghan sign of respect. just for that moment, an interesting truce. you handed bergdahl off. the other thing that sticks in my mind is the demeanor. the blinking eyes and awkward stumbling walk towards the helicopter. what a moment for him as well. >> i talked to a number of people and read a lot about how different people are reading into the eye blinking. what do you see? one thought is that he went through hell for a couple of years. maybe he was blindfolded in darkness. what do you see when you see the

blinking? >> it's not inconsistent. you can see that during the course of the various videos. it's kudos to the military. right? so, again, heavily scripted. they knew exactly what they wanted. a lot of anxiety. they're not going light up the black hawk as it takes off. what happens afterwards is in the hands of the military.

those debriefings started soon after they got him to a safe location. >> let me go back to your point. you can see. >> maybe someone gave a signal. >> they want to gain control of him, get him on the platform and off the x. they did what they thought was necessary. they felt secure enough to take off. >> of course not. but, to the bigger picture and

the bigger message, this is one piece of video. it looks perhaps you can see the taliban looking weak. here you see on the screen, don't come back to afghanistan. would this be a recruitment tool? >> you have these words, they were directed from captor to bergdahl, himself. the captor went on to say next time they won't get out alive. clearly the message is to the americans as well. this is increasing what they will call a victory. i think that's part of the message there. also as you say, the video goes on and shows the other handoff that took place by the side of

the road. then the joyful reunions. so, it's -- you know this is a big moment for them. they see it as a victory. i'm sure it's getting a lot of clicks on extremist websites right now. >> and finally, with you, as we are sitting here parsing through this, do you think the people at the pentagon are doing the same thing? >> with something like this, there is not necessarily a lot to learn from a video like this. it's not like an al qaeda video where as we have gotten from yemen where there are clues that you can pick up. they will be going through it. there is no doubt about that. but the focus is on the debriefings with bowe bergdahl, urns the circumstances of his

captor and follow along with whatever decisions have to be made. >> thank you both so much for that one. coming up neck we are learning of several meetings between top u.s. and taliban leaders to discuss the release of bowe bergdahl. why didn't it get done then? what was the sticking point? and why was hillary clinton skeptic skeptical? here is the video. these are the guys who were in gitmo. now they are free. who is watching them? who are they with? can they get in touch with terrorist groups? we have a live report with more on what these men are doing right now. he probably has a citi thankyou card and gets 2x the points at restaurants. so he's just racking up points with me. some people... ugh! no, i've got it.

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>> former officials involved in the process tell cnn that clinton was skeptical of early plans to trade these detainees for sergeant bowe bergdahl. they say she wanted a much tougher deal and she was concerned the taliban would not hold up their end of the bargain. an early frame work described included a two phase release of the gitmo detainees. and then that bergdahl would be handed over for the other two detainees. also, stricter supervision and

moves towards a wider reconciliation. and getting the taliban to renounss terrorism. the former officials tell vnn there is no guarantee hillary clinton would have signed off on the swap in the end. nice to see you. >> you bed. >> when it comes to the political implications, do you think it could have? >> oh, man, i honestly don't even know if she could answer that. why? as best i understand it from reading these, these are friends of hers saying she was kind of against the deal and she wanted a bigger deal. from what i read, these talks or the discussions took place in 2011. we are much further along.

one of the things that was pressuring this administration at this point is the pull out. we are a lot closer to a u.s. pull out. the president said, by the way, everybody will be out by this time. so, the circumstances are different. is it believable that hillary clinton was against the concept of this? absolutely. that she wanted more from it than the obama administration actually got out of it.

the question is whether the obama administration thought we have run out of options. let's move now. >> the pressure is in the circumstances surrounding this is much different than perhaps 2011. the administration sent susan rice out to speak on their behalf. the attack, spoon tan yoes reaction. so she said, so let me just play something rice said on your show about why congress was not notified. given the acute urgency of the health condition it was determined that it was necessary and appropriate not to adhere to

the 30 day notification requirement because it would have potentially meant that the opportunity to get sergeant bergdahl would have been lost. >> so she said appropriate not to notify but then you have phone calls that the administration i'm con feuded. >> exactly. this is the number two. she is chair woman and said it's an oversite that we didn't call you but you have susan rice on tv saying no, we checked with the justice department and they said this was fine. we were really worried.

there is a lot of holes along the way but it doesn't appear the administration knew they would have to try and fill. >> thank you so much. we watch you on sunday, state of the union right here on cnn. coming up neck, soldiers who were on if front lines, they are speaking out. do they blame him for deaths of soldiers looking for him? his very candid answer to that question next. also ahead, these five free detainees as we mention now in qutar at least for the next year. who is making sure they don't get on the phone or hop online? we will answer that question next. turn ocean waves into power.

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>> welcome back. i'm brooke baldwin. one might think the release of an american soldier from the hands of the taliban would be celebrated by all including that soldier's unit. apparently that's not entirely the case. some soldiers who served with him say he wandered off his base during a time of war in 2009 and that, because of that, he should be facing military trial. i just want to begin with with

all of this criticism with regard to his squad and unit. are those criticisms fair? >> i wasn't there, so i can't really speak to whether or not the criticisms were fair. there was discipline of some members of black foot company. what had happened is there was, i believe a vid yoger if from the guardian. i might have some of the details not endeerly correct. several of the men were filmed not wearing their full protective boty armor and that video made its way around the world and some commanders were not happy with it and some people were demoted as a result of it.

some soldiers thought the rap was unfair. the discipline is something stronger than it should have been. >> then you have this from defense secretary who said that it was unfair to sergeant bergdahl and his family to presume anything about his motivation for leaving the base. can you further clarify about what we are hearing. >> what i have heard is there are facts and there is speculation. i have not heard any of the soldiers say they thought he left to go join the taliban. that's not something that i have heard them say. i have heard them say looking back that he had made comments

about wanting to leave, wanting to walk to india and he was a dreamer type who was a good soldier and he had talked about what would happen if my sensitive items, what would happen if that disappeared, would that be trouble? and he was told yes and when he disappeared, all of that stuff was left behind, none of it disappeared with him. he had mailed home all of his sensitive items. to a man, the members of his squad say they think he left on his own. then they heard things and chatter and firsthand accounts who said they had seen an american walking somewhere. nobody says this is why he did what he did. they are mad that he left and convinced that he left

purposefully. >> you talked to the squad's leader. >> he is the first tv interview. we found him in a small town in parts unknown. i asked him baud a lot of people had been wondering about six soldiers killed during the search. their primary mission was to search for bergt during the course of those months. did he think that bergdahl should be held responsible for all six? obviously the taliban is held primarily responsible. >> i can't say i blame bergdahl to the fullest extent but if he wouldn't have deserted us, these

soldiers could have been at a different place and a different time. >> now i can't speculate as to his beard. >> i was wondering. >> i want to tauch on it. a lot of soldiers when they get out of the army they spend about a year doing what they have not been allowed to do which is not shave. i don't know if that is why his beard is the way it is. his nickname is bear but i wanted to explain that to a degree. >> i was, indeed. you answered my curiosity. we will look for that interview coming up next, we have to talk about the five detainees all part of this prisoner swap. here they were being welcome d

can they talk on the phone or get online? also ahead, what does this release mean for the detention center? you know, president obama made the promise to shut it down. could this be that first step? stay right here you're watching cnn. ♪ [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer.

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>> bottom of the hour.

you're watching cnn. let's talk about about the soldiers. . last week the five men -- now those men are free. how big of a threat are these men now that that they are out? >> the government is fighting and suffering casualties. where do you send them? well, clearly was part of the

negotiations process they made it clear that five released detainees will be able to live freely here. they move around freely. we are being told that they will not be able to leave this country for at least a year. wherever they go, it may be a big question.

so, those will be questions for down the road. for now, we are very curious to know where these men may get to live in the city that parts of it are quite opulent. brooke? >> let's find out, soon enough. live for us in qutar. one of the questions in the wake of this whole prisoner swap is what does this mean for the some 150 detainees that remain at guantanamo bay? how might this work? >> thanks so much for having me. >> president obama, we know the promise. promise to shut gitmo by the end of this year. what are you hearing about how this may be a trial balloon for the release of future detainees? >> there are two elements of

this. they will not have the legal authority to hold them after the end of combat operations in afghanistan and that's the end of 2014. in some ways the swap is getting bergdahl back and you may have had to release them anyway. the biggest problem has been a lot of these guys, no one wants to take them. ideally they want to make sure that individuals are transferred to countries where they will remain monitored at the very least in that respect, i think this is also has a benefit for the white house because of political reasons. these are the five most senior taliban officials. the white house thinks it will be a much easier way to transfer

other less dangerous and risky prisoners. >> you hear from john mccain when he was commenting on the whole prisoner swap james clapper had this warning about releasing these men. >> i don't think anyone harbors any illusions about these five taliban members and what they might do if they were transferred. obviously this could set precedent for capturing other americans.

it does, though, have significant implications that is confirmation that the bush administration didn't confer. they were bush administration, john mccain, and i think most americans consider the taliban to be a terrorist organization. now they are considered to be come baa tants in a war and that is very different from an international legal perspective as well. that is also an important victory for the taliban. they have always wanted that type of recognition. this could be a way to see how it works. we know that president obama, they have released other prisoners in the past. how else may -- what are you

hearing when you talk to different officials how the rest of those detainees could be released? >> well the modalities could be, but removing that political option, there is experience here. one of the senior advisors that had a role was a former guantanamo detainee. that said, the other argument is that these five taliban senior commander types they have been so far removed. it ease a dozen years.

the taliban is treating them like returning heroes. i think adds street cred at this point. will they be able to communicate? will they be able to make public statements and affect the afghan election elections. >> the internet is a powerful tool, is it not? appreciate you and we have to stay on the story. we are getting a flurry of breaking news including a phone call made by chuck haguele to the bergdahl family and two videos the administration saw before the release. stay right here. you told us your number one olive garden dishes.

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>> we are getting breaking news right now. three different pieces. let's go in with the phone call. today. >> this is a reassuring phone call. i think it was a gentle gesture by the defense secretary. the deaths of old soldiers. here you have defense secretary chuck haguele calling his family. the defense department's focus is on his health, well being and reintegration for now.

you see them reaching out. >> number two, and we have reported on one of these videos the u.s. was shown two different videos. because his health was apparently deteriorating. >> something gave an indication that now was the time. part of that was calculation that his health was declining. we are now learning that there was a second proof of life video. gave the same indication. you will have military doctors looking at this video his eyes, etc. and what they saw in those videos gave them concern and that that was part of the administration's reasoning for

pushing for a deal now. he was serving over in afghanistan and the fact that he had left his post before. >> that's right. this is something that some of his colleagues, some of his former fellow soldiers had said. this is coming from our own barbara star his other soldiers said that rathder than being passive, he wanted to be more active, kicking down more doors, which is interesting. but also that he had left the base before and that raised the questions. this was not a fort. it wasn't built up.

there was not a concrete building but a circle of trucks with some bashed wire around it. so very easy to walk away. that raises concerns about who could walk in undetected as well. it raises questions about circumstances of walking off. did he actually march out of the base through a check point or did he wander out a little bit and come back? we don't know. these are some of the questions that really make it -- make urge the caution. >> and a lot of people are judging, maybe some for good reason because we are hearing from some of the soldiers who served with him. just finally to button this up. there have been reports of this note that burg left somewhere before he allegedly wandered off.

there was no note or he had no knowledge of that note. the forces landed in afghanistan and handed over -- they were handed u.s. sergeant bowe bergdahl, the handshakes, the pat down, the communication between the two sides. former navy seal breaks it down for me next. whatever happened t? good is choosing not to overshoot the moon, but to land right on it. good is maxwell house. ♪ good to the last drop

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in case you have yet to see this, remarkable foot annual, bowe bergdahl, being transferred saturday from the taliban to u.s. military and as we watch, a form navy s.e.a.l., joining me. as we watch this, chris, i want to begin with first visual we have, i think one of our -- my last guest called him, in his sunday best here the taliban knew full well they had a video camera and this would be blasted all over the world. >> prime time. >> the eye blinking, the bowe bergdahl, sitting in the truck initially, blinking, blinking, blinking, you're a medical professional as well, what's your read? >> he's very nervous. he doesn't know what he's walking into. when you're cappive for five years, the stockholm syndrome

comes in to play. he knows his hearts of hearts he walked away from the post, he's thinking what's going to happen to me when i get to the other side. he's very nervous. he might have been in shock the fast pace this all happened. uneasy, edgy, nervous, frightened, identified more with his captors after five years than the guys that wear the same uniform he used to wear. >> it's crazy. >> hard to say. >> how quickly and well orchestrated the whole thing went off, at least from my -- >> clock work. >> clock work. the fact, as we watched some of the u.s. special forces you see them sort of facing the taliban, as they walk back toward the helicopter before turning around. you see guys patting bowe bergdahl down. >> yes. >> would you have taken longer with him? >> i would have taken a lot longer, you know. people say you want to get off the x, but you've got two ac-130

gun ships circling in the sky, armed men on the helicopter scanning left, scanning right, what we call looking for work, which means you're looking to squeeze a trigger on someone because they're doing something you don't like. i would have had that guy, i would have slammed him down on the ground, checked every inch of his body, front, back, sideways before i put him anywhere near the helicopter. that's what we do with friendly pilots that we know have been in the field for two hours, three hours after the plane went down. >> let alone the taliban. >> we search the entire body. i don't trust the taliban. yeah we never turn our backs to the enemies, we like to look our enemies in their faces. that video was very -- very impressive. things went down fast. >> what about, quickly, the handshaking, hand over the heart, and then the left hand wave? >> yeah, the hand over the heart, that was a gesture that should have been done with right hand, you're saying peace be upon you, this is a peaceful situation, we want no gun play, we're showing our open hands.

left-handed wave, worst than a fashion faux pas. that's like a -- it's bad. it's a slap in the face. almost akin to giving a one-finger salute or telling someone you know what. >> with the last hand. >> exactly. whether done by design or didn't realize and the heat of the moment, i'm not sure. but you know, not good, but who cares? >> right. it all went off. they have bowe bergdahl sitting in language stul health, number one prirmority. what else am i not seeing? >> we're seeing everything. i'm glad he's back, okay? but let's get to the facts of the case and see what happened. why did he leave? how did he get to where he was? also, my last parting comment is, let's go get that marine sergeant in mexico, bring him home, too. >> chris heben, thank you so much, former navy s.e.a.l., appreciate it. a scene out of a movie, a russian fighter jet dangerously

buzzing past the american reconnaissance plane in late april off of russia's coast. jets passing within 100 feet of each other. more on that near-collision coming up.

. a russian fighter jet buzzing past a u.s. military plane is being called one of most dangerous close passes in decades. this is a cording to a u.s. official who talked to us here at cnn. watch for yourself. a russian jet came within 100 feet of the u.s. air force reconnaissance plane, above the sea, between russia and japan in april. this is the animation of what might have happened. officials describe the maneuver as being straight out of a movie. the russian jet turned and showed its belly, so the u.s. crew could see the jet was armed with missiles, flyby forced the americans to abort the mission.

u.s. and russian leaders have say they have discussed the mat. >> tensions between the u.s. and soviet union came to a held in the 1960s, cold war, vietnam, cuban missile crisis with the world on the brink. the focus of the latest installment of "the sixthies." supreme national effort to move this country through the 1960s. >> seven minutes past 1:00 this morning, a man went around the world. the spaceship was built in russia. >> if you could put a man into space, you can put nuclear warheads into space. >> the temper of the world is crisis. >> there was palpable fear in the united states and in the soviet union that two sides were going to to get into a nuclear war. >> i do not shrink from this responsibility. ♪ children, what's that sound the next 48 hours will be

decisive. >> should we bomb? should we invade, back and forth. >> humanity will destroy itself. >> who is going to blink first? >> the sixties." tune in. i'll be back tomorrow. "the lead" with jake tapper starts right now. >> what does the taliban stand to gain by releasing this tape of sergeant bowe bergdahl's handover? well, maybe the better question is what does the u.s. stand to lose? i'm jake tapper, this is "the lead." the world lead, the tense moment that lived only in our imaginations until now. a taliban propaganda video showing the extraordinary handover of sergeant bergdahl. for the third day in a row, one of bergdahl's fellow soldiers will join "the lead" and talk about his feelings that bergdahl was a deserter. this time his squad leader in his first ever tv