about it. >> all right, george. we'll stay in close touch with you and see what happens in haliey, idaho. be sure to swroin us tomorrow here in "the situation room." certainly watch us live or dvr so you won't miss a moment. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." now let's step into the "crossfire" with stephanie cutter and newt gingrich. wolf, an astonishing new video from the taliban shows just how dramatically the obama administration has failed. >> or at least how dramatically republicans want to pretty size a prisoner exchange. the debate starts right now. tonight on "crossfire." beau bergdahl's hand-over and walk to freedom. was it worth the price? >> this is clearly a terrible idea. >> would hillary clinton have held out for a better deal? >> we have a long way to go before we really know how this is going to play out. >> on the left, stephanie cutter. on the right, newt gingrich. in the "crossfire," bill

richardson, a former u.s. ambassador, and frank gaffney, a former pentagon official. is the bergdahl trade a sacred duty or a dangerous deal? tonight on "crossfire." welcome to "crossfire." i'm stephanie cutter on the left. >> i'm newt gingrich on the right. in the "crossfire" tonight, guests with different views on the bowe bergdahl trade. i want to defend the obama administration. from any suspicion that they negotiated with terrorists. this deal is a total surrender to the terrorists. there was no negotiation. just watch this video. taliban terrorists shot it and uploaded it to the internet for the whole world to see today. it shows american special forces coming to shake the terrorists' hands in the terrorists' territory finishing a deal on the terrorists' terms.

now watch this. it is a very different video of a very different greeting. here are the five taliban leaders receiving a heroes welcome in qatar after the u.s. freed them in exchange for bergdahl. no wonder the taliban are celebrating. these videos clearly show they believe they won. it isn't fair to say the obama administration negotiated. they clearly surrendered. >> newt, you're certainly not new to the idea of propaganda, and that was propaganda. what you just showed there. >> the last campaign you ran, was it? >> that was propaganda, and i would hate to think you're buying into that. but i'm also astonished about how quickly republicans have turned their back on sergeant bergdahl. you know, the sacred mantra that we leave no soldier behind has been completely abandoned and they should be held accountable about what exactly they'd do. want to leave him there or what would they negotiate to bring him home? >> there's also a mantra about

not releasing terrorists. interesting debate. >> in the "crossfire" bill richardson, and frank gaffney, deputy assistant secretary for defense under ronald reagan. frank? >> thank you. >> welcome. first question goes to you. the war in afghanistan is about to end. toward the end of the year. here's what john bellinger who served under president bush as counsel and the state department said about the end of the war and what it means for these prisoners and reiterated this on "the situation room." "the u.s. would be required as a matter of international law to release them shortly after the end of 2014, when u.s. combat operations cease in afghanistan." general dempsey said this was likely our best last chance to rescue sergeant bergdahl. isn't this a logical conclusion to the war? that we're nearing the end of the war, we do prisoner

exchanges, these guys were going to get let go. why wouldn't we want to get something out of it, get our own guy back? >> a lot of suppositions there. we may be toward the end of this war. unfortunately, it isn't entirely up to us. the other side gets a vote. the president says we're ending it, but the only way one side can end a war unilaterally is by surrendering. the president by his own plan says we're going to have american forces in some numbers in considerable harm's way in the cross hairs specifically of the taliban for at least two more years. i think this is premature at best to be replenishing the ranks of the senior leadership of the taliban including some of those that have been the most murderous, not just of americans but also their own people. >> bill, what's your take on that? >> well, i think the president made a tough decision. i think -- it's a prisoner swap. winding down a war.

following the preset of the leave no soldier behind. it was the qataris, the mediators. i believe it was justified. president's obviously taking a lot of heat. but i think the ultimate safety of this young man, his health was jeopardized. i think you can see that in the video. the safety of an american soldier. and i think the president made a courageous decision. and it shouldn't be viewed as was it a good deal or bad deal? it's the right move. >> but two things, one, the taliban asked for five people. they got -- >> that's what they received. actually, they asked for 15. >> the whole last round was five. they got five top people. to the best of my knowledge, none of these five have given up any of their actions or any of their vows against the united states. you have the deputy commander of their military going back, the head of their intelligence going back. aren't these exactly the kinds

of terrorists we should be keeping locked up virtually forever? >> you know, mr. speaker, my friend, i negotiated with the taliban in the year 2000. they're really tough. and you can't always depend on them, but i think in this case, what has happened is it can't be proportional. i mean, if you recall, the israelis just turned over -- they got one shalit, an israeli soldier for 1,200 terrorists. now, you can't say it's 5-1. i think the fundamental precept here is leave no soldier behind. and we did that. but at the same time it's a prisoner swap. the qataris, we don't have all the details. these individuals can't travel for one year. there are probably a lot more restrictions on them. how can you expect them to renounce? bay the way, newt, this is the taliban, not al qaeda. they're dangerous and bad.

>> a couple of the guys, the haqqani faction of the taliban is directly tied to al qaeda, am some of these guys are directly tied with al qaeda. the state department in the past year said the qataris are actively fund-raising for terrorism. the idea these guys don't have to travel, they're going to be on telephones, going to be on skype. >> you know who's going to be tracks them? the cia. the thought that we're not going to be understanding what the threat -- >> can i get a word in edgewise here? let me respond to this proposition that we don't leave soldiers behind. we weren't the ones who left this guy behind. this guy left us behind. i think that's something we have to -- >> we don't know -- >> there are plenty of questions. >> there's no question that he bailed and the problem is when we pay this kind of price, under the pretext that this is somehow ending the war, trust me on this, what you're dealing with are people who have no intention -- >> don't with have a responsibility to bring our soldiers home? do we have a responsibility to

bring our soldiers home? >> we have a responsibility to bring home soldiers who have not deserted or abandoned their post or otherwise. >> we're presuming his guilt here. >> i'm presuming before you decide you're going to turn over people who are going to kill americans and, by the way, my concern -- >> likely going to die in captivity. >> we don't know that for sure. >> the american military -- >> you know who got behind that deal, the american military people saying don't release these guys. because they recognize that they are among the most dangerous -- >> well, here's what stanley mcchrystal said today, general in charge of our forces in afghanistan when bergdahl disappeared. here's what he had to say today. >> leave americans behind, that's unequivocal. anyone who serves as a possibility to the people they serve with. also we as a nation have responsibility to those who serve. >> so you can question whether or not these five were legitimate in exchange for bergdahl, but the american military who actually knows how to defend our country is out there every day, understands the

risk, got behind this deal. because if whatever takes -- >> i believe what happened in this deal was the president of the united states said, and susan rice said, we're going to get this guy back and we're going to pay whatever the price is and the price is going to be exorbitant, particularly because as newt says, these guys are going to be waging war against us from qatar. and to the extent you think we'll be monitoring all of that, you know, these are people who have access to encrypted technology and are sophisticated about how they fight and we're not, i think, wise in allowing them to get back on the battlefield which they're doing right now. >> the two points are one on the deserter issue. a court, a military court of his peers should decide that. >> i afrgreagree. >> the army should decide that. >> i agree. >> the qataris and the speaker, the qataris have syria, worked with us on egypt. they've worked with us.

they're a responsible interlocklear. >> they're enabling the muslim brotherhood, one of two countries that recognize the taliban. they've got taliban, that's why they were mediators to get our -- >> exactly. that's not the same thing as trusting them. before we get into who you can trust, there's a whole litany of people you've trusted that i wouldn't and they're top of that list. >> okay. i have a feeling we're going to talk more about this in the next block. next up, i'll clear up the mystery of which republicans are deleting tweets on sergeant bergdahl and why. we've got some real profiles in courage out there. first, today's "crossfire" quiz. how many u.s. prisoners were released at the end of the vietnam war? is it 226? 591? or 1,023? we'll have the answer when we get back. [person]we all got our tempur-pedics because of you know who... [group]thank you sharon [person]...so i almost fell over when she told me she got herself a new bed... [person]...sharon got rid of her tempur-pedic ?!?!

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welcome back. you're looking at new video of the moment sergeant bergdahl is handed over to u.s. special forces from afghanistan. he was the last remaining american prisoner of war which brings us to the answer to our "crossfire" quiz. 591 u.s. prisoners came home at the end of the vietnam war. before we continue our debate we have breaking news on capitol hill. u.s. senators just got out of a closed-door -- let's go to cnn senior washington correspondent joe johns. >> reporter: hi. this meeting started around 5:30 eastern time. it's been going on and on. and we have been getting bits and pieces as people came out of the meeting including from mark kirk of illinois. who said administration officials played for them a classified proof of life video apparently taken around the time of the death of south african, former south african president nelson mandela. in that video mark kirk said

bowe bergdahl appeared to have difficulty speaking and administration officials used that as the justification. felt they needed to get good bowe bergdahl out of the custody of the taliban as soon as possible. and get him back into u.s. still questions and criticism about the administration's decision to do that. and trading five taliban prisoners in exchange for bowe bergdahl. stephanie, back to you. >> great. thanks, joe. sergeant bergdahl's release has a number of republicans scrambling to hide their previous sport for his return. when president obama announced the prisoner swap on saturday, nevada congressman mark amodai tweeted best news i've heard in a time. nebraska representative lee terry put out a statement, sergeant bergdahl is a national hero. joni ernst, now republicans' nominee for u.s. senate in iowa tweeted thoughts and prayers go

out to sergeant bergdahl and his family. all these comments have vanished from twitter or their websites. they're real profiles in courage. one can only assume contrary to america's sacred commitment to -- bergdahl should still be a prisoner of war. in the "crossfire" tonight, bill richardson and frank gaffney. frank, i want to follow up on this. what exactly changed republicans' minds? the story of bergdahl has been well known for five years. the circumstances of him leaving the base. and what we know about his capture. though there are many questions that need to be answered. what kpktly changed for these republicans? >> i can't speak for the people who ill advisedly tweeted on the first word of this release. most of us didn't know anything about bowe bergdahl until his comrades in arms started coming forward and saying what they saw

on the night he bugged out. i don't know, and i'm not going to speak for anybody but myself, i will simply tell you i think what people are now keying off of are things like the statement that susan rice made when she once again went before the cameras of the sunday talk shows and once again as she did in benghazi lied to the american people. i think she ought to go because i think she's lost the confidence of the american people. you can't really have that -- >> but regardless of the talking points or what the administration got right or wrong about the roll wroout of , and there are legitimate questions there. at the end of the day, this is about whether or not we're bringing a prisoner of war home. why would they leak their tweets about their happiness that we're bringing a p.o.w. home? >> it's not clear that he is a p.o.w. >> politics. >> it's not clear whether he's a deserter which is different than being a p.o.w. >> you don't think he's a p.o.w.? >> i don't believe that the

united states military has considered him a p.o.w. because he wasn't. >> put this in a different context because i have to say i'm a little sickened by the administration playing that film saying, see, we had no choice. admiral mccain was commander in the pacific for years. >> right. >> for years he knew that his son was in a vietnamese prison. for years he knew his son was being actively tortured. at one point the north vietnamese offered to release his son and john mccain said i will not go until the rest get to go. this idea that the united states of america is going to release terrorists who could kill thousands of people because one person has footage that he's not doing well, you can't make national security policy around this kind of phony compassion. >> but the symbol to our military men and women, if you're in harm's way, we'll get you out. that is fundamental. and what i think has happened here

is this issue has been politicized. look at the family in idaho, the joy when he came out. and now we're talking about on the deserter issue, this is something the army needs to investigate. he was promoted twice while he was in prison from a private to a sergeant. >> let me reinforce what frank said. susan rice goes on television and says he was rescued. he wasn't rescued. he was traded for. >> it was a prisoner swap. >> why are we focusing on talking points on somebody -- >> because she keeps doing it. and that's not political. >> heart of the matter here. >> it's a question of accuracy. it's a question of whether we can have trust in our government. and, you know, this issue of leaving people behind. these people left four guys behind in benghazi. and i think a lot of this sacred honor stuff is about trying to mask that failure. that. >> is ridiculous! >> it is not ridiculous.

it's exactly what is happening. >> general dempsey is actually the person who led the negotiation of this deal. >> on a whole host of issues. including -- [ overlapping dialog ] >> the war on to the culture of the military. these are real concerns that a lot of people in uniform and out. >> bill? >> the secretary of defense, chuck hagel, a decorated veteran totally behind this. and basically saying his safety was and his health was jeopardized. it showed the video. >> the united states had profound concerns about the judgment of chuck hagel. and i think his conduct in this episode is proof of it. >> the secretary of defense, he is the distinguished veteran. he is following the situation day by day. you and i don't have all the information yet. >> you've been an appointee of the executive branch. i really couldn't figure out if i should call you governor, congressman, ambassador, or secretary. >> how about your highness. just kidding. >> kissinger likes that.

>> here is my point. the president of the united states says to the chairman of the joint chiefs or the secretary of defense, i want this done. >> you bet. >> you have two obligations. they can say yes, sir or they can resign. now, the fact is two years ago secretary panetta was deeply opposed to secretary of defense. the director of national intelligence was deeply opposed there are reports that hillary clinton as secretary of state was very doubtful about this. >> and the congress was opposed on both sides of the aisle. >> the democrat and republicans, this was done in secret because they couldn't possibly allow people to know about it or it would have blown up. >> it has to be done in secret. >> i've negotiated these releases. it has to be done in secret. you have one leak and it's over. >> which has happened. >> and the taliban, the taliban, i negotiated a ceasefire with them. it lasted 20 days. they broke the promise. >> if you think we can go back and trust them in the future. >> the problem is you have to move fast when you have penal deal.

>> please. >> you're both fascinating. i'm going take a cheap shot and say it lasted 20 days. i'm sure they'll be good in qatar for at least that long. stay here. we want you to weigh in on the fireback question. was bringing bowe bergdahl back to the u.s. worth the price this tweet yes or no using the #crossfire. we'll have the results right after the break. we also have the outrage of the day. i'm outraged at officials in daytona, florida, who are fining a couple for doing exactly what the bible says they should do. okay, movie night.everyone wins. how do i win? because we're streaming the movie that you love. well, how do i win? because we ordered that weird thing that you love from the pizza place. how do you win, dad? because i used the citi thankyou card and got two times the points on alllllll of this.

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welcome back to "crossfire." now it's time for the outrages of the day. i am outraged because last month daytona police fined debbie and chico jimenez plus four of their friends $373 each. their crime? feeding the homeless. to be fair, police caught them red-handed, or perhaps more accurately, yellow handed since they were passing out hot dogs with mustard and pickle chips. they do it once a week in a public park, and some members of the public don't appreciate sharing it with homeless people. instead of threatening the jimenezs with jail if they continued to feed the poor, perhaps daytona officials should be encouraged to find creative ways to actually help them. >> that is outrageous. >> unbelievable. >> instead of lifting people up, as you just described, some members of your party, newt, are dragging us all down. politics is a rough business. believe me, i know that. but i'm outraged at how low the tea party has stooped to try to defeat republican senator thad cochran in mississippi. at one point in the campaign, a

conservative blogger was arrested for breaking into a nursing home to film senator cochran's wife, who suffers from severe dementia. the blogger, who is a supporter of challenger chris mcdaniel even used it in an take video. cochran's campaign blamed mcdaniel who not very convincingly denies know anything about it. we know how that goes. after yesterday's primary, it looks like mcdaniel has forced cochran into a runoff and will likely win. normally i couldn't care less about republican politics in mississippi, but attempting to exploit man's sick wife is the lowest form of low and a national embarrassment. chris mcdaniel should have to answer for it. and i'm sure you agree. >> let's check on our fireback results. was bringing bowe bergdahl back to the u.s. worth the price? right now 25% say yes. 75% say no. what do you guys think? yes or no. >> well, yes, but i would have done a better job of notifying the congress. i think that has to be worked out better. >> absolutely not.

and what is really at risk here is i think the public safety. people need to know that. >> thanks to bill richardson and frank gaffney. the debate continues online at cnn.com/crossfire. from the left i'm stephanie cutter. >> from the right, i'm newt gingrich. join us tomorrow for another edition of "crossfire." "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. next breaking news, white house officials have just finished briefing the senate on the controversial deal that freed sergeant bowe bergdahl. a top republican senator who was just in that closed door meeting "outfront." plus two 12-year-old girls allegedly stabbed their friend 19 times, and police say a fictional character called slenderman was the inspiration. and president obama, he is just like us. the commander in chief's workout routine actually caught on tape. let's go "outfront." good evening, everyone. i'm