president to be constantly under the microscope. i've had people videotape me at the gym. i asked them, look i'll take it with you. i just feel bad for the guy. that's it for us. thanks for watching. cnn tonight starts now. this is cnn tonight. every picture tells us a story. what story do these pictures tell? a hag gared man surrounded by armed taliban fighters. the man is led to the chopper, given a quick patdown and whisked away. today, the tale of the tape and what it tells us about sergeant bowe bergdahl. was he near death? did his disappearance cost american lives? our team of experts separates fact from fiction. plus, if you were riding the hollywood version of this story, is this the bay you would write

it? who better to ask than the executive producer of the television series "homeland." we want to know what you think. first, i want to give you mistake on the unfolding controversy over the release of army arrest gent bowe bergdahl. we saw his actual release for ourselves today. squinting, possibly to adjust his eyes to the daylight. the picture of five years in captivity. the video obviously meant to be a propaganda tool for bergdahl's captives. a soldier's life saved. that video got me to thinking about brothers in arms. about how the greatest generation conducted themselves on the battle field, but more importantly, what they did once they returned home, if they were lucky enough to return home. there's been a lot said about ser janet bergdahl.

even from some of the men who served alongside them. they have every right to speak out. and maybe they're right, but the official evidence doesn't show that just yet. and bowe bergdahl can't yet speak for himself. his father says he's having trouble speaking english. it wasn't just a mantra, they lived by those words. it made me wonder of what they think about criticizing a soldier before he even had time to criticize himself. one of the men who helped coordinate interviews with those soldiers is here. we're going to ask him that. and we're going to see why they're choosing to politicize a capture of a member of the u.s. military. tom foreman has more. >> don, the video handover taking only minutes, but it is packed with information about bergdahl, the taliban and

american forces. for starters, it is a scene setter. you see 18 taliban fighters with arms spread across the hillsides here in an anywhere identified on tape as eastern afghanistan. the coast province where the taliban has been long powerful. bergdahl is sitting in a truck, his head shaved, his uniform long gone. dispete concerns about his health, there are no visible signs of injury here. he blinks over and over again. at one time, he smiles briefly. it seems as if maybe he's not used to bright lights. that would make sense, because one of his captors tells him in here, don't come back, you won't get out alive again. we see the american troops used for this type of thing. undoubtedly special forces. folks we never see in action.

they shake hands with their sworn enemy. one of them over here briefly puts his hand to his chest in a sign of respect. but then they quickly move to get bergdahl to the helicopter. he touches him in the back here. and then away they go while keeping a very close eye on the taliban. at the helicopter, a much more thorough frisking happens here. bergdahl was carrying a plastic bag which he's forced to drop. then quickly onto the helicopter. all the while keeping an eye on the taliban. this happens fast. and then away they go. you have to wonder why would the taliban give this over so that it can be studied by intelligence analysts here. it shows their followers that they're on equal terms with the american military. and it suggests that even at the end of this long war, they can force the americans to strike a deal on the field of battle. that is a power position and they clearly like it.

don? >> thank you very much. joining me now is brad thor. josh quarter is a former u.s. army sergeant who served with bowe bergdahl in afghanistan. i'm glad to have all of you here tonight. and for members of the military, thank you for your service. josh, i want to begin with you. you say you're speaking on your own accord and not as part of any political opposition. you were there with bowe bergdahl the night he went missing. what jumped out to you from this tape? >> well, i mean, yes, you guys did mention that he looked pale which is a little bit counter of what, you know, i was thinking that he might be getting, you know, regular sunlight. however, his amount of mall nourishment is not dissimilar

lar from any other soldier fromming back from combat. he didn't have scars on his face or anything like that. >> all we could see was really his face. we don't know what's under there. presuming from everyone examining this, he is in good condition. do you remember him having these sort of tick or blink like that before? >> i'm not exactly sure. he always seemed to be a normal guy as far as his gestures. maybe it was the bright sunlight. in a way, though, he looked sad to me. and maybe he smiled because there was some kind of thing that one of the people was, you know, telling him. >> so lieutenant colonel jeffrey corn, let's break down this video. first, obviously it is daylight. are you surprised that this operation was even conducted in daylight? >> first, lets me say i'm a former military lawyer. i don't hold myself out as an

expert on prisoneri exchanges. i do have some background. if you're going to do a paragraph lay with your enemy, you want to do in a situation that minimizes anxiety and minimizes the risks that somebody might get nervous and make a mistake that leads to a conflict. and doing it in daylight reduces the risk of uncertainty and makes things more transparent for both sides. so no, i'm not surprised. >> and it was quick. they got out of there fast. we saw handshakes. and one american soldier touches his chest in a sign of respect. what type of units are qualified to handle this type of prisoner trade and what would their support have been? >> don, i think any of my troopers probably could have done that. we would have used probably special ops folks to handle

that. all of those science of respect -- the mission is to get the prisoner out of there quickly, respectfully and without any ceremony or excitement. and it looked like that's what happened. >> brad, to you now. it's unusual to see the taliban and u.s. soldiers together in any capacity. but isn't it just the fact that if you're going to negotiate a prisoner exchange, you're not going to be dealing with your friends, as we said, you're going to get out of there fast and not try to talk for a long time enter right. and so first off, the reason he was blinking is because he had a bag on his head until they got him to the spot. that's easy. okay. he was blinking because he had a bag on his head. they rolled him there. they didn't want him to see where he was. so at the last minute, bag comes off the head. >> that was my assessment, that he had been somehow -- they had a blindfold or something on him. >> right. >> but continue on.

>> when you see the man doing this across his chest, this is something you see all the time in afghanistan. this is an experienced operator who's dealt with afghan people before. this is -- not that he's saying i want peace, but it's a common greeting. you get used to doing it. you almost don't know you're doing it. that's likely what you saw with that. >> jeffrey, let's talk about that number 41 that a appears to be painted on the side of the helicopter. is that gist a random number? >> i don't know. it could be just the normal marking. it could also be that it's part of the negotiation with the taliban. there was an agreement that the aircraft that would be coming to collect the prisoner would have a designated marking and that was the number that was decided upon. i don't know that we know why that number was on there, but that certainly is a plausible explanation. >> anyone here on the panel know why that number's there? that's a no.

so josh, listen, is there any danger -- most people thought they probably would never see the release of sergeant bergdahl. is there a danger to u.s. troops to release a tape like this? >> i don't see why there would be a danger to u.s. troops. maybe they can use it as some kind of a propaganda tape to try to rally everyone around them, to say hey, we went and stood with the americans on equal footing. other than using it as a propaganda stap, i don't see any immediate danger at all. >> can i ask you josh, in the commentary i talked to some of the young men coming out, why did you come forward to speak? >> well, i saw on tv, you know, bergdahl's parents standing next to the president and i just thought about my battle buddies whose families did not get their, you know, soldiers back

to them. and i know for a fact that he, you know, walked away of his own fruition. so why -- why not speak out? why not be angry that he was getting that kind of hero exposure. i feel like my mission is complete now. i'm going to wait until there's further developments, maybe there's a trial or something like that. >> all right. thank you gentlemen. stay with me. when we come back, i want to talk about what happened to bowe bergdahl in captivity. and i want to know what you think the taliban got the better deal, better part of this deal, if they did. also, if you think this whole thing seems like the plot of the tv show "homeland," you're absolutely right. we're going to talk to one of the show's executive producers. and the not at all smart thing vladimir putin said about hillary clinton. you might want to watch your words. we'll be right back. and crowd cheeringnd and i found myself in the middle of this parade honoring america's troops. which is actually quite fitting because

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the defense secretary chuck hagel said today it's unfair to sergeant bergdahl to make any presumptions about why he left his base five years ago until a comprehensive review is conducted. so many questions still remain. back with me now, my panel. brad, can e we talk a little bit about -- we keep talking about the taliban in afghanistan but it's really, you say, who? >> it's the haqqani network. the haqqanis have always had

him. afghan taliban is one thing but the haqqani network is another. it's about 80% soprano and 20% al qaeda. the afghan taliban got these detainees back but what did the haqqani get? they gave up bowe bergdahl. they got something. the white house has not told us what the haqqanis got and that's important. >> josh, part of your mission was -- go ahead, josh. >> my theory on that is, i had read some stuff while i was in afghanistan the last time i did some intelligence work and it seemed like the taliban and the other groups, there's many different terrorist groups over there. afghanistan has always been a warlord state. there may have been some kind of an arrangement where now the haqqanis are going to get a bigger piece of afghanistan when they take it back over when the americans leave, if that's what their plan is.

>> i understand you've been speaking to some of your sources. what did they tell you about bergdahl and how he disappeared? and his time in captivity? >> there are all of these stories going around. washington post has a story out right now that i covered for "the blaze" that when he got picked up by the haqqanis that he was inebriated. that's backed up in the washington post with villagers they interviewed. the only intelligence reports that i know of about his health came in the first six months where he went through stomach stuff, upper respiratory things. maybe it's cold and damp. i saw a guy that got off a helicopter and, granted, it's springtime. i didn't see a guy who looked too terribly bad. so they've had him for four days now. i want to hear what the preliminary physician's reports

are. what is so sick about this guy that we had to move like that. we should get that now. >> you want to get in on this? >> i think there's a whole lot that we've got, that was going to unfold here with regard to his health. i think there's an awful lot of speculation pouring out. hey don, it says, don come back. i don't know if that's you or what or if it's a misspelling, don't come back. there's a lot of interesting stuff here. but i think you're not going to see the army in operation. you're going to see how they handle folks that have to answer the music. i'm very concerned about some of the comments we hear sergeant korder is a firsthand witness to some things. i'm concerned about some of the behavior. but i think it's very important that we not prejudge at this stage. let the army process and work

its way through when he gets back to good health. >> geoffrey, this is a quote from newt gingrich today. he said, "the release of five senior enemy commander is a defeat of the first order. the taliban got everything it asked for. the swap was a surrender not a negotiation." we know this was opposed by many officials, including hillary clinton. why is it so important to build trust with the taliban? is that misguided? >> well, first off, i think newt gingrich is entitled to his opinion. but he's not the commander in chief of the armed forces. the constitution vests the president with the responsibility of being what the founding fathers call the top general and, in war, commanders make very difficult, strategic and operational decisions and a decision to conduct a prisoner exchange is certainly one of those decisions. it's not historically unprecedented and you're never going to get everything you want. we don't know what the

background intelligence was. we don't know the information that the chairman of the joint chiefs was receiving and feeding to the president through the national security council and. >> you're concerned about a rush to judgment, right? >> i think that's a major concern. and listen, this is an opportunity for us to let the army allow the investigatory, the intelligence and military justice system to work its proper function. i had -- >> that's two different things, though. you've got to admit, a prisoner exchange, it's not even over over there. the guy was a hostage and we didn't even get a cease fire out of this. >> prisoner exchanges have happened since the american revolution. there's nothing unprecedented about them. i'm not saying that everyone has to agree that the balance was the right balance but this is the responsibility of the commander in chief acting with the advice of his senior military and intelligence advisers. >> but that's not what we've heard. we've heard that he was shoving

military and intelligence people out of the circle and putting yes men around them and trying to isolate people to bring them to one decision which is to shut up and salute. i think the president deserves criticism on this. >> that's fine. it may turn out that he does deserve criticism. i personally doubt that the military leadership, the integrity and quality of our leaders would allow themselves to be marginalized to that extent. if that comes out, that's an issue that the people need to know. >> i want to get josh and joe in there. you said at this point we need to let the military process play out and to see what happens once they question him. josh -- joe first. i want to get what you think because brad said we've heard that he put yes people. but what is the evidence? >> i don't know who brad is listening to but he's listening to other people than i have listened to. i haven't heard that.

i have a lot of respect for marty dempsey, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and chief staff of the army. and they are not going to stand by on a decision like that. this is the last prisoner, don, in a campaign where we're going to shut down and we've been doing this. the israelis swapped a thousand palestinians for one israeli soldier and i think our soldier is ever bit worth five taliban. >> i so disagree. >> i understand that. but we don't have that much time and i want to get josh in on this. josh, you know. you've been there. and the secretary of defense, chuck hagel, called bergdahl's parents and told them that the department of defense's focus is going to be on their son's health. how would you like to see this handled from this point on? what would you like to see done? >> well, i completely agree about not making a rush to judgment. that's why i came to speak out because the rush to judgment was

this american hero is returning back to the people and i think that in the same way we shouldn't go in and judge and condemn him, the same way we shouldn't go in and put him on a pedestal. an investigation needs to be conducted and if -- i never said punish him but i did say if a punishment is put forth, that he needs to accept it like a man and take it. >> i think that's very well put. thank you guys. i know that you guys disagree but i'm sorry i don't have all of the time in the world. we only have an hour here. thank you, brad thor, joe reeder, josh korder and geoffrey corn. we will have you back, as a matter of fact. >> thank you. next, the facts and the fiction about what is being said about sergeant bergdahl. i'll speak with one of the executive producers of "homeland" who served in the israeli army. with centrum si. multivitamins for your eyes, heart and brain.

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sergeant bowe bergdahl has been held captive for the last five years and most of what we learned about him today comes from an unlikely source. the taliban. but we still have a lot of unanswered questions. dan simon helps us separate fact from fiction. >> reporter: question number one, bowe bergdahl's health, serious decline or, worse, near death? defense secretary chuck hagel. >> we had information that his health could be deteriorating rapidly. there was a question about his safety. >> reporter: the truth, it's hard to say. he certainly had the strength to get on that black hawk helicopter but appears sensitive to the light. he's undergoing treatment at a

u.s. army medical center? german germany. he's said to be in stable condition. question number two, did he leave a note behind? "the new york times" says yes. citing a former senior military officer, bergdahl left a note saying that he had been disillusioned with the army, did not support the mission in afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life. however, cnn has not been able to verify this. platoon members say they have never heard about such a note. question number three, did his disappearance cost american lives. there has not been evidence to that but six soldiers were killed in the search for bergdahl. that's according to soldiers involved in operations to find him. >> he just walked away. >> sergeant evan buetow says it may be difficult to prove but that his capture forced a major realignment of troops. >> when those soldiers were

killed, they would not have been where they were at if bergdahl had not left. bergdahl leaving changed the mission. >> reporter: question number four, did the president break the law? congress, after all, is supposed to be notified before the release of any guantanamo prisoners. cnn legal analyst, jeffrey toobin. >> oh, i think he clearly broke the law. the law says, 30 days' notice. he didn't give 30 days' notice. >> reporter: even obama allies are incensed. >> it comes with some surprise and dismay that the transfers went ahead with no consultation, totally not following the law. >> reporter: the president, of course, disputes this. >> i am the father of captured u.s. soldier bowe robert bergdahl. >> reporter: and then there's bergdahl's father. who some have criticized for taking on the a i peerns of a taliban member. which leads to question number five, did he send this tweet directed to a taliban spokesman, "i am still working to free all guantanamo prisoners. god will repay for the death of

every afghan child." the comment was deleted shortly after it was posted. cnn has no way of independently confirming the authenticity. >> it turns out, he's one of ours. >> reporter: it's a story with so many subplots that no wonder many are comparing bowe to brody the freed american hostage on show times "homeland." >> i am an american. >> reporter: this drama, however, is far from over. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. >> appreciate that, dan simon. all of those unanswered questions have turned bowe bergdahl's story into a political football and my next guests know quite a lot about that. joining me is lanny davis, author of "crisis tales." five rules for coping with crisis in business and life. and former white house special counsel for the clinton administration. brad chase is with me of capital media partners. he has been helping some

soldiers who served with bergdahl to go public with their criticism. gentlemen, thank you for joining me. brad, i'm going to begin with you. your firm is giving media assistance to seven members of bergdahl's platoon that have spoken out. there are some accusations out there that many of these critiques surrounding bergdahl and his reasons for leaving the base are part of a coordinated republican effort to attack the white house. is there any truth to that? >> there's absolutely no truth to that claim. it's almost bizarre. i've been branded as a gop strategist despite the fact that i've never been part of the republican party. it's easy to try and go after me. but i'll tell you, i have voted in the presidential tickets over the years for candidates from both sides. >> but here's the question, though, that your partner at your firm is a republican strategist, former aide to mitt romney. how is that not part of an -- not a part san agenda?

>> he's not running this. these guys were yelling out on twitter, begging for somebody to listen to their story. for five years, they have held this in. it's been haunting them. that man walked out on them five years ago, but he's been in their lives every day. they reached out. rick was the first one to find it. he did facilitate to get this started but you can ask hundreds, thousands of -- i'm sorry, hundreds of reporters, i've been their primary contact. i'm the one that is helping these soldiers. >> this story has been reported especially about him being a potential deserter for years now by a number of different organizations. it's nothing new. but since he has been released, it's become an issue. are you saying that they reached specifically out to rick grenell? >> they were reaching out to a number of people. cody full, one of the soldiers who was brave enough to speak out after holding this in for so long, was putting things all over twitter and reaching out to

notable names. rick is a notable name and he's a republican but he was the first one that recognized that this is a story that needs to be told. he passed it over to me and said, brad, this looks like an interesting story. would you be interested in working with these guys. >> yeah. it does seem -- it is suspect, though, you have to admit, that they would reach out to a republican strategist and then, you know, your reply is that it's not part of a republican effort. >> so are you implying that i am a closet republican? >> no, i'm not talking about you. i'm not talking about you. i'm talking about your firm and i'm talking about rick grenell. >> i'm running this, though. can you explain to me -- >> you said they reached out to mr. grenell. >> they reached out to him. >> who is a republican strategist. >> he was listed as the best twitter feeds of the year along with people like bill clinton. he's a notable name. >> okay. >> he's very public. >> lanny, what do you make of

this? >> well, first of all, i don't quite care about the political motives or political affiliations. i care about a president who i support. not fully explaining this decision so as a crisis manager, there are three things that bother me with the handling of the decision and i need to disclose fully i'm a democrat who supports barack obama. i don't think the president addressed the major elephant in the room about the issue of desertion and evaluating whether it's true or not. i haven't passed judgment. the president should have addressed that up front. secondly, the president should have told us more about the conditions to restrain and keep away from civilized people these murderers that have been released and are now in qatar. what are the conditions of their detention? are they allowed to go back to afghan and kill more people? they are terrorists and murderers.

the president hasn't told us that. thirdly, he did not disclose why he did not talk about dianne feinstein. and senior members of both intelligence committees. if he's afraid of a leak, is he going to tell dianne feinstein that? is he going to tell the american people that he couldn't tell congress because he was concerned about a leak? if that's the case, tell us. he hasn't explained himself very well as a matter of crisis management. that's just not good. >> and you didn't mention the presentation in the rose garden. that many people are taking offense to. they think it made bowe bergdahl out to be a hero when he possibly may not be one. lanny? >> i don't mind the rose garden to celebrate an american in battle and not leaving americans behind even if we have to trade for them. the israelis have traded for -- >> i understand that but part of that is the optics. if the president had come out --

>> the optics are not good. >> if the president had said, listen, there's some question about this guy but we don't leave a man behind, so -- >> exactly. that's my point. and you're exactly right. i don't mind if he says that in the rose garden or anywhere else. but he's got to right up front to get in front of the things that are bothering people. >> the white house is clearly on the defensive. tonight over bowe bergdahl. and later, something else the president might be sweating over. take a look at the commander in chief's workout video. the #1 prescribed acid blocking brand. comes without a prescription for frequent heartburn. get complete protection. nexium level protection.

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swirling about the circumstances of his release. here's what she told me. >> we've been aware at the newspaper for a long, long time that there was a subterranean drumbeat about the manner in which he was captured and the manner in which he left his base. we have no evidence. we are reporters. we are reporters like every other good journalist in this country and we wait until the facts are in. we do not believe that people should be tried by sound bite nor in the social media in which there is no accountability. this is a military matter. this is a matter for serious consideration and we believe all the facts should be gathered before we indulge in character assassination, very frankly. >> brad chase, you care to respond to that? >> and what do you propose as an alternative? the soldiers remain silent? >> you'd have to ask her that question.

>> i'm asking you. you've already insinuated that there's some sort of -- >> i was questioning your motivation and the motivation of someone you work with. listen, i think these soldiers have every right to speak out. but what i've been saying here is everyone involved, including the white house, should not rush to judgment and should not politicize it. when i spoke to lanny about the -- hang on. when i spoke to lanny about the presentation in the rose garden, to me, that was politicizing the situation by the white house. and when i hear about you and rick grenell coordinating some sort of effort, to me, that seems like politicizing it. i'm questioning your motivation. >> well, my personal belief is that it's being politicized on both sides. i think both sides are guilty. there are extremists and left and right wing that are using

specific facts and sound bites to justify their own agendas. >> and on the right? >> i said both. >> you gave an example of the left. >> on the ride they are going after obama without having gotten a full explanation. >> so lanny, here's what senator kelly ayotte wrote in a may 22nd press release that the defense department should do. all it can do is to find bowe bergdahl and bring him home safely. on june 22nd she said, sets a precedent that could encourage or enemies to capture more americans in order to gain concessions from our government. she isn't the only republican to shift views. so why all of this criticism now, do you think? >> well, again, i hate to question motives. i can only tell you that senator ayotte's been consistently wrong on the facts regarding benghazi and she's rushing to judgment here. and this reporter said it exactly right. i don't understand why my colleague didn't just

immediately say, that reporter has it right. we all have to wait for the facts to come in. my suggestion to the president is you could have done a better job of saying, these issues must be addressed by our military. this was not an easy decision because there are questions that need to be answered and then let the facts come home and speak for themselves. not only about the circumstances of his departure but the conditions about the people going to qatar. nothing has been told to me by the president that i support that i should be safe knowing that they qataris will keep these people away from american soldiers. these are terrorists, are murderers, our thugs, yet the president hasn't reassured me that the conditions in qatar are going to be to keep them constrained, if not away from the battlefield. so i think she's got it right. we can't rush to judgment. >> i've got to go. thank you, lanny davis, thank you brad chase.

when we come back, the executive producer of "homeland" and what he thinks of bowe bergdahl's release. (woman) the constipation and belly pain feel like a knot. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like bricks piling up. i wish i could find some relief. (announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms.

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they say they just couldn't support such a large event. contrast that with the return of fictional brody in "homeland." gideon raff is joining me exclusively via skype. thank you for joining me. people have talked about the similarities here. do you see the similarities between bowe bergdahl and your fictional character brody in "homeland"? >> i think there are similarities in the way a prisoner of war coming back home, and the reaction to him, a broken man coming back home and whether he's going to get a hero's welcome or court-martialed. the question whether he's turned or not, of course, is on the news every day. so i do think people see similarities, yes. >> you also created israel's prisoners of war release. were you surprised about that

and the release of bowe bergdahl? as you watched that video. i don't know if you've seen it. i'm sure it's all over the world. everyone is watching it. were you surprised by the similarities? >> not so much. i've done extensive research on prisoners of war. there's about 1500 former prisoners of war who lived in israel and i've talked to many of them and their wives and their families and i've watched their coming home and these men always come back very broken, squinting from the sunlight because they are usually kept in dark rooms or cells or holes in the ground. their physical and mental condition is not very good. so bowe -- the way he was looking in that video didn't surprise me at all. >> yeah. because you have to do -- whether people realize it or not, you have to do a lot of research when you do a show like "homeland."

a senior defense sfishl said doctor are so worried that they have told his family not to even contact him to say welcome back. how hard is re-entry? >> well, re-entry is the hardest thing and for some of them it's harder than captivity itself. you know, the captivity is so horrific and some people mistakingly compare it to a jail sentence but when you're a prisoner you have a sentence. you know when this is going to end. you know a very firm end and schedule. you wake up at 6:00, there's going to be light until 8:00 p.m. when you're a prisoner of war you're shoved into a hole in the ground and you don't know if someone is ever going to come get you again. you have no idea if you'll see your family again or if you're going to eat again. you have complete lack of control of your life. and so coming back home is extremely traumatic to these

people and unlike the happy ending that we all want it to be, it's the beginning of a very hard journey of recovery. i've spoken to many prisoners of war who have spent long months and some of them long years in captivity. some 40 years ago and it's still a very traumatic event. >> i want to ask you this because you acknowledge beyond just research, you served for three years as a paratrooper in the israeli army. does it make a difference to you if he was a deserter or not? >> well, i think the whole question of deserter should, of course, be investigated by the army and not by the media and once they know all of the details they can come to a conclusion but i think as an 18-year-old kid in the army, sent to the most horrific places by your country, you want to know that the country will do

everything possible to get you back if you fall captive. anything. >> we've been talking about the release of gilad shalit, who the israeli army traded for 1,000 palestinian prisoners. do you think that these deals are worth doing? >> you know, i think israel is such a small country and a tight community and we all go to the army so it's a little different than the states. we all campaign for the return of our kids the minute it happens and on the other hand, there is always protests of people who have suffered from terror attacks, people who have lost their kids and their parents and families in terror attacks and then suddenly their killers are released for the return of prisoners of war. i always think that you have to do everything to bring back the boys and, if anything, there's no right answer here but i think first you get the boys back and then you do everything possible to make sure that the people that are released don't go back to terrorism.

>> gideon raff, thank you. i know you're very busy. good luck to you. prisoners of war is available on hulu. you also have tyrant starting on june 24th. you're a very, very busy man. up next here on cnn, president obama pumps iron at a gym in poland and the video goes viral. that is next. cnn's original series "the sixties" return. now here's your '60s minute.

>> i do not shrink from this responsibility. >> 25 russian ships are en route to cuba on a collision course. >> the next 48 hours will be divisive. >> should we bomb, should we invade? back and forth. >> humanity will destroy itself. >> who is going to blink first? >> "the sixties," thursday night at 9:00 on cnn. olive garden's latest inspiration?

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in the meantime, president obama was caught on a videotape working out. the president was warming up ahead of the important g-7 meeting. and here at home, the end of the donald sterling saga. he says he'll sell the clippers to steve ballmer for $2 billion. he now says the lawsuit will be withdrawn.

i'm don lemon. thank you so much for joining us. "ac 360" starts right now. good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. there is breaking news tonight on the bergdahl controversy, including revelations from a closed-door meeting on capitol hill. it showed videos on his declining health. it did not put out the political firestorm. as always, our focus first is on the facts and there are plenty of new facts we have learned tonight. new information about the kind of soldier bowe bergdahl was before he vanished. there is also this. for the first time, we have the rarest of video of two troops face-to-face. their steps carefully choreographed, before bergdahl was back in american hands.