that's sunday night. 8:00 p.m. fox business. set your dvr if you can't watch it live. good night from washington, was. see you next week the o'reilly factor is on. tonight: >> if we begin to hit them hard isis, i promise you it will light up the middle east for young men who say i want to join isis. nbc's stun can do more harm than good and breed more radical terrorists. we will debate that. >> the president stayed away from saying that the u.s. is at war with isis are we at war with isis? >> no. we are significant order. >> no? what a difference the aday makes. >> the same way the united states is at war with al qaeda and affiliates around the globe in the united states is at war with isis. >> what's going on? we will have a factor investigation. >> i'm going to say

something that might get me in trouble in some circles. i think he should be allowed at some point to come back into the nfl. >> and outrage over the ray rice scandal reach as fevered switch. now say the punishment against him has gone too far. we will hearyqq from both sides of the controversy tonight caution. you are about to entered no spin zone. the factor begins right now. ♪ ♪i"$ hi, everybody, i'm eric bolling in for bill o'reilly. thanks for watching us tonight. destroying the isis threat as the u.s. ramps up campaign to wipe out isis. it sounds like some folks on the far left are trying to undermine that effort. take a listen to nbc's tom brokaw. >> place the size of indiana now. they have been extraordinarily effective in getting what they want out of all of this. it's going to go on for a long time because you are dealing with people who

have, in my judgment, a completely distorted view of their faith but it drives them. and if we begin to hit them hard in isis, i promise you it will light up the middle east for young men who say i want to join isis. >> but, a disturbing new cia report finds that the number of isis fighters sored to as many as 31,000 accord iraq in previous months. previous estimates puts the total number of isis numbers at 10,000. the cia says the recruiting surge is the result of battlefield successes earlier this summer and declaration of islamic caliphate not u.s. military involvement. joining us now with reaction from washington president of the foundation for middle east peace and from palm springs, california rick grenell fox news contributor and former advisor to four u.s. ambassador to the u.n. i will start with you grenell. broke call is worried if we fight isis fight back invigorate and tick off

radical islamists in the middle east. news to the obama administration they were born ticked off. this is a ridiculous statement you should leave the hornet's nest where it is because if you deal with it you are going to get stung. the fact is you are going to get stung because they are building a hornet's mess. broke call has never had intelligence briefing. he has never read the blue sheets. if you do you see that there are people who want to destroy america and they are plotting. the lesson of 9/11 is we cannot wait for the guy to get into the plane before we deal with him. >> and, matthew, it didn't seem to work when president obama said, you know, it's the jv team. it's not kobe bryant, it's not the lakers, it's the jv team. then they start beheading americans. how about we do try a new strategy. what's wrong with getting tough with isis? >> i don't think there is anything wrong with getting tough with isis. obviously i'm a bit confused

over the consternation over brokaw's comments. one thing saying doing anything will only create more problems. i think if the only thing that we do is do air strikes against isis, i think that is a problem. i think what we need to understand is that there has to be a much broader political strategy to accompany the military option, the military tool can only be one part of a broader set of tools to this approach. i think that's exactly what president obama outlined the other night. >> no, i think -- that's exactly what he he didn't outline. i think he just said you need boots on the ground. i assume you are saying military troops on the ground when you say we need a broader strategy than just air strikes. >> no. president obama said. no explain. >> no. no we're going to use air strikes to push back isis and degrade them. but, i think and this actually goes back to something i agree with from the george w. bush administration. probably not something you hear about a progressive say on your air after 9/11 george w. bush recognized that illegitimate

undemocratic, unaccountable governments in the region where a driver of extremism and empowering extremist groups, i agree with that analysis. the point is that you need to have a broader strategy to address the grievances and some of the factors that contribute to young men traveling great distances. >> wow. wow. >> to join up with groups like isis. >> are you suggesting that we need to sit down and figure out what's making them mad at us before we fight back? let me throw this in here. ever hear of the rattle snake rationale? a guy from texas said this he has shrubs outside his ranch. every time a rattle snake comes on to his property he kills it. he doesn't ask a rattle snake why are you coming on to my property. why are you so mad at me and want to bite me? he kills the rattle snake when he comes on to the property. i would say isis could be considered the rattle snake here now, no? >> sure that's the antidote. broader view why people join up with isis, take account of the grievances that cause young men to join up and want to fight. >> matthew, what are the

grievances? because israel was in the middle east? we we goings to start to explain why it's okay israel was in the middle east and barring israeli complete move out of the middle east, they are still going to be mad at israel and america for that matter. >> you are the one who introduced israel here. i want to, like i said, i think this is something that the bush administration itself after 9/11 recognized. , to i think if you want to take issue with their analysis, you can do that. that might surprise me a bit. they recognize that the factors that led people to join terrorist groups and these are in fact, some of the same reasons that led to the uprisings that we saw in 2011 and 12012 the arab awakening or arab uprisings or whatever you want to call them. young people are no options. they have governments that do not serve their interests and they are sick and tired of this. >> let me get rick in here. all i want to hear from president obama in that 9:00 p.m. speech was hey terrorists look up in the sky. 15 minutes going to be raining hell fire missiles on you. i didn't hear any of you. your final thoughts? >> he keeps talking about some sort of future action.

but the simple fact is he didn't even send john kerry to the region to do diplomacy: no strategy. the idea that it's americans' fault for striking back against terrorism is ridiculous. we absolutely have to deal with these radicals in a very harsh way. it's not our fault. and we have to respond. the obama administration reverses itself after refusing to sayie> we're at war with isis. change of tune? factor investigation moments away. there's never been a better time to come to bass pro shops than right now. announcer: bass pro shops is the place for incredible savings during our gear up sale. and save on america's favorite boats during the model year clearance going on now.

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operation of the significant order. >> so in the same way that the united states is at war with al qaeda affiliate and its affiliates around the globe with. >> why is the white house changing its tune? joining us now radio talk show host richard fowler. richard so yesterday everyone was on board. don't use the word war. today, john kerry still is not using the word war. marie harf is not using the word war. susan rice has not used war. we have josh earnst at the white house and department of defense willing to use the word. what's going on? i'm confused? total semantics, eric. the truth of the matter is we are having a limited military strike in the northern syria and northern iraq. and that basically is what it boils down to here.

we could all agree it's the right thing for us to do. and the fact that we're arguing over the word war is just mind numbing to me. >> why wouldn't they use it? john kerry has asked three or four times are we at war? and he kept saying oh, counter terror. are are we at war? when you see beheaded americans on a video, i think that would be considered act of war against americans. if we are frankly sending over hundreds of sorties bombing isis that's not war? tell that to the people getting bombed. >> eric, listen, the other day the last time real war was it 1942 during world war ii. thatss watt -- was the last time we declared war. >> you are touching on something that's important here. the reason -- let me thr/w÷x in penny here. the reason they don't use the word war they have to have to go to congress and get approval. president obama can't say i declare war on isis. >> that's not true though because when george w. bush when we were in the war in iraq and afghanistan, georgia troops and started

the war before he went to congress. we have seen presidents in the past do this over and over and over again where they deployed troops and got congressional action for military strikes. >> went to congress and did it the right way. he got congressional approval. >> troops on the ground prior to. >> here is the problem with the argument. the reason why doe dent want to call it war and necessarily congress without a vote because 2014 about 53 days away a midterm election going on, how many people are going to want to put that checkmark saying yes, i'm a democrat. yes, i voted to go to war? >> you know, eric, i have got to tell you. that's a good question. the republican party are like a marching band when it comes to war. they are beating that war drum as fast as possible. john boehner wants troops on the ground. they want total war and carnage. not really sure why. you have two differential ideologies here when you talk about this situation. >> richard, why is putting boots on the ground, why is that considered an act of war but, i don't know, sending over a whole bunch of air strikes isn't necessarily an act of war? >> i don't think either are an act of war.

an act of war is k. only be done when congress actually declares war. you can't declare -- you have to declare war on a country. isis not a country. group of people in the desert creating havoc. that's the big distinction here why is that a distinction? >> president obama went to congress and said i want you to declare war on the islamic state and i want a congressional backing to declare war on these people and said every bit of troops artillery, drones, i have. >> wait a second, eric let's talk about let's be very clear in that war on terrorism to wars. war on terrorism. recognizable government and war in iraq which is recognizable government. isis is not a government. >> do you know something, richard, you are 100% right.

the problem is president obama will not declare war on terrorism and that's not a war. it's not iraq, it's not isis. it's not syria. it's a war on terror that we need to recognize as. >> he has had drone strikes all across the middle east. go after boko haram. this president has a kill list. i don't understand what else the folks want from him. >> nobel peace prize. >> because he understands maintain the homeland. >> leave it right there, richard. thank you very much. next on the rundown, the families of james foley and stephan sotloff slamming the obama administration claiming it did not do enough to save the two men from isis terrorists. geraldo rivera will be here with the action. and it's going to be heated.

families of both james foley and sotloff are lashing out at the obama administration for not doing enough to make sure the men got home safely. they were the journalistsóu5e; kidnapped and beheaded by isis. james foley's brother pulled situation. it went past not doing everything they could they were actually in -- they got in our way. that is a really, you know, what bothers me to the core. you know. i was specifically threatened by the department of state about raising funds towards, you know, ransom demands for my brother. you know, we were smart enough to look past it but it slowed us down. we lost a lot of time trying to regroup joiching us on this take geraldo rivera. surely you would agree the

obama administration bungled this whole deal? >> i certainly relate to that brother. if it were my brother god forbid i would do everything i could to negotiate with everybody i could to save his life. i totally relate to his family. the country has policy doesn't negotiate with terrorists. of course the headline is a lie also. we negotiate with terrorists we have at various times throughout our history. when you have a declared war against someone like the united states against germany or japan, you have prisoners of war, you have prisoner exchanges. >> fair enough. talk about what foley's brother said right there. he was specifically threatened by state department if he were going to go ahead and raise money to try to get his money back. that i totally believe him. i think that the bureaucracy is blind. >> can you imagine that though? >> i think it's really low down and dirty. and it's a symbol really of the arrogance, i think, of the yuppies that they have in the state department. >> josh earnst was asked about6 hite house. he pushed it over to

department of justice ask them about that. they kind of denied it. man, shear a young guy going i wanted my brother back. i wanted to raise money, we were going to do it and the state pushed back. let's talk a little bit about what you just touched on. they say don't negotiate with terrorists we don't, you shouldn't. trading bowe bergdahl for five gitmo taliban commanders, that would be a negotiation, wouldn't it? we are on the same side. i would have negotiated to get the back. i supported that negotiation even though it seems to violate their own principle about not negotiating with terrorists. >> you would have given back five. >> i would have given back five. israelis have given back 700 for one. you do what you have to to get them back. i'm not sure how effective those five, you know, aged out, they have been in gitmo for 11 years. >> what's the difference because it was a military

personnel versus -- >> -- i'm not defending the policy. the policy is hypocritical because the government does negotiate with terrorists. they tell you not to but they do when it suits them. it is purely brag that tism. >> so you think it's okay to negotiate with terrorists? they want 132 mi,r+4ç for foley? >> you just put a price on every single american overseas and made them vulnerable. >> here is what happened to us, eric. we have undeclared war, okay? so when you have undeclared war, you don't have prisoners of war because you don't have war. so you don't have pows. pows are protected by the geneva convention of the 1929, i think, that said if you have a pow and is he incapacitated or whatever, can you exchange him for another pow. we have done it since time and memorial. that's why we have some civilized rules these taliban taliban covered by

that. >> this is the war of the 21st century. these irregular gangs. declaration of war. isis. i want the united states to be at war with isis. i want to destroy isis. i want to reign hell and death from above on to isis. i want us to declare war and if one of our prisoners is taken and we have prisoners to exchange, then i'm all for that, too. >> the question before we go, president obama called isisjv before he saw the light. joe biden said we are going to drive them back to the gates of hell, isis. i'm trying to figure out how many jv members have we driven back to the gates of hell? >> i don't know. all i know is isis declared war on the united states. isis cut the heads off two of our journalists including foley there whose brother you just saw by doing that, by defiling our nation, our nation's citizens, our national pride, by spitting on us as with their

contempt, we now can do whatever we can to destroy them, to hurt them. to kill them. i advocated. i hate to sound so blood thirsty on a friday night but i want isis to bleed for what they did to us. >> geraldo rivera, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> coming up a journalist kidnapped by muslim terrorists and eventually escaped captivity tells his harrowing story. but next, what did the nfl know about ray rice knocking out his fiance and when did they know it? disturbing new accusations could mean trouble for the nfl commissioner. we have the reporter who broke this story wide open. we hope you stay tuned to those reports coming up. so you can breathe and sleep. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right is all ready the brand ofstate. the year.d

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in the factor follow up segment tonight. what did the ray rice know about the incident. associate the press quoted a law enforcement force who said the received a copy the ray rice video back in a the report set up a firestorm prompting the nfl to put out a statement saying quote we have no knowledge of this. we are not aware of anyone in our office who possessed or saw the video before it was made public on monday. we will look into it, unquote. joining us now from philadelphia, robert, the associated press reporter who broke the story wide open this week. thanks for coming on tonight: let me ask you this. you claim that a woman accepted this video at the nfl offices. who is this mystery woman? is she executive or cleaning

lady? >> that's the biggest question everyone has right now. i do not know the identity of that woman. neither does my law enforcement official source who told me that he sent the tape there. all we know at this point is that he has confirmation, which i heard in that 12 second voice mail that the phone call came from a woman and the woman called from the nfl offices on park avenue. that's all we know at this point. and i would imagine that the nfl has launched its investigation and we'll get to the bottom of that and figure out hot identity of that woman is. >> so, up ur,kñ your report, it seemed like tmz had that video. they released it and that was -- and then the nfl pushed back on whether or not they had access to that video any time prior to tmz. so going back and forth between the two of them. you seem to put the ball in the nfl's camp saying someone at the nfl had the video. what's the next step? how much further are you going to investigate into this to find out how high up for all we know. >> that's exactly right,

eric. we he don't know who possessed this tape other than it was this woman that means that tape was in the building of the nfl league office. where it went from there,r$ks e don't know. everybody is going to try to pursue. try and figure out who this woman is. who saw it. whether or not roger goodell actually did see it whether or not he actually sat there and viewed it or who viewed it at the nfl. that, we don't know. so everyone is trying to pursue that there is going to be a lot of different people chasing down a lot of different reports from a lot of different angles. you just have to filter outb1es@ what you are get getting that's accurate and what you are not. >> how did tmz get the video? let me ask that. let me take it one step further? how did tmz get it. >> eric, you have to ask tmz how they got that you know, you could speculate on how many different -- some different levels. we know that rebel closed on september 2nd. from there we don't know what happened. >> why did law enforcement leak this story to you? >> in my report i do say that my law enforcement official wanted the nfl to see the video before they made a decision on ray rice.

that was the motivation behind it. >> and any follow-up to him? any blow back as far as he is concerned? i mean, he shouldn't be leaking this information, right? >> yeah. absolutely not. and that's why i protected my source. and, you know, the nfl is launching an investigation to try to figure out who that woman is. >> very good. >> who got it. >> we're going to leave it right there, rob. thank you very much. joining me now from las vegas with further analysis. fox news contributor jim grey. jim, i want to start with a striking sound bite from jerry richardson. the owner of the carolina panthers. he is discussing the nfl and domestic violence and him specifically. listen. >> i stand firmly against domestic violence plain and simple to those who would suggest we have been too slow to act, i ask that you consider not to be too quick to judge over the course of

our 20 years, we had worked extremely hard to build an organization==dx integrity all right, he was broken up. before we get all weepy and teary eyed here, let's point out that jerry richardson, owner of the panthers who allowed greg hardy players of the panthers, star of the panthers to play last sunday, prior to him making this tearful announcement. meanwhile, this greg hardy had been convicted of a domestic violence crime. now, he is appealing it? we have an owner here crying, yet, he let his own player play. >> well, it's under the legal process and due processes in place here. jerry richardson is a man of impeccable integrity. i know this bothers him greatly. and you just saw that video. this is eating away at him

in a way that it caused him to go public on a night he was getting an award, eric. this is nothing that he takes lightly due process and the constitution. he is trapped by all of that. and so this is a very very difficult situation because obviously. as he said, he stands firmly against domestic violence and it's one of those things where the legal process now has to play out. he is not in jail. and he is allowed to aappeal and that's where they're at. and. >> and ray rice wasn't in jail either. a lot of people are are pointing the finger really at roger goodell not even at the ravens management. they are going straight to roger goodell on this. meanwhile an owner here to says he takes domestic violence seriously but he has a convicted dfsz abuser not only on his payroll but play this sunday. is he going to play this sunday ray hardy. >> the pan thersz have said he will not be cut. whether he plays is a

different story. i imagine he will play if he is healthy and they will go forward with it go forward in november when it is decided by a jury of his piers. eric, let's take it a step further. say that the woman who hardy is accused and convicted of beating and having domestic violence against does not show up and decides not to testify. then, the jury will not find him guilty and then he will still be a free man not convicted of any crime so really difficult circumstance. >> exact same scenario that the ravens were going through with ray rice. meanwhile, the public is outraged. goodell's job. here is my question. why are we pointing the finger at goodell. how about law enforcement and perpetrators first and foremost? >> well, law enforcement for ray rice it's inexplicable to me how they can both be charged with misdemeanor on the same night then the district attorney, the prosecutor, the judge, there is a massive failure of

judgment here on all levels before you even get to the commissioner in the nfl office and the owner and the coach and the general manager and the president. >> there is no video with greg hardy, there is not the same type of outrage. >> hit the nail on the head. i wonder if there was a video of harvey 49ers. force these owners to bench these guys. backlash from defenders, we will hear from both sides of that debate when the factor comes right back.

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thanks for staying with us, tonight, i'm eric bolling in for bill o'reilly. in the unresolved problem segment tonight. punishing ray rice. public outrage towards rice and now the nfl is reaching a boiling point. but, the former ravens running back does have sympathizers as we have heard willful blindness may have played a role in the nfl investigation of the incident. listen to the owner of the baltimore ravens. >> we love ray, so we have a tendency to hear what we ;-c+ to see i was picturinge her wailing on him and him smacking her and maybe her head was this far from the

wall and with her anybody abrasion -- enobody inebriation dropped. >> why did he believe that because i love him. >> the baltimore ravens, rice's former team a number of fans, including women wore his ravens' jersey in a show of support. >> there is going to be speculation always, but you can't tell what happened in that relationship. >> i still think is he a good person who made one big mistake. >> joining me now to analyze from chicago criminal defense attorney steve greeneberg and from san francisco attorney and psychologist dr. bonnie forest. dr. bonnie forest, let me start with you, when i saw those young women at the football game last night. really? really? you are going to show ---where the jersey in support of a man who admittedly punched his fiancee in the face knocking her out.

>> eric, it's sort of hard to believe but it's not an uncommon reaction in domestic violence situation. you know, here i think you have got the legal, moral, favoring what happened. i mean, from a business standpoint, once that second tape came out, especially once that tape came out, what's that going to do to your brand? as a business, goodell has to protect that brand certainly from a moral standpoint, these guys are role models for kids. shouldn't would he be holding them to a higher standard? and from a legal standpoint, you v;b+óx the personal conduct policy is there for a reason. we are playing -- we are paying these players -- 7 million average a year. so, shouldn't they be held to a higher standard? >> right. and i. >> only place goodell is vulnerable is the fact that other players are sitting there and haven't been punished. >> steve greeneberg why is the finger being pointed at roger goodell? roger goodell does not pay ray rice or greg hartle or. the teams play these guys.

these football players have employment contracts with the individual teams. not with the nfl. why is everyone coming down on the nfl and not the individual teams? >> well, everyone is coming down on the nfl because this is a chance for many organizations to go out and say look, we want to tout our cause. we are against domestic violence. everyone is against domestic violence. but the evidence we have here is that the police looked at it it, they conducted an investigation. the prosecutors looked at it it the nfl conducted an investigation. and everyone said this is the penalty ray rice should pay. they talked to his spouse about it. you have to think they conducted a thorough investigation. now, for the exact reasons that they had to protect their brand, they are making him the fall guy because they are bowing to public pressure. what's the next step? a judge is going to sentence somebody and then the public is going to say the sentence isn't enough. and the judge is going to say i a redo. let's resentence him. we cannot bow to public

pressure. ray rice paid a price for this. he is going to the counseling. he and his wife were trying to resolve their issues. and he is. >> eric, put me in here. >> go ahead, bonnie. >> eric, i'm sorry, that's a really provincial attitude. you can't say that first of all, goodell is looking out for the league as a whole and the brand as a whole. let's be really clear. there is a domestic violence problem within the nfl. although the arrest rate for players. >> there is a problem because they are violent players. >> that's not true. that's not accurate. their arrest rate is 13% of the national average for this age group. however, the arrest for domestic violence are 48 -- >> no. let me finish, steve. >> the arrest rates for domestic violence for those domestic violence acts are 48%. there is is a domestic violence problem. there should be a zero tolerance policy for the league as a whole. my only concern about goodell is, again, how he has handled other domestic violence situations.

cases right now. i think calling for muriel to investigate this is good but i don't think it's broad enough. and the firm he is with is excellent. >> bottom line, guys, i hate to do this because this is a really hot topic and not enough time to discuss all the ten nickels on this octopus. is the media coverage the reason why the president is finally taking action against isis? we'll have analysis in a moment. how uncomfortable it ca. [ crickets chirping ] but did you know that the lack of saliva can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath? [ exhales deeply ] [ male announcer ] well there is biotene. specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth.

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find new ways to save energy and money with pg&e's business energy check-up. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. go to comcastbusiness.com/ checkyourspeed. if we can't offer faster speeds or save you money we'll give you $150. comcast business built for business. and the back of the book segment tonight, did the media and beheadings of those journalists finally push the president to take action? howard kurtz and fox news contributor lauren ashburn. so was it the media who

pushed obama into a firmer ánn absolutely.? the media coverage was a decisive factor, eric in a surge in public support for military action against isis about two thirds in the polls. and, of course, journalists need to cover agruively the threat posed by these isis butchers and cover the gruesome beheadings of those two journalists beating the war drums. >> seeing those beheadings on youtube and splashed over the news actually garnered the american people support which obama seemed to have wanted before he kind of changed tacts on it. >> absolutely. without those videos i doubt you would be seeing the president in a prime time address saying "we're going after these people." i mean, those images were what was the catalyst, in my mind, for the administration to finally take some action. this is so different from 2003, eric. if you look at that, the administration was going head long into war and the

press was just saluting. and now in 2014, you have a reluctant warrior in president obama and the press saying do something. >> so, howard, do you think -- boy, how do i put this? does the media want to see us at war? >> i think that's a really unfair charge as came up on our program. i know lauren has a different view. i think it is almost accusing journalists as being unpatriotic to say that they are pushing and promoting war because it's in their financial self-interest and people like to watch war. you know, itx$6px almost makes t sound like they care more about themselves than they do their country and i'm not buying that. >> howie, i'm not saying that producers like ron mitchell are sitting back there saying okay we really want this war to happen so our ratings are going to be high. however, i do think that there is an innate sensibility that says if you have gripping pictures like theqgr] standing over an american journalist, have you that,

you know that people are going to turn, tune in to the television or click on the internet page and that translates into advertising dollars. and, yes, there is -- go there >> but here's what you're forgetting. in 2003 maybe shock and awe, that's a great story cht everybody gathers around the television set and watches. today they gather around their iphones. in 2005, and 2006 and 2007 when the iraq war turned into a slog, the ratings went down and networks covered it less because it was a depressing story. >> in 1991 general schwartzkauf was in his fatigues, and e -- >> can i throw something out at you too? i think what isis has figured out that they realize that the media now they have their own media division, isis, and they're putting out these really

highly produced videos. they realize that that's a recruiting tool. are we in the media comp come p sit it. >> i feel so strongly about this. >> go ahead. >> i feel so strongly because of the images of what happened to foley and sotloff, it reached the point, eric, that the network showed it again and again and again like video wallpaper. i think it was denigrating to these brave journalists any time isis was mentioned. and we were doing the terrorists bidding by spreading fear which is precisely what they wanted. >> before we go, i do have to commend networks. there's another video that you talked about, eric, that is making the rounds. and that is the ray rice video, domestic violence beating pushing his wife, dragging her out of the elevator. and yesterday networks came out and said, hey, we're going to stop showing this video and/or

slow it down. and i think there's a big difference that we need to be able to do that with the video of the beheadings. and then i think you show what happened and pull it back. >> we have to leave it there. great discussion. howard, lauren, thank you very much. bill o'reilly's new book "killing patton" out october 23rd. if you become a premiere member of billoreilly.com you get "killing patton" free and first. in a moment, bill talks to a journalist who is captured by the taliban and held hostage for seven long months before he escaped. the incredible story when "the factor" comes right back. guys! you're not gonna believe this! watch this. sam always gives you the good news in person, bad news in email. good news -- fedex has flat rate shipping. it's called fedex one rate. and it's affordable.

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in "the factor" flashback, a firsthand account of what it's like to be kidnapped and held by islamic terrorists. the terrible fates of steven sotloff and james foley showed the barbarism in play. the u.s. traded five top taliban leaders for u.s. army sergeant bowe bergdahl who was kidnapped some time after leaving his post in 2009. after the swap bill spoke with david rode, an investigative journalist for the reuters news service. he was captured by the taliban in 2008 while working for "new york times" and escaped seven months later. watch. >> how were you abducted first of all? where were you? >> essentially the taliban lied to me. i was in afghanistan and there was a taliban member who had given interviews before to two foreign journalists, i was journalist number three. it was a lie. he grabbed me and took me over the border quickly from afghanistan.

>> when you made the deal with the taliban and remember david miller -- not david miller. miller, first name escapes me interview interview interview interviewed osama bin laden. did you say maybe i'm putting myself in danger? >> i was very worried. i'd never done this. i'd covered afghanistan for about seven years. i met with one of the journalists who interviewed him and said you might be in more danger because you're american. >> so they grab you and take you into the pakistan mountains. >> yes. talk the pakistani military didn't lift a finger to find me and as far as i know they made no effort to find bowe bergdahl for five years. >> that's what's happening today. the taliban are attacking their airports. that's a smart strategy. did they beat you up? did they terrorize you? >> i would say in the beginning it was scary. i thought they were going to kill me. there was a polish engineer

kidnap the same time i was. they beheaded him in the middle of my imprisonment? >> did you know that? >> i did. they wanted me to watch the video with them. and we know what happened -- >> so while you were in captivity they beheaded a polish guy. any reason they beheaded him? just for fun? >> they couldn't get their demands met. >> and then you knew it. you didn't look at the video? >> no, i refused to watch it. >> now you were with another captive who spoke the language of the taliban. and he helped you escape, right? >> yes, an afghan journalist who'd come with me to the interview. >> so you got a rope and lowered yourself down and then you ran to the pakistani military headquarters. and then they took you in. >> yes. there was this great afghan gets me to the base. he hated the taliban. and then this brave pakistani lets me in and apologizes to me and lets me call my family. >> because there are pakistanis and afghanistans. and the code we're going to help you. so you got away from them. now you see bowe bergdahl.

okay. in a story that has a lot of complexity to it. you empathize with him? >> i think -- i feel to this day tremendous regret for going to the interview. i think he's got to answer questions, why did he leave his base? totally i understand with the anger of the other soldiers there. but it's been a terrible five years. and whatever caused him to leave, maybe he deserted, maybe he had mental breakdown, he feels horrible about what he's put his family through. >> because you, correct me if i'm wrong, felt guilty because you put yourself -- >> still today. >> because your family went through so much. >> i put them through hell. it was a mistake to go to the interview. >> you didn't violate any honor. you were doing your job, or what you thought was your job. bergdahl may well have violated honor. certainly he deserted. now, what the circumstances were i don't know if we'll ever find out because i don't think the obama administration wants this out. >> there was one report of a couple afghans missing at the same time. maybe they tricked him off the

base and sold him, maybe he deserted. all i'm saying is let's wait and hear his side of the story. i wouldn't believe any of these taliban reports. this report that he joined the -- you know, pledge allegiance to the taliban, you know, we didn't believe what viet kong said about american prisoners in vietnam, these reports are coming from the taliban. >> i think that's fair. i think we have to hear what he has to say. but i don't think there's any doubt he left his base without permission. so you didn't do anything -- i want to reemphasize david didn't do anything wrong. took a chance. i've taken a lot of chances overseas myself. >> you've covered wars. >> yes. you have to weigh. i wouldn't feel guilty about it, but i understand why you do. bergdahl, i think he did violate the guys and they're really teed off about it. glad you're back. thanks for coming and sharing your story. we appreciate it. >> that's it for us tonight. tomorrow be sure to catch my show "cashin in" at 11:30 a.m. eastern right here on the fox news channel. again, thanks for watching tonight. "the kelly file" is next.

please remember the spin stops here because we are looking out for you. breaking tonight, the air campaign against syria is already in serious trouble before it even begins. congressional sources tell "the kelly file" tonight the president may not be able to fund this war due to doubts about the mission. this as we learn that the broad coalition the president promised is apparently anything but. welcome to "the kelly file" everyone. i'm megyn kelly. it is less than 48 hours since president obama rolled out his plan for taking on the terror army known as the islamic state. and we are seeing significant problems already with the president's plan. first, reports of growing uneasiness on capitol hill about backing the president's war plans. both dovish de