is pleased to" welcome back chairman of the committee,d services buck mckeon pearland lynn introduce our two reporters. donna cassata covers the congress and defense issues for press and jay michaels. welcome. donna, we will start with you. >> the president gave a speech at west point this past week in the possibility of arming and training syrian rebels who have been fighting forces loyal to bashar assad. includedterpoint have a provision that would authorize the pentagon to train and equip vetted rebels. do you support efforts for the u.s. military to train and equip rebels in syria? >> i think be key there is vet"vetted." i do not know how they're going wedetermine who are people can work with going forward. i think if there is a way to foretell if these people will indeed be strong proponents of human rights and good friends of ours, that will be people that will do the things responsible leaders and nations to, then sure. i think we have the ability to train. we have a good track record of that at being able to train and tell people to defend themselves. we have not had a good t

we just heard buck mckeon say the president is golfing today. know, we've got a lack of engagement. what happens in your view in terms of implications that the american people should be thinking about whether it's on the economy, on perception, on sentiment, if the u.s. actually does nothing? >> well, there's two major issues here. iraq collapses economic impact significt. oil prices off the charts. and you know better than anybody, when oil prices spike significantly, it's a prelude to a recession. that would have a huge setback inside the united states. geopolitically in terms of security, right before our eyes, what has taken place is the spillover war we predicted if we did not remove the assad regime. that is happening now. it started in lebanon. now it's in iraq. and now we have an isis caliphate in the middle east, dead center in it that would be a predator to jordan and others in the middle east. but believe me, maria, they will bring foreign fighters in here bit thousands, and this organization -- in this space of land they will use wil

buck mckeon -- >> we will try to get to the bottom of this. for your time today out of washington. >> thank you, bill. martha: scary moments during what was supposed to be a fun day at the park. this car, watch this, out of control, right through a neighborhood where kids are playing. witness made a split decision putting his own life at risk to try to save people. bill: backlash from top republican over comments by hillary clinton on benghazi. >> it is pure political spin. she is more focused on blaming the so-called vast right-wing conspiracy than on terrorists much. honestly, the off-season isn't really off for me. i've got a lot to do. that's why i got my surface. it's great for watching game film and drawing up plays. it's got onenote, so i can stay on top of my to-do list, which has been absolutely absurd since the big game. with skype, it's just really easy to stay in touch with the kids i work with. alright, russell you are good to go! alright, fellas. alright, russ. back to work! they're about 10 times softer and may have surface pore

chairman, buck mckeon, thank you for joining us here exclusively. the house is in recess next week but, as you said, you're going to have hearings as soon as you get back. thank you for your insight today. we'll have much more on sergeant bergdahl's release later this hour. >>> but first, a look at some of the other top stories making headlines today. a boston airplane crash kills all seven people on board. among them, the co-owner of the philadelphia "enquirer." more on who he was after the break. hey. i'm ted and this is rudy. say "hi" rudy. [ barks ] [ chuckles ] i'd do anything to keep this guy happy and healthy. that's why i'm so excited about these new milk-bone brushing chews. whoa, i'm not the only one. it's a brilliant new way to take care of his teeth. clinically proven as effective as brushing. ok, here you go. have you ever seen a dog brush his own teeth? the twist and nub design cleans all the way down to the gum line, even reaching the back teeth. they taste like a treat, but they clean like a toothbrush. nothing says you care like a m

that was a subliminal message for you to go see noah this >> on news makers, buck mckeon. he tells about president obama's plan to cut the number of troops in afghanistan. news makers at 10:00 a.m. at 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> next, a discussion about the eric shinseki. the future of the department of veterans affairs. for washington journal, this is 55 minutes. targetsof soft to take care of. us to discuss eric shinseki's resignation is leigh munsil and chris carroll. at one point -- at what point do think he was able to escape being a distraction? guest: there was a deception and scheduling of veteran appointments. it has been known for years and years that veterans had to wait a long time. what came out this week was they had established this system of keeping dual books. some people were heading toward appointments and some people who keepept off the books to the weight. wait period down. guest: it has been building for weeks. president obama was very supportive of eric shinseki. he did not necessarily want to remove him from his post. he thought secretary shinse

senator statement from buck mckeon from california.in that statement, written jointly by the ranking member of the senate armed services committee and the chair of the armed services committee. the full statement is available on a number of new sites. next is many joining us from randallstown, maryland on the republican line. caller: [indiscernible] i am a republican and a very very ashamed of how the party -- mccain has always been against the government of obama. own is back home. we should be celebrating. host: the ribbons, which have been synonymous since the 1970's . this is a scene outside of his home in idaho. newspapers have a related story, saying -- "it also immediately sparked controversy. the obama administration failed to notify congress 30 days in advance. and there are nagging questions about the circumstances of bergdahl's captivity, how he came to leave his base in afghanistan was never clear. some suggested he should be treated as a deserter, not a captive." next call is from illinois on the democrats line. welcome to

. >> there's another quote i want to read from buck mckeon of california.s in executing this transfer the president also clearly violated laws which require him to notify congress 30 days before any transfer of terrorists from guantanamo bay. did the president violate a law? >> no. and if you recall, christi, when the president signed this new procedure in terms of how to go about trying to get the release of our men and women that are on the battlefield in uniform around the world, he signed a statement that clearly indicated that he didn't think that having to notify congress for those 30 days was something that was constitutional because in the real world, and again, ben loves talking about what could be in theory, we don't live in a theoretical world. we live in the real world. in a real world, you can't necessarily wait 30 days, and if you do, then you could put our people in harm's way. that's exactly what happened here. >> i strongly disagree. >> hang on, ben. the president and this administration believe they are standing on full legal ground becaus

coming up on newsmakers, representative buck mckeon. here is a clip. told the president, it is close to a year ago now that -- he was talking at the time about going into syria. venturet the we should into another war. we came out of a rock, and we did not leave a residual force behind. we lost the opportunities we achieved there, and is now as much of a problem as before we went in. in my concern about afghanistan, we have upwards of 30,000 troops there. i know we are on a glide path to bring about by the end of the year, and things look to be progressing there, but at the time when he was talking about going into syria things were not so rosy. just not, would we are cutting a trillion dollars out of our defense we should not be asking them to carry out more missions berever they think would helpful around the world. you cannot cut their ability and keep asked them to do more. with buckconversation mckeon on newsmakers at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. the counterargument from the white house, from secretary kerry, who said that you do not ghan the af gover

. >> rogers and armed services committee chairman buck mckeon both said this weekend, they believe the president violated the notification law. c.b.s. news has learned multiple committees in the republican- lead house are now considering hearings or investigations. >> jeff? >> mark albert, thank you very much. >> all right, with us now is juan zarate, a senior national security analyst with c.b.s. news. juan, you served the bush administration while these guys were at guantanamo, in your estimation do they reenter the fight? >> well, these are serious and dangerous detainees. they've been labeled as high value and highly dangerous by the department of defense, why they were being held still in guantanamo. there is no question that they have the ability to reenter the fight. and at a minimum, jeff, they present political and fund- raising value for the taliban, especially for the long term. and so, this he is a risky venture to see them on the loose and in qatar. >> does this put u.s. soldiers and civilians at risk in the future? >> there is no question, jeff, that in some ways we've co

bill: we'll talk to buck mckeon in just a second. we are big hearing on hilt tomorrow. >> another terror attack at a training facility near the karachi airport. security forces are fighting back. no one is immediately claiming responsibility for the attack which comes two days after the taliban gunmen attacked the airport. 10 minutes past the hour. it's the scenario everyone was worried about. a major city in iraq falling into the hand of terrorists. there is a battle raging in the town of mosul. remember that location? >> terrorists suspected of kidnapping hundreds of schoolgirls in algeria striking again. who boko haram targeted this time. bill: we are learning about 10s of thousands of american veterans who were never able to see a docker. >> the process should be if you don't do your job you get fired. instead at the va you get a bonus. we get to get to the issue and that's a culture of corruption. the lowest price book any flight or hotel and if you find it for less, we'll match it and give you 50 dollars off your next trip expe

. >> the top republican buck mckeon also demanded to know why top administration official seemed to insulate the president and pass the buck on chuck hagel. >> the breefers were asked who made the final gs d and they said secretary hagel, so i hope they are not just pushing him out to be a fall guy for this. we'll get a chance to talk to him. >> until hagel testifies before the armed services committee tomorrow, white house officials are vague on whether the president specifically signed off on the swap. >> the president is the kmapder in chief and the president is the one ultimately responsible for making sure sure we fulfill this commitment that we don't leave anybody behind. >> the tension comes amid other major foreign policy struggles including iraq. ed al qaeda launch an offensive. >> i don't get the sense they are gaining a lot of territory. >> and today, the islamic state of iraq has taken over significant parts of mozul. the administration needs to get up to speed fast. >> this is the largest accident most menacing al qaeda sanctuary that they have ever established to include what t

. >> joining me now, california republican congressman buck mckeon. thanks so much for being on the program. >> thank you, luke. >> you don't accept that this needed to happen quickly. why? >> us know, i -- i'm very concerned. we passed a law last year, passed out of our committee, 59-2, both democrats and republicans supported it and it passed overwhelmingly on the floor and through the senate and the president signed it, and the president had a disclaimer that apparently he didn't support the law, he did sign it. now my perception sandy think in the eyes of many he broke the law by not informing congress 30 days before that you just had ambassador rice, she said they'd been working on this for three years, she said congress has been informed of this along the way. i don't know who they were talking to. i have not been a part of this and i'm the chairman of the committee. >> were you in fact called in for a hearing to look into the matter and would the house gop leadership be the ones to do that? >> i'm sorry this is being portrayed by a republican i

republican buck mckeon tells fox he thinks it's a clear attempt to insulate the commander in chief. >sounded like it was a presidential program all the way. now that there's been a little pushback, yesterday in our briefing, the briefers from the various departments were asked, who made the final decision, and they said, secretary hagel. so i hope they're not just pushing him out to be a fall guy for this. >> now, i just pressed the white house spokesman on that point. he said that chuck hagel made key decisions along the way but ultimately the commander in chief is responsible for the decision. >> interesting. is the white house also now moving the goal post, so to speak, on why they didn't tell congress? >> it's interesting because the story continues to evolve basically. today, the new line from josh earnest was that the reason -- one of the reasons they didn't tell congress about this mission, he said, is that they could not share operational details of a military mission with members of congress. now, that sounds a little bit like a red herring, if you will, because the bottom li

. >> i want to about congressman buck mckeon.els that congress was not adequately notified about it. mike rogers. this is mike rogers talking about this deal. >> across northern africa, the number one way al qaeda raises money is kidnapping and ransom. we have now set a terrorist. >> what does this tell terrorists that if you capture a u.s. soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorists. that's a very dangerous price. >> that's mike rogers and ted cruz. >> it's a classical ethical dilemma, how many will you trade to save one? a tradition in our country has been that we will do almost anything to get an american prisoner of war back. of course, we're concerned about emboldeneding the bad guys and the terrorists but it's a calculation that you have to make. you have to look at what the law requires and whether his health is deteriorating to the fact that one or two more months could be too late. >> chris, you have fought against insurgents in afghanistan. you have lost good men fighting insurgents in afghanistan, tom, jaco

. >> and another exchange between secretary hagel and buck mckeon, chair of house armed services ledo this surprising answer. >> have we made other trades with the taliban? >> with the taliban, i don't know. i don't think so. >> jessie, i will put it right there. put you on the hot spot. >> he doesn't even know he made trades with the taliban? he had this position for a few years. remember he didn't have a great confirmation hearing, let's remember that he stumbled today. we can always find these guys back in afghanistan, these taliban commanders? we still haven't found mullah omar, the top taliban commander and how we will find these guys if we have no troops on the ground. they tried to set this guy up as fall guy. that is what the president does. trial balloon, it was his idea, he was one that made that decision. they had to pull that back because it obviously burst. he is not a player. i don't think he was consulted during the whole deal to begin with. obama during syria, he consulted with his chief of staff before making the decision. they had axelrod in national security meetin

andhouse still a geisha will be led by buck mckeon -- the house delegation will be led by buck mckeon. john dingell will stay behind. whencoverage will continue the senate intelligence committee looks into the armed intelligence surveillance act. -- foreign intelligence surveillance act. the same time, on c-span 3, training for wildfire first responders. whether they need more resources. >> the reason we are trying to focus on the speaker is because it is the speaker, with the full majesty and weight of his position, who yesterday made full allegations which he is not yet answered to. i will yield. >> you have an obvious. you do not normally have that. fact is that the whole 10 or of your remarks, , you back to 1970, 1972 were there for one and one purpose only. members to imply that of the side were un-american in their activities. your motions. you knew that there was nobody here. you knew that there was nobody here. >> cam scam. give us your perspective. knew ther o'neill politics of the house. into the politics of the house and he cap much of it to his house -- himself. he receive

buck mckeon is retiring. >> mr. secretary, i'd like to begin with a brief additional observation on the notification issue. for the past several years this committee has work on a bipartisan basis to establish an oversight structure for cyber operations, for terrorism operations, and for sensitive military operations. an oversight structure that allows the department to have the flexibility it needs to operate in a volatile, rapidly-changing world, and still give us the ability to exercise our duties under the constitution. now the basis for all of those in all three of those areas is that we get timely, accurate information from the department. and this failure, even if it was ordered by the white house, undermines the ability to have that sort of oversight structure. i've been a member of the intelligence committee for ten years. our work depends on getting accurate, timely information from the intelligence community. if the president can violate the law and say, no, in this case we are a's not going to give you t

and i actually spoke with the man who is in charge of the oversight committee of the pentagon, buck mckeonchairman, about that earlier today. listen to this. >> the law states that before anyone can be released from guantanamo, congress should be notified at least 30 days before. you know, they're trying to parse words here and say that, well, they did let us know that something might happen. they're not following the law. they know they're not following the law. it's been a day now, and they still haven't told us details or anything that are going on. >> reporter: and i pressed him on that, randi. i said, you mean you still have not heard from the defense secretary? he hasn'tic ipicked up the phon and called you? this is a man who is the chairman of the house armed services committee. he said no, they have not spoken. there was some staff-level discussion which allows the white house to say that they did give congress information, but they still don't have the details of how this went down. and most importantly, from the point of view of many in congress, the assurances that the american

buck mckeon, a long time advocate forearmed forces and he is a venerable figure on capitol hill. if he says he's going to have hearings, i expect he'll follow through on that. the question will be, this was written into the law, what are the legal arguments the white house should make and what will happen next? >> thank you so much. even though we claim not to negotiate for prisoners as a country it does happen all the time. and when it goes public like this, it's rarely remembered fondly. for instance, jimmy kartder unfroze iranian assets in 1980 in one attempt to free hostages. a few years later ronald reagan was embroild in the iran-contra affair. how is president obama's willingness to negotiate in this case going to play with the public? josh rogan and jonathan alter. and he certainly some enemies on this issues. the whole fear is that negotiating with terrorists sends the wrong signal to other terrorists and sets a dangerous precedent. my question is why did the white house elect to make this so public and go in the rose garden and announce this? >> well, first of all, the

that it had to move quickly with the transfer in order to save sergeant bergdahl's life, a line buck mckeonmy perception is, i think in the eyes of many, he broke the law by not informing congress 30 days before. we will be holding hearings. i'm sorry that this is being portrayed as a republican issue. i think democrats also voted for this law. this is not a partisan issue, it's just a matter of the law and breaking the law. >> legality isn't the only thing critics are taking issue with. given that the five taliban prisoners released were said to be some of the most dangerous prisoners held at gitmo, questions are emerging as to whether negotiating with the taliban was really the right thing to do. >> if you negotiate here, you've sent a message to every al qaeda group in the world that there is some value now in that hostage in a way that they didn't have before. that is dangerous. >> i do not think the way to deal with terrorists is through releasing other violent terrorists. >> these are the highest high-risk people. it is disturbing that these individuals would have the ability to re-en

one of those asking questions is here, the chairman of the armed services committee, congressman buck mckeon there. then a pilot blinded by a laser. but wait until you see what happens when he shines a light on the suspect. good job. ♪ ♪ the lowest price book any flight or hotel and if you find it for less, we'll match it and give you 50 dollars off your next trip expedia, find yours [ girl ] my dad, he makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ he can print amazing things, right from his computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] he makes trains that are friends with trees. [ train whistle blows ] my dad works at ge. ♪ what's your favorite kind of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted! what's your most favorite of all? hmm...the kind i have with you. me too. ♪ fueling the american spirit. ♪ can you hear it? ♪ no matter when, ♪ no matter where, ♪ marathon will take you there. ♪ >>> in a few hours from right now at a capitol hill hearing taking place, they're going to talk about the controversial swap of army sergeant bowe bergdahl f

sure people are trying to find the balance, but i want to read you something from representative buck mckeonuting this transfer the president clearly violated laws which require him to notify congress 30 days before any transfer of terrorists from guantanamo bay and to explain how the threat posed by such terrorists has been substand shortly mitigated. "in your opinion or just in legalese, did the president break a law to make this exchange happen? >> well, we'll be reviewing that in detail to see if laws were brok broken. there's a basis for that, a change in policy against this sort of exchange may lead to further capture of soldiers, and that's that puts others at risk. we know during this time bowe has been in prison there's been threats to kill him, calls for ransom, calls for larger numbers of prisoner exchanges within this whole process. generally when a war tends to wind down, one does more of these exchanges at the end but it is a concern and a policy, the fact it's been made, a policy that will have to be reviewed t will help other soldiers understand what they should be doing unde

. >> buck mckeon the last hour told me he wants mccarthy all the way. >> he's most likely a boehner allyy're scheduling the election a week from friday. they want to get this over quickly. those with leadership positions are already recognized. kevin mccarthy counts the votes, made a few mistakes counting votes. you have pete sessions, some other conservatives. the question is, do the conservatives sort of box each other out, not get enough votes in the process or quickly realize, you know, you have a better chance than him and you unite around one? that's what we'll see the next several days. >> did he make dave brat a big issue of eric cantor saying the so-called dreamers, kids who were brought here by their parents illegally, they should have some sort of legal status? was that a big issue for dave brat? >> seemed like a huge issue. big issue on talk radio. remember, he didn't have superpacs. he had talk radio. brat tdid not have money but conservative talk radio hosts that championed him at the end and powered the voters to the polls over the weekend. so absolutely, this issue with w

b c this morning for example california congressman buck mckeon accused president obama of breaking the law by not notifying congress before releasing the five taliban detainees and so that the house would hold hearings on the bergdahl deal. although he said he had a disclaimer along with the he apparently didn't support the law he did sign it and now my perception is and i think it is of many he broke the law by not informing congress thirty days before we would fact called in for a hearing to look into this matter and with the house g.o.p. leadership to sign off to do that we will be holding hearings and. ultimately after the republican hysteria over whether bowe bergdahl is a traitor or settles down this issue the issue of how president obama can unilaterally release people from guantanamo bay may end up being the single most important thing to come out of this story joining me now for more on the bergdahl deal and how it could impact the fight to close get our karen greenberg director of the center on national security affordable law school an alcove provide counterterrorism counsel

. >> the republican chairman of the house buck mckeon criticized the white house saying they now have wealth technology and a safe haren on which to launch attacks on the united states. they must be stopped. vinita? >> thank you. also with us is juan zarate. he's a former adviser to president bush. good morning, juan. >> good morning. >> you heard him saying we'll not engage without a concrete plan from the prime minister. what really are the options right now? >> well the options are limited, vinita. you have no footprint on the ground. the military options immediately are not present. and so the president is talking about a political solution but the reality is you have a crisis on the ground now with the advancing islamist forces threatening baghdad, so you could support with military strikes, intelligence certainly trying to get the regional activists together to try to push back this offensive. but for the united states at this stage, the options are limited. >> what went wrong here? we spent $25 billion rearming the iraqi army training them. why has it collapsed? >> well this is

congressman buck mckeon, the chair of the armed services committee, said this. the white house has a history of considering all options while choosing none. we also heard from congressman ed royce. we are going to go to our first called, calling on the line for independents. president obama said he ain't going to go in. likes war.ent they like it because it is money for them. people need to wake up and realize the government is as crooked as them. robert is next in huntington, west virginia, calling on the line for republicans. that from like to say somebody who just graduated from college and was in the marine corps, i don't want to see myself or any of my brothers and sisters go somewhere to a country where you build up something for years and years, i heard this thing on msnbc yesterday that 30,000 against 1000 ran. how are you supposed to defend or help somebody who will not help themselves? i don't know if spilling more american blood and resources is the answer. >> how should the united states respond? >> i don't really know that, sir. said today, maybe it

president and his team need to be acting urgently, not reviewing options in the days ahead and buck mckeon of california says the white house alla history of considering options while choosing none. there are no quick-fix solutions to this crisis and i will not support a one-shot strike that the cameras and has no enduring effect. defense didn't press contact admiral john kirby says the iraqis disappointed that security forces were unable to the islamicd defeat state of iraq and syria. he stressed that the pentagon continues to monitor the andlating violence in iraq is preparing options for the president to consider. 40 minutes.t good afternoon, everybody. let me start with a brief update on iraq. secretary hagel continues to monitor the situation there as do defense and military leaders here at the pentagon. last 38 hours, the secretary has met a number of times with senior military leaders to discuss events on the ground and prepare options for the president's consideration. i won't detail those options but a wideell you they cover range of military capabilities and will be designed, the

buck mckeon of california says the white house is a history of considering all options while choosing not. ne. i will not support a one-shot strike that looks good for the cameras but has no enduring a effect. defense department press theetary john kirby says u.s. is disappointed that iraqi security forces were unable to hold back into feet the islamic state of a rack in syria -- iraq and syria. he said he is preparing options for the president to consider. this is about 40 minutes. >> good afternoon, everybody. let me start with a brief update on iraq. secretary hagel continues to monitor the situation there as do defense and military leaders here at the pentagon. over the last 38 hours, the secretary has met a number of times with senior military leaders to discuss events on the ground and prepare options for the president's consideration. i won't detail those options but i can tell you they cover a wide range of military capabilities and will be designed, the president says, to help break the momentum of isil's progress and bolster iraqi security forces but clearly any decision to

attended that event and a number making statements, those who went and those who didn't, including buck mckeon saying standing on the shore with the men who risked their lives to take this ground among the graves of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, words fail me. also from minority leader nancy pelosi, she says neither our nation nor any other nation that cherishes the blessings of liberty fought for, pled for, and died for on d-day can ever forget its memory. we want to hear what your thoughts are on the 70th anniversary. join in the conversation at facebook.com/c-span and also on twitter at #chat. >> russia as united states is a nation which believes in its mission, and our missions are pretty similar. we believe in freedom. we believe in distributing our core values, which suddenly disappeared in '90s and 2000s. but it didn't go anywhere, you know, because at our core it was still there, and the biggest national idea for us during all those years was the victory day. that is our main national holiday, and that's what unites the whole nation is the fight against the fascists. and how i

host: that was chairman but mckeon -- buck mckeon.ws, with ukraine crisis cooling, obama sets off to soothe european friends. said he would use the trip to meet with the new ukrainian president and to reassure central and eastern european allies. thatrticle goes on to say mr. obama arrives in warsaw on tuesday to meet with polish leaders and leaders from throughout the region who will converge there. he will meet with mr. porosh enko for the first time since his election and then address a public rally celebrating 25th anniversary of the elections in poland. later, he will meet with counterparts from britain, france, germany, italy, canada and japan. mr. putin is unwelcome in brussels, however he will be at mr. obama's next stop in paris. president francois hollande plans to host mr. obama for dinner on thursday and mr. putin separately the same evening. no meetings are scheduled, but aides did not rule out an unscripted conversation. he will be marking the 70th anniversary of normandy. on the situation with the veteran affairs depart

and another interesting nugget here being questioned by buck mckeshm mckeon that if they had been more open that this consternation could have been averted and he went on to ask if the five gitmo prisoners traded would have headed back to the battlefield and that is an important issue, but something that i found fascinating. but another issue that hagel hit on which is by going after and securitying bergdahl in the environment is the only time when they said they had, they feel it frees up resources to focus on other areas of the fight which also had not come out, and the bottom line, tamron, this is about the separation of the executive b n branch and the legislative branch, and they feel slighted that over 80 to 90 administration officials were briefed on this, but they were not. and hagelle is doing a lot better here than confirmation he hearing on the hill which was a disaster. >> and bringing you in, chuck hagel said about notifying congress, there was a fleeting opportunity, and there had been concerns about possible leaks involved and something that luke touched on it as well, h

on wednesday what we'll see is a hearing in front of the house armed services committee led by buck mckeon deal. the person they're calling to testify is defense secretary chuck hagel who is going to have to defend them. we're going to be seeing a lot of this activity on the house side this week, victor. >> all righty, erin mcpike and martin savidge, we appreciate you both. thank you. >>> coming up we'll hear from retired marine corps general james mattis, the former head of the u.s. central command. he's also been pretty critical of president obama's decision to withdraw troops from afghanistan by 2016. >>> that's right here on cnn at the top of the hour. these days we both eat smarter. and i give jake purina cat chow naturals. made with real chicken and salmon, it's high in protein like a cat's natural diet. and no added artificial flavors. we've come a long way. and whatever's ahead, we'll be there for each other. naturally. purina cat chow naturals. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and

listen to buck mckeon last night how they sent up people there and he says administration seems to bes the president of the united states that came out with the bergdahl's and took all of the credit. and now there has been a little pushback, he is moving away from it and secretary hagel. i don't think so. i think this is the president's decision. >> how are they handling this? you're at the white house every day. by law, secretary hagel has to certify if you're going to release prisoners from guantanamo but no question the final call here made by the chief. >> absolutely. no way this was signed off on without obama's approval. i think what mckeon is talking about is the legal process where chuck hagel has to sign off and say they have mitigated these risks. i think that is hagel's role in this. more broadly an understanding at the staff level at the white house right now this is a political problem and say in the spotlight and answering questions for weeks on this. but when you listen to the president, he spoke as recently as friday on this. he is defiant and i don't think you'll see

and women in uniform behind now questioning the need for the speedy swap republican congressman buck mckeon chairman of the armed services committee said he plans to hold hearings about the bergdahl exchange sergeant bergdahl is now at a military hospital in germany receiving treatment before being flown home. in syria rebel rocket fire has killed fifty people on the eve of tuesday's presidential election opposition fighters are vowing more attacks to disrupt the vote marches maria financial reports. the day of silence here in syria head of the country's presidential elections the first in the last five decades on tuesday the syrian authorities say over fifteen hundred polling stations will be opened in the capital damascus alone with thousands obviously all the force of the country so the syrians trees deliberately that seven years those living abroad are really because the ballots was held in august in the syrian embassy in iran for two countries of course that we hear that many syrian refugees also turned over the election as we crossed into syria through the lebanese border and we saw a

. >> representative mckeon is reallyup set, he's accusing the administration are trying to pass the buckis swap. apparently defense secretary chuck hague order -- chuck hagel ordered the swap. is the administration trying to pass the buck for this? >> i don't think that's the case. i'm not sure that we have the full story on that. you know, what i would expect is, that the president ultimately made the decision to go forward with the frayed, but that it may have fallen to the secretary of defense to make sure that all the logistics were in place his troops could be safe in making the exchange, that when it became operational, it was his call to make that the logistics were correct in that it could take place, but i have to think the president made the decision to make the trade and that it was more likely that the secretary only made the decision and put it into implementation. >> it's curious we didn't know of chuck hagel's intimate involvement before this hearing? >> you know, i'm really not sure how much to read into that answer that we got yesterday. again, it may have been more the