together with an adviser, barnett rubin, they devised a plan to vet agha. >> we said to tayeb agha, "sage from bowe bergdahl?" >> army sergeant bowe bergdahl, the only american prisoner of war held in afghanistan... >> smith: holbrooke and rubin also asked that agha tell mullah omar to release a special message. >> we told him that the message should include some comments on some recent events in somalia. >> american soldier bowe bergdahl was capturedn eastern afghanistan... >> smith: they reasoned that if agha proved he had access to bergdahl, the taliban's prized american prisoner, and to mullah omar, agha would pass their test. but the pentagon was against any negotiation. the military believed it was too soon for talks. >> the military was always saying, "okay, "we know there has to be a political settlement, but we should wait till we are in a stronger position." and i used to say, "why do you think "you'll be in a stronger position if you wait? "if you want to negotiate when you have maximum leverage, you're a couple of years too late already." >> smith: holbrooke recorded his t