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Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl Released by His Captors; President Obama Remarks Regarding Released Soldier

Aired May 31, 2014 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

KAYE: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hello, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Don Lemon.

An American soldier is free today after nearly five years of captivity by the Taliban. Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, since 2009, he's only been seen in pictures and videos released by his captors. U.S. Special Forces went in and picked him up in eastern Afghanistan today. He was the only member of the U.S. military still held captive from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the same time, today, five detainees held at Guantanamo Bay were released and they are now in the air en route to Qatar. They exchanged Bergdahl for the terror suspects, followed a negotiation between Taliban representatives and the government of Qatar.

We just heard from the White House, they told us to expect President Obama to speak from the Rose Garden about the release of Bowe Bergdahl. That is coming up in just a few minutes at about 6:15 eastern time.

Meantime, the people closest to Bowe Bergdahl never gave up hope that he would someday come home. Here is CNN's Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOWE BERGDAHL, CAPTURED SOLDIER: Get me! Release me, please! I'm begging you! Bring me home, please? Bring me home.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That is Bowe Bergdahl, the only member of the U.S. military in enemy captivity. Bergdahl had just turned 27, but four years of his short life have been spent in captivity held by a group loosely affiliated with the Afghan Taliban.

The Idaho native was captured near the Afghan-Pakistan border after just two months on the battlefield. Since his capture, only a few propaganda videos proving he is alive had trickled down.

Bowe's father, Robert, appealed directly to his son's captors in this You Tube video.

ROBERT BERGDAHL, FATHER OF CAPTURED SOLDIER: I personal appeal to General Kayani (ph) and general (INAUDIBLE). Our family is counting on your professional integrity and honor to return the safe return of our son.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TAPPER: In that video, Robert Bergdahl sports a long beard and had learned phrases and Arabic to better communicate directly.

"New York Times" reporter Elisabeth Bumiller spoke to Bergdahl's family as their patience with the government's progress on bringing him home were thin.

ELISABETH BUMILLER, REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: They had become frustrated by the U.S. government. They felt the government was foot dragging and decided to speak out themselves.

TAPPER: An e-mails to his family obtained by the late Michael Hastings and published by "Rolling Stone" magazine, Bergdahl made clear his disillusionment of the war before he disappeared.

The future is too good to waste on lies, he wrote to his parents in his final e-mail home.

BUMILLER: And his first letters home, e-mails home were very positive. But then he said he became the e-mails became much darker. His son seemed to feel that the military was not this peace corps with guns ideal had he held.

TAPPER: But this family received a different kind of letter believed to be from their son, delivered by other Red Cross.

DWIGHT MURPHY, BERGDAHL'S FAMILY FRIEND: That brings newfound hope. That's like sitting around the camp fire that is going out and, all of a sudden, you find that one more log.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: We have a team of reporters working on this story for you. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr and CNN international correspondent Nic Robertson.

Barbara, let me start with you on this one. What we know exactly about the negotiations and how they ended up picking Bowe Bergdahl?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, what we have been understanding from talking to military and defense officials all day long is it was in the last week that this plan with the Taliban basically came together. Bergdahl in return for five detainees from Guantanamo Bay being released back to Qatar. Qatar would take responsibility for them. That is what the Taliban wanted and for that they would return Bowe Bergdahl.

U.S. forces got the word where to go along the border in Afghanistan to pick him up. They did that earlier today. It all was very peaceful. It went very quickly. But there was plenty of concern about security. We know that other U.S. forces were standing by ready to move in if things went wrong. But they did not, thankfully. We are told that Bergdahl walked to the helicopter. He was able to walk. That he spoke to the U.S. troops that came to rescue him. I want to tell you that we have some video here now. You are seeing Mr. And Mrs. Bergdahl, his parents, obviously, surrounded by security and walking to the White House just a short time ago. This is exclusive CNN video. We were the only ones there to record it.

Walking to the White House. We expect them, Robert and Jani Bergdahl to be standing with President Obama when he makes his statement. Erin McPike will have much more on that, of course.

Bergdahl now is far from airbase Afghanistan, expected to be moving in the coming house to perhaps Landstuhl military medical center in Germany for further medical checks. But the whole idea, Randi, now is to get him back home to his family as quick as possible.

KAYE: And Nic, in terms of this negotiation, I mean, obviously, there was a trade here to get Bowe Bergdahl save. Does it signal a change in American policy about no negotiations to you?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's going to raise questions for some people who are not familiar with this. The United States is not the first people to do this. This is standard operating procedure for the Taliban to tape prisoners and exchange them for their own prisoners who are being held captive. They do this with the Pakistani authorities. They do it with the Afghans on regular basis. The people they want it released, they are former interior minister (INAUDIBLE) deputy head of defense and a former deputy head of intelligence, a former governor of two different provinces.

So, these significant Taliban players or were significant Taliban players. We understand from U.S. authorities that they did not have connections with Al Qaeda. That -- if that had been the case, that, of course, would have made it much harder to contemplate their release.

The fact they are being released to Qatari authorities and under their care for watch again, is an indication that no one is trusting the Taliban here. But this was a deal that was clearly felt the only way to bring about Bowe Bergdahl's release.

KAYE: And Barbara, certainly a lot of people celebrating the fact that he will be coming home and he is safe now. But you can't ignore the fact that there are questions surrounding his whole capture back in 2009. I mean, the fact that he -- it sounds like he likely voluntarily walked away from his group. I mean, could he face any ramifications when he does get home for this?

STARR: This is a very delicate situation, especially on a day like this, of course, when the president is standing next to his parents to announce the return of this soldier, but the facts are we don't know exactly what did happen to Bowe Bergdahl because we have never heard from him directly with no duress about what actually transpired.

The word has always been, that he, for some reason, walked away from his station, from his base in eastern Afghanistan. Perhaps dissolution with the war, perhaps personal problems. We honestly do not know. The military needs to hear from Bowe Bergdahl directly what happened to him, what led him to walk away.

He may not -- I've talked to people about this in the military. There's nothing that says he will face criminal charges, nothing that says there will be some sort of mandatory criminal proceeding against him. By all accounts, he was absent without leave. Whether it goes as far as desertion, we simply don't know. The military will have to decide how it wants to proceed.

But I have to tell you, speaking over the last several months to many senior military officials, they know it's delicate. They know other troops have a lot of questions about this. But there is a very deep feeling that perhaps Bowe Bergdahl suffered enough by being in captivity for nearly five years. We will have to see what decisions are made about his future.

KAYE: Yes. I bet a lot of people will say that for sure.

Barbara Starr and Nic Robertson, thank you both.

Around the world more than two dozen other Americans are being held prisoner in questionable circumstances. At least 27 U.S. citizens are either being held by extremist groups or sitting in jail in countries that had hostile to America.

Among them, Robert Levinson, retired FBI agent who disappeared in Iran almost seven years ago. His captors sent pictures to his family.

Allen Gross is a U.S. government employee in jail in Cuba. Several U.S. officials including former president Jimmy Carter have pleaded for his release. So far, zero success.

And 72-year-old Warren Weinstein was working assess a government contractor in Pakistan during the summer of 2011 when he was grabbed from his home. He has been held hostage by Al Qaeda ever since.

Kenneth Bae was detained in North Korea in November 2012. A North Korean circuits court sentenced him to 15 years hard labor for allegedly committing hostile acts against the state.

Joining us now CNN national security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer.

Bob, hello to you. Lots to discuss here. The U.S. was negotiating a release of Bowe Bergdahl for months. Is the U.S. actively pursuing the release of any of those citizens we mentioned too or is it different because Bergdahl is military?

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: No. In all cases, there are back channels, either directly or through intermediaries trying to get these people out. You take Levinson, for instance, that is the more difficult one. The FBI, unfortunately, believes he has died and probably not get him back. As far as Cuba, we have a back channel to Cuba and we are talking to Cuba all the time. I can't call it negotiations. The aid contractor taken in Pakistan and Lahore is held in Al Qaeda. That's much more difficult.

So all of these situations are different. And unfortunately, it takes time to get through these negotiations.

KAYE: But you know, of course, we are not talking about people who have gone through legitimate proceedings for alleged crimes committed overseas. We are talking about men and women who are hostages and held for obvious political reasons. Can you explain the distinction?

BAER: Well, I think in Afghanistan, what we're seeing now is the end game to this war, the Haqqani group which supposedly held him is fairly moderate. We have two channels to the Haqqani group and talking to them for years and that is Pakistan and Qatar. You know, it is a lot easier for the state department to work this. Cuba should have been easier to this and I can't explain to you why he hasn't been released and as far as Kenneth Bae in North Korea. Well, that regime isn't exactly rational. So it's all different problems.

KAYE: So help us understand just a little bit about how this works. I mean, since the U.S. government doesn't negotiate with extremist groups, I mean, what happens when an American is kidnapped and a demand is made? What goes on?

BAER: Well, it depends on the group. Al Qaeda is the most difficult. I mean, we simply -- that is a clear-cut terrorist group we can no way have any direct contact with it. We can go to government of Pakistan. They will say they will do their best. What they actually do is something different.

The Haqqani network is the Taliban in a sense, an umbrella group. But again, by the way, that's a group the CIA worked with in the '80s. I mean, we know people in that group and our estimate is they are fairly rational and easy to deal with. It's the crazy like North Korea and Al Qaeda where we run into the problems.

KAYE: All right, Bob Baer, appreciate your expertise as always. Thank you very much.

We want to remind our viewers, about 11 minutes past the hour right now.

Coming up, at about 6:15, we are expecting the president to speak from the White House Rose Garden. You see the microphone is right there. He will be joined by Bowe Bergdahl's parents, Robert and Jenny Bergdahl, as you saw CNN's exclusive video of them coming in.

We will have that for you right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We believe we are just about a minute away from President Obama's speaking at the White House Rose Garden about Bowe Bergdahl being picked up today and we wanted to check in with Erin McPike who is at the White House.

Erin, what can we expect? ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: In the last hour or so, we saw White House chief of staff Dennis McDonough arrive at the White House. We expect he will accompany the president as well as Bowe Bergdahl's parents. They have been Washington. They also arrived to the White House the last hour or so.

Now, what we do know is that, of course, Bowe Bergdahl himself is still in Afghanistan. But what we understand is that at some point where we brought back to the United States for treatment in a San Antonio medical facility where then we expect he will be reunited with his parents who you will see here.

KAYE: We do want to mention that you are speaking there, this is the video, the CNN exclusive video there that we have of Bowe Bergdahl's parents arriving there at the White House to join the president in the Rose Garden.

As we wait for him, Erin, just very quickly, we may need to interrupt you if he does come out. But just very quickly, talk a little bit about the controversy about this whole trade that was made to bring Bowe Bergdahl home?

MCPIKE: Of course, there was an exchange. So Bowe Bergdahl was released in exchange for the five detainees at Guantanamo Bay and back to Afghanistan. President Obama, I believe is coming out so I'm going to step aside.

KAYE: Yes. There is the president walking out. He is going to be speaking Bowe Bergdahl joined by his parents who were in Washington. Let's listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon, everybody.

This morning I called Bob and Jenny Bergdahl and told them after nearly five years in captivity, their son Bowe is coming home. Sergeant Bergdahl has missed birthdays and holidays and the simple moments with family and friends which all of us take for granted. But while Bowe was gone, he was never forgotten.

His parents thought about him and prayed for him every single day. As did his sister Skye who prayed for his safe return. He wasn't forgotten by his community in Idaho or the military which rallied -- he wasn't forgotten by his country. Because the United States of America does not ever leave our military men and women in uniform behind.

As commander in chief I am proud of the service members who recovered sergeant Bergdahl and brought him safely out of harm's way. As usual, they performed with extraordinary courage and professionalism and they have made their nation proud.

Right now, our top priority is making sure that Bowe gets the care and support that he needs and that he can be reunited with his family as soon as possible. I'm also grateful for the tireless work of our diplomats and the cooperation of the government of Qatar in helping to secure Bowe's release. We have worked for several years to achieve this goal and earlier this week I was able to personally thank the Amir of Qatar for his leadership in helping us get it done.

As part of this effort, the U.S. is transferring five detainees from the prison in Guantanamo Bay to Qatar. The Qatari government has given us assurances it will put into place measures to protect our national security. I also want to express gratitude to the Afghan government which has always support our efforts to secure Bowe's release.

Going forward the United States will continue to support and Afghan led process of reconciliation which could help secure a hard-earned peace within a sovereign and unified Afghanistan.

As I said earlier this week, we are committed to winding down the war in Afghanistan and we are committed to closing gitmo. But we also made an ironclad commitment to bring our prisoners of war home. That is who we are as Americans. It's a profound obligation within our military and, today, at least in this instance, it's a promise we have been able to keep.

I am mindful, though, that there are many troops who remain missing in the past. That's why we are never going to forget and we are never going to give up our search for service members who remain unaccounted for on.

We also remain deeply committed to securing the release of American citizens who are unjustly obtained abroad and deserve to be reunited with their families just like the Bergdahl's soon will be.

Bob and Jani, today, families across America share in the joy that I know you feel. As a parent, I can't imagine the hardship that you guys have gone through. As president, I know that I speak for all Americans when I say we cannot wait for the moment when you're reunited and your son Bowe is back in your arms.

So with that, I'd like bob to have an opportunity to say something and Jani, if she would like as well.

JANI BERGDAHL, SERGEANT BOWE BERGDAHL'S MOTHER: I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported Bowe. He's had a wonderful team everywhere. We will continue to stay strong for Bowe while he recovers. Thank you.

R. BERGDAHL: I'd like to say to Bowe right now who is having trouble speaking English.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

I'm your father, Bowe. To people of Afghanistan, the same.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

The complicated nature of this recovery was -- will never be comprehended.

To each and every single one who affected this in this country, in the service branches, at the state department, throughout the whole of American government, and around the world, international governments around the world, thank you so much. We just can't communicate the words this morning when heard from the president. So we looked forward to continuing the recovery of our son which is going to be a considerable task for our family. And we hope that the media will under understand, will keep us very preoccupied in the coming days and weeks as he gets back home to the United States. Thank you all for being here very much.

OBAMA: Thank you. Wonderful.

J. BERGDAHL: Thank you.

OBAMA: A good day.

J. BERGDAHL: Yes, it's a good day.

KAYE: And there you have it. A very emotional moment. A very personal moment there between the president and Bob and Jenny, the parents of Bowe Bergdahl certainly celebrating his return at some point. They will welcome him back into their home back to the United States, but certainly very thankful today.

Let's talk this over what we just witnessed there with Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent, Bob Baer, CNN national security analyst and Nic Robertson, our international correspondent is there joining us as well.

Barbara, let me ask you first. I mean, we have followed this case, obviously, since he disappeared in 2009. We have seen the various proof of life pictures and videos. What do you make of that moment there in the Rose Garden with the president?

STARR: Well, I thought there were a couple of extremely interesting references perhaps giving us a little bit of an indication of what the Bergdahl's may know about their son's condition at the moment. It seems to me that Mr. Bergdahl, Bob Bergdahl was probably speaking a few sentences there in Pashtu, but I'll have Bob or Nic correct me on that, if I'm wrong.

We know he was trying to learn -- he had learned some Pashtu and some Arabic phrases to better communicate, he said, with his son's captors, suggesting also there that he thought maybe Bowe was going to have trouble speaking English again, perhaps after so many years in captivity, Bowe Bergdahl had basically started speaking Pashtu or some local language to his captors.

His mother and his father both making references to this being a long recovery ahead. Not just physically getting Bowe Bergdahl back to his family but after five years in captivity, basically repatriating him to the United States out of, you know, miserable conditions in Pakistan and Afghanistan and rural tough mountain areas with enemy forces, people who would have killed him back to the United States, back to the west, back to safety.

So, this will be a very long, complicated process. Both of his parents referring to that and asking for privacy from the media, saying that this would now, of course, be their focus to get Bowe all the way back home. So I thought that was pretty interesting.

KAYE: It certainly was.

Let's check in with Erin McPike. She was there in the Rose Garden at the White House.

Erin, what did you pick up there in the Rose Garden that maybe we didn't?

MCPIKE: Well, obviously, it was very emotional and the Bergdahl parents, obviously, hesitated a little bit because this has certainly been an emotional day for them, really an emotional process for them. The president as well. And of course, he also expressed some gratitude for the Qataris for their assistance in sort of negotiating this along too. We don't want to forget that point as well -- Randi.

KAYE: All right, Erin, thank you very much.

We want to talk this over more with our panel. Everybody, please stick around and we will be right back after this very quick break. Keep it here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back to CNN. We are continuing to follow this breaking news coverage of Bowe Bergdahl, a U.S. army sergeant, now in the hands of the United States. They picked him up and he is on safe ground.

We wanted to continue to talk this over with our folks who are on our panel. We are Bob Baer who is a CNN security analyst and former CIA operative, also Nic Robertson, our international correspondent and Barbara Starr who is with us from the Pentagon.

Bob, let me start with you on this. I want to replay some of the sound from Jani and Bob Bergdahl who just were in the Rose Garden with the president. I want to listen to that one more time, hear their comment. Then, I want to ask you questions about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J. BERGDAHL: I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported Bowe. He's had a wonderful team everywhere. We will continue to stay strong for Bowe while he recovers. Thank you.

R. BERGDAHL: I'd like to say to Bowe right now who is having trouble speaking English.

(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

I'm your father, Bowe. To people of Afghanistan, the same. (Inaudible) the complicated nature of this recovery was -- will never really be comprehended. To each and every single one who affected this in this country, in the service branches, at the State Department, throughout the whole of American government, and around the world, international governments around the world, thank you so much.

We just can't communicate the words this morning when heard from the president. So we looked forward to continuing the recovery of our son, which is going to be a considerable task for our family and we hope that the media will understand that will keep us very preoccupied in the coming days and weeks as he gets back home to the United States. Thank you all for being here very much.

KAYE: There he is. He has grown this beard, Bowe's father there with that beard. He is also speaking to him in as Barbara had said before the break, possibly in Pashtun. What do you make of that? Is that -- what does that say about what Bowe Bergdahl has been through over these years?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, what it tells me, first of all, the father said in the name of the compassionate and I'm your father that is Dari, but that would be a common suppression in Afghanistan and what tells me that they spent a lot of time in Afghanistan, probably Qatar, talking to local officials, convincing them of the justice of this act and that he shouldn't be held.

So, I mean, I think we really have to think a lot of our allies in the gulf and in Afghanistan. So I think this was a multiple effort of a lot of people and I think the family clearly were very engaged in this.

KAYE: Nic, does it concern you at all his father is there saying he probably hasn't spoken much English or was that a means of survival for him?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the human will to survive and the survival instinct and everything we have heard from people who have been held captive before, it is instinctive to, after time, to try to make friends with your captors, to try to make your situation better, to try and find the one who will give you the better food and who will let you out of the room and go to the bathroom when you want to go and not when they want to let you out of the room.

All of those sorts of things. So the fact that he will very likely have communicated in their language will have tried to grow to understand them, to play on their sympathies and precisely the same way that his father is doing by growing his beard, by speaking in a language that the captors, Bowe's captors have understand. This is his effort to try to connect with Bowe captors.

Bowe 11will have been doing that five years on the ground. It will take a long time to put that back together. He will question himself. I mean, this is what we have heard from so many people who have been held captive. I don't think anyone should underestimate that period of time if anyone ever fully recovers to back where they were before, if you will, from that kind of incarceration. And that kind of incarceration from a group of people we don't know what was happening on a day-to-day basis. Was he being threatened with execution every week before he made the videos? We just don't know these things. Extreme pressure, long-term psychological wearing down for him.

KAYE: You can certainly see, Barbara, that very emotional moment for the parents there. They are, obviously, and with good reason very concerned about their son and his well-being. What do you know about how he is doing at this point?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is after the commandos picked him up on the border, they flew him immediately to a small so-called forward operating base fairly close by in Eastern Afghanistan where he got some initial critical medical check to make sure he was OK. Okay enough to move on. Then he went by aircraft to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

This is the large U.S. military facility north of Kabul. There is a complete military hospital there for both routine and critical care. He is at Bagram tonight, we are told, still getting medical treatment, meeting with a repatriation team and experts and helping through this process. The belief -- the understanding we have within the coming hours perhaps, if he is cleared by that medical team, he will move on to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

Again, a facility that specializes in repatriation. Not clear that he will have to spend a lot of time there. It will depend on his medical condition and then we are told they are going to really try and get him back to the United States as quickly as possible. The game plan, at this point, is take him to San Antonio, Texas, to Brook Army Medical Center, again, a major military medical facility. He can there get all of the privacy and medical care he needs -- Randi.

KAYE: All right, Barbara, Bob, Nic, stay with us and Erin McPike is joining us as well. We will continue to have much more on this when we continue this conversation right after a very quick break and we will join you on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. We are joined once again by Bob Baer, Nic Robertson, and Erin McPike at the White House. We want to continue to talk about Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. sergeant who was picked up today by commandos.

Erin, let me start with you. There is a lot of talk and a lot of controversies, even though this is a day of celebration for the families who know and love Bowe Bergdahl, but a lot of controversy surrounding the fact that there was exchange made for prisoners from Guantanamo prison. Can you bring us up-to-speed on who is saying what about this whole controversy right now?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Randi. We did get a memo earlier today from Senator John McCain who himself was a prisoner of war for about five years in Vietnam and he said while he is thrilled that Bowe Bergdahl is safe, he also express some concerns saying he is eager to know from the White House exactly how this exchange went down.

Then we got a much stronger statement from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, who -- a very important voice on this as well, and he said, "I am extremely troubled that the United States negotiated with terrorists and agreed to swap five senior Taliban leaders who are responsible for the deaths of many Americans."

He went on to say that the fundamental shift in U.S. policy and it signals to terrorists around the world a greater incentive to take U.S. hostages. Now obviously, that was not something that President Obama was going to address in the Rose Garden this afternoon when he was there with Bowe Bergdahl's parents.

But I am certain that it's something that is going to come up for him again and again and something he will have to address, especially at this time when he is drawing down troops in Afghanistan and talking a lot more about his foreign policy.

KAYE: Erin, thank you. Nic, what do you know about these detainees that were part of the exchange?

ROBERTSON: They were relatively senior Taliban figures. One a former interior minister and one a former deputy defense minister and another one head of intelligence and another had been a governor in at least two different Afghan provinces. The Taliban, prior to 9/11, were fighting a civil war for control of the whole of Afghanistan.

Taliban commanders and their military in particular were at the forefront of either doing that on the battlefield or making it happen with money. What we do understand about these five men is they are not believed to have strong or al Qaeda links, that these were people picked up pretty much soon after September 11th attacks.

But what do we know about their intentions now? That is not clear. I know two senior Taliban figures who have been released from Guantanamo Bay in the past. One, the former foreign minister, the other the former ambassador to Pakistan who was a senior, one of the original Taliban leaders, if you will.

Both of these men returned to civilian life living in Kabul. They both told me they didn't want to end up back in Guantanamo Bay again. What were they doing behind the scenes? We don't really know, but they did seem to lead peaceful lives.

Will these other five men do that? That's a question and a responsibility now that lies with the Qataris who said they are going to manage following them, are going to manage what they do while they are in Qatar.

KAYE: So Bob Baer, what do you make that? I mean, how comfortable are you with these detainees being released and the assurances from the Qatari government that they will keep an eye on them? BAER: Well, I don't trust Qatar, but I think the point is these five detainees weren't directly involved in what I would describe as terrorism. They weren't part of al Qaeda. They had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. As Nic said they were policed up after we moved into the country. Describing them as terrorists I don't think is completely accurate.

We are in a gray area here and it is possible that one or two of them or maybe all of them will show back up in Afghanistan, but keep in mind that this war is winding down. We have to keep in mind in the context of this release that Bowe Bergdahl the drone attacks have tapered off completely.

This thing is going away and we are going to get some sort of settlement and I think we are just going to have to start talking to the Taliban whether we like it or not.

KAYE: Nic, to you. I'm curious about the location because CNN was able to confirm today that Bowe Bergdahl had moved between Pakistan and Afghanistan was very likely in Pakistan for most of these five years that he's been missing and had been taken. What do you know about those areas?

ROBERTSON: Well, probably most likely he was held in North Waziristan. Much of it is a no-go area for the Pakistani military and no-go area certainly for U.S. forces. Only drone strikes were really able to penetrate that area. The Haqqani network was believed to have been holding him, certainly they had training camps and al Qaeda training camps in that area have been targeted to the point they have only been able to establish themselves in small bases.

A local reporter who I was working with last year in Pakistan had been to one of those training camps. It was literally training a tiny handful of Taliban militants. There was another al Qaeda camp nearby. Small compounds is typical and those may have been inside any one of those war compounds in that area that Bowe Bergdahl was being held.

An area that the government forces, Afghan, Pakistan, U.S. couldn't get into readily and certainly would have been potentially a high casualty rate had they tried to do it, not only that, inside Pakistan, very hard for the U.S. to actually physically go in there. So that is, obviously, it seems why he was moved to the border for this transfer.

KAYE: Certainly a lot of challenges there. Nic, Bob, Erin, thank you all very much. Appreciate it.

Coming up my next guest was also kidnapped by terrorists also and making him one of the very few people who can relate to Bowe Bergdahl. Veteran war journalist, Mike Boettcher, joins me live right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Back to our developing story right now, the only U.S. military member still held captive from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now in U.S. custody. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2009 and now he has been freed. Special Forces picked up Bergdahl at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time from his captors in Afghanistan.

In exchange as for his release, the U.S. handed over five detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Bergdahl is now at a U.S. forward operating base in Afghanistan. His family hours ago learned he was free and appeared this hour at the White House with President Obama. The Qatari government actually helped broker that deal.

We know Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is free and he is coming home, but the mystery surrounding his capture nearly five years ago lingers. Former CNN war correspondent, Mike Boettcher joining me now from Oklahoma City.

Mike, so nice to see you. There is still debate over what led to Sergeant Bergdahl's disappearance and capture. You have been embedded with units in Afghanistan. What do you think happened?

MIKE BOETTCHER, WAR CORRESPONDENT: Well, it wasn't an organized operation by the Taliban. That much is clear. I was in that region of the country in 2009, 2010, 2011 in Paktiki Province and it is clear that he left the base, but other than that, it's hard to say what happened, what the motivation was, why he was outside the wires Soledad O'Brien speak. All I know is that every unit in that area was on alert for that entire time looking for him, although it was assumed that he was across the border in Pakistan and North Waziristan.

KAYE: Regardless of whether he left or something else happened or the first concern is getting him back safely. You were captured in El Salvador and threatened with your life nearly 30 years. How did you survive? I mean, give us an idea of what you think. I know every situation is different, but what you think maybe Sergeant Bergdahl might have been going through.

BOETTCHER: Well, the first thing I did was -- was try to gain my composure because everything happens just like that. This happened at a busy intersection. I was in a van with my driver. A man walked up with a gun, put it on my head. Another one put it to the driver's head and someone came behind me in the back of the van and put a gun to my head.

I determined that my best way to survive was to do what they told me to do initially and not to do anything that upset them. I then, you know, tried to make friends with them. They accused me of being an American spy, which happens to journalists all around the world. And so I told them I'm a reporter, you know. I am just a simple reporter out here and I'd like to live. Tell me what your problem is with me.

And, you know, I followed orders until the end when they, you know, after many hours of this, they told me to get on my knees, took me to the back side of the El Salvador volcano where they execute people and I refused to get on my knees. I knew at that time I had to be defiant at that point. It's a delicate line you walk when you are life is in somebody else's hands and you're pretty sure they are going to kill you. KAYE: Yes. Certainly some terrifying moments. Mike, I know you're joining us again at the top of the hour so it's nice to see you and we will talk with you again shortly here.

Anti-government protests in Turkey take a surprising turn. A CNN correspondent is roughed up while is reporting live. We will play that for you coming up next.

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KAYE: Let's talk more about Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's release and the transfer of five detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Qatar with two CNN commentators, Ben Ferguson and Marc Lamont Hill joining me to share some of their thoughts. Good to see you guys.

Ben, let me start with you first on this one. The U.S. has been given assurances they say the men exchanged for Bergdahl will not pose a threat to the United States and they won't be allowed to leave Qatar for a year. Do those assurances offer you any comfort?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: Not at all. These are high level individuals that were so important that for five years the same men were on the list of what they wanted back in exchange for an American, and this has changed our entire policy, almost 50 years a policy we do not negotiate with terrorists and that is exactly what just happened and that makes the life of an American around the world skyrocket.

And how important it is to al Qaeda or anyone else because we just changed our policy, and these aren't low level guys. You don't get to Guantanamo Bay by accident and if the Taliban wants you back and you're on their list, think about how important these guys are, obviously, to the Taliban and what they want to accomplish. And this was a massive victory for them today and America just gave into the Taliban and gave their top people back they wanted. That is scary.

MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN COMMENTATOR: I strongly disagree here.

KAYE: Let me tell you what Senator John McCain said. He says he is concerned about these former detainees and House Intelligence Committee chairman saying this deal gives the terrorists an incentive to take more American hostages. Why don't you respond to Ben and I'd like your reaction to that as well.

HILL: It certainly is cause for concern. We should be asking questions about the nature of these negotiations, but as we know we have been negotiating for well over a year on these very points, how many hostages would be released, how many rather prisoners would be released and what the terms of release would be. Who would be the intermediary in the conversation?

This is not something that went along quickly. The president as well as his cabinet have made very thoughtful decisions about this. I can't wait to get more information and the American people are entitled to that information. This is why I disagree with Ben. This was not a victory for the Taliban today. This was a victory for America. This was a victory -- FERGUSON: It wasn't a defeat.

HILL: This was a soldier who was a hostage and it was a victory for his family and we have to look at it in that way, I think. Also as our national security adviser said or expert said just a few minutes ago, this is not a clear-cut case of talking to reimagine who the Taliban are, number one. Number two, we have to move into a place of negotiation and conversation, not merely this sort of hostile antagonistic engagement that we have had the last five to ten years.

FERGUSON: I think the biggest difference these are the same people they have been wanting for five years and they wanted them back badly. So to say that this isn't a victory for the Taliban today, if it wasn't a victory for them, they wouldn't have made the deal. They gave away one American for five of their top people in their political organization. If that is not the definition of a victory, I don't know what is.

A five for one trade is an incredible deal for five guys that were in Guantanamo Bay and the words of John McCain have American blood on their hands and this puts other American people around the world's lives at risk now with al Qaeda and with the Taliban because they know that America now will negotiate and if you've got another ten guys or five guys you want out, well, if you grab a couple of Americans, are we willing to play ball based on what we see today? We absolutely are.

KAYE: All right, guys.

HILL: That's a very --

KAYE: Very quickly, Mark.

HILL: That is just -- it's just a very reductive analysis. Only one American in Afghanistan was captured and not -- we are not the L.A. Clippers making bad trades here. This was a very different circumstance and also --

FERGUSON: Sports analogy, really?

HILL: -- who were significant.

KAYE: All right, Marc Lamont Hill and Ben Ferguson, thank you both. Thank you.