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Bowe Bergdahl Freed After Five Years; Bowe Bergdahl Parents Speak to Press

Aired June 01, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

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DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: This is just about your basic nightmare for a parent. Look at this. A stiff wind from severe storms in Colorado picked up one of the bouncy houses with an attached slide and carried it several hundred feet before crashing down. It happened at a lacrosse tournament in Littleton, Colorado. One child was treated and released after being thrown by it. Another was taken away in ambulance, but his injuries are not believed serious. We have more ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all starts right now.

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Hello. I'm Dana Bash in for Fredricka Whitfield.

I want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. These top stories are topping the news this hour.

The parents of sergeant Bowe Bergdahl are going to speak live at any moment. And we are going to go live there as soon as it starts. It comes as their son leaves Afghanistan after nearly five years in captivity.

And a fiery plane crash in Massachusetts claims seven lives. We're learning more about the victims, including the man who co-owned the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Plus, who can be hiding behind this poster? Who could put a look on the teenager's face like that? It's a heartwarming story and we're going to have it, coming up.

We start today in Idaho where the parents of sergeant Bowe Bergdahl are expected to speak at any moment. They were in Washington yesterday with President Obama, the day their son was released from the Taliban in Afghanistan. Sergeant Bergdahl was held captive for nearly five years.

And Ed Lavandera is live in Boise, Idaho.

Ed, you have been following the story of Bowe Bergdahl. You have been in touch with his family, his friends for years. I know this is something that is close to your heart because of your connection with this. Tell us the scene there and what is going on. ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are near the Boise international airport and Bob and Jani Bergdahl have just arrived here not too long ago and they will be speaking with reporters. It's not clear whether or not they will take questions but they are members of the POW/MIA community. They have been supporting the family for the last five years that have turned out to see them come home. And the big question is exactly when they will be reunified with their son.

They are being told that they have not had a chance to speak with him on the phone as of yet. Bowe Bergdahl, as we have been reporting, is in Germany. But this reunification will probably take place in San Antonio, in the medical center. That is the place where they have a reunification program, a re-entry program for people like Bowe Bergdahl and perhaps that is where it will take place with his parents.

But the timeline is still very tentative at this point. It has not been hammered out. But Bob and Jani Bergdahl will be arriving here. We know that they are in the building. They have been kind of taken to a room to get ready, calm down a little bit after their flight from Washington, D.C., into Boise, Idaho, this morning. So, at some point here in the next few minutes they will be coming out and giving a statement -- Dana.

BASH: After so many years, Ed, of covering the story, of hearing the heartbreak and the tension and sorrow, it must be just so overwhelming to be in the room there with such a different feel. What's it like?

LAVANDERA: Well, it's a completely different feel. And after what the family has been through for nearly five years, I've had a chance to speak with many people in the home town of Hailey, Idaho. We've been told that the family is getting ready. I apologize.

About 15 minutes we were told, Dana. But as I was saying, the exhilaration that the town of Hailey, Idaho, experienced here in the last 24 hours, they had always hope that this day would come, that this news would come, and now the good thing is that at the end of June they were unusually planted a vigil or prepared a vigil on the anniversary of Bowe Bergdahl's capture and that's always had a somber mood to it, as you can imagine.

And now all of those people there in Hailey, Idaho are making it a celebration this year. And they say that will still be going on later -- at the end of June to commemorate the welcome home for Bowe Bergdahl. It's not clear if Bowe will be able to make it back to Hailey by then but that's obviously something that many people in his home town will be rooting for and hoping for as well.

BASH: I'm sure they will be.

You know, Ed, our viewers had a chance to see Bowe Bergdahl's parents when they were at the White House yesterday and they gave brief remarks. But the one thing that people might not know is the appearance of his father, the very long beard, that's not just a fashion statement. There's a very specific reason that he has that long beard. Explain it. LAVANDERA: Well, he decided early on that he was going to grow that beard as a way of showing his solidarity with his son's plight and as a symbol of him kind of living through that ordeal with his son.

I remember Bob Bergdahl talking about -- we talked about this yesterday, about how he kept the clocks and the watches in his house on Afghan time. This is someone who immersed himself in the Afghan culture, learn the language of his son's captors in hopes of being able to communicate with them, and all of this done very deliberately as a way of trying to protect his son. This is a man in many ways so far away from where his son was being held could easily, very easily have felt helpless about his son's plight, about being able to do anything to help his son out and those are some of the things that I know he had prepared for and tried to take advantage of and in some small way he might be able to help and facilitate his son's well-being and ultimately, his son's release.

BASH: Yes. And listening to his brief remarks yesterday, he was speaking in what I believe was Pashtu, which is not something you hear that often in the Rose garden at the White House. But that was part of what he said the way that he tried to cope and the way he tried to communicate with his son's captors over the years through the internet and social media.

Stand by for a second, Ed, while we wait for the Bergdahls to come out.

I want to go to our Nick Valencia. He's on his way to the Bergdahl's hometown in Hailey, Idaho.

And Nick, you talked to a close friend of the family about sergeant Bergdahl's released. What have you heard?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Good afternoon, Dana.

We are actually driving to the mountains right now in Idaho so you've got to forgive me if our cell phone breaks up here. But I've been on the phone with residents in Hailey, And as you can imagine, Dana, the community is overjoyed. There is a lot of tears yesterday, elation at the news that Bowe Bergdahl had been released from the captivity.

In fact, Stephanie O'Neil, a close family friend of the Bergdahls told me that one of the local businesses there, when they heard that Bowe Bergdahl had been released, they started blowing yellow balloons and passing them out on the street. So the town, this town of Hailey, Idaho of about 7,000 or 8,000 full-time residents there. There's a lot of balloons and lot of yellow ribbons. Those yellow ribbons were put up in July 2009 to show solidarity with the Bergdahl family.

And actually when I spoke to Stephanie O'Neil yesterday, she mentioned that the handful of years that Bergdahl has been in captivity, actually, four years and 11 months, some of the moments have been very difficult for his supporters.

She said that there were moments in the last couple of years where people in Hailey believed that he may never come home. But it was the unwavering support and hope of the parents of Bowe Bergdahl, Bob and Jani Bergdahl, that really gave the community there outlet to them and gave them so much hope that one day he would return and this is the day that so many people have been waiting for.

We're just outside of Hailey, Idaho, and Stephanie O'Neil tells me that every window has a "Bowe is home at last" sign in the window. So this community are awaiting for this news for years is just completely overjoyed at the news that Bergdahl has been released -- Dana.

BASH: I'm sure. And Nick, stand by. We're going to go back to Ed who is in the room where the press conference or at least the statement from Bowe Bergdahl's parents are going to take place.

And Ed, you know, there are certainly, right now where you are (INAUDIBLE), have plain old joy. But I'm sure the people there have heard some of the questions and controversy surrounding the release of their friend and their family member, particularly because it was a swap, a prisoner swap with five people, suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.

Is there any discussion of that that there or are they just kind of bearing that and sticking with the understandable happiness that they are feeling about coming home.

LAVANDERA: Right. Everyone is fully aware of all of that. And I think, as I've talked to people over the years about the aspect of the story, is they say, you know what, Bowe is the one who knows ultimately the story of what happened in that situation. And without, you know, hearing his side of the story, I think a lot of people have said that all of that will be worked out, will be investigated and figured out in due course.

But ultimately, you know, the most important thing here was making sure that Bowe Bergdahl got home. And so, you know, that is obviously something that controversy is swirling around it and is a question that, you know, his parents will be asked as well, whether his son should have been exchanged for five prisoners in Guantanamo.

They know those questions are surrounding it but Bob Bergdahl has been separated his son from all of that and has said you know what, you can work through all of that later on but ultimately what I need back is my son, to bring him back safely to the United States.

BASH: Of course. Well, right now this is and what we're about to see is going to be a very human moment.

And we are going to take a quick break. And on the other side, you want to stick around because just imagine being a parent of your only son not knowing what happened to him for five years and then suddenly knowing he is going coming back. We're going to hear from the parents after this break.

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BASH: And welcome back. We are awaiting a press conference from Bowe Bergdahl's parents. They were in Washington yesterday with the president in the Rose Garden to celebrate the fact that their son is going to be home very soon after being held captive for nearly five years in Afghanistan. And we are waiting for them to come and speak to reporters surrounded by people who they know, people who have been waiting from this moment for a long time in their hometown of Idaho. And we are going to go back to Ed Lavandera who is in the room there waiting to see the parents, to speak to the parents.

And Ed, tell us a little bit about the parents of Bowe Bergdahl, a little bit more. Because you have gotten to know them over the years.

LAVANDERA (via phone): You know, they are a rather fascinating couple. They've been thrust into this spotlight because of what has happened to their son. But you know, they came to Idaho and they are fiercely private people and even in the small town of Idaho, a population of 7,000 people. They live on the outskirts of town. I mean, there, you know, in an area that was very far removed from a lot of people and they like that solitude and they like that quietness. And, you know, they basically raised their son that way. And many people have always described Bowe Bergdahl as somewhat of a kid who was a renaissance man, if you will. He had worked on a fishing vessel I think up in Alaska, had a great deal of interest, and a great deal of interest in many different things. And I think that got to speaks to the way that Bob Bergdahl and his family lived their lives there in Idaho. And I think you've seen that unfold over the last five years. And you've seen as after you have seen what Bob Bergdahl has done to teach himself about Afghan culture and basically on his own, he has become an expert on the culture in many ways. He immersed himself in all of that and hope it will be able to help his son in some way.

BASH: It is amazing. And you talked about the fact that some people call Bowe Bergdahl kind of a renaissance man. We have talked yesterday to a woman who was his roommate, but also his ballet teacher of four years. So, I think that really speaks to who the army sergeant is. His parents talk with you about the fact that their son went into the military at a time of war and how they felt about it?

LAVANDERA: You know, that was one of the callings that I think many of his friends believed he had, you know, and the question is, something I don't think we have a clear answer to is, you know, if those attitudes kind of change for him during his course in service. So you know, that will be one of the many things that will be kind of interesting to learn about as, you know, Bowe Bergdahl returns home.

His parents were always very nervous. Bob Bergdahl had always shared the story of his son had told him he did not think he would come back from his deployment alive and that was always a very difficult thing for Bob Bergdahl to have to live within those months after Bowe Bergdahl was on his deployment before he was captured.

BASH: It's really easy, I would imagine -- I mean, I can't imagine. No one can. But you think it would be very easy to give up hope after nearly five years that you're going to see your son again. You know, on a very personal, very raw level, I know that you've talked to them a lot. Was this something that they addressed?

LAVANDERA: You know what, I never got that sense from Bob Bergdahl. I always thought that -- I don't think he would let those ideas kind of creep into him, but he would have to be strong for his son and in speaking with his friends and folks there in the town of Hailey. They were always incredibly stunned and impressed by the way he kind of carried himself. You know, he had to keep on working. He even -- during the darkest of times he continued to work his job in Hailey, Idaho. So it was just kind of a surreal scene for many people and, you know, several people who always acted like -- I don't know how they did it.

BASH: I want to you stand by for one minute, Ed. I want to go to Nick Valencia.

And Nick, you're , again, you are making your way to another place in Idaho, the hometown of sergeant Bergdahl, and that is Hailey, Idaho. And as you make your way there, you've been talking to people in that very small town. You just described before the fact that in every window, there are yellow placards, memorabilia, a way to finally celebrate the fact that this is finally happening.

VALENCIA (via phone): That's right, Dana. And yesterday it was a big celebration. In fact, some of the locals in Hailey, Idaho, they (INAUDIBLE) yesterday and uncorked champagne to celebrate their hometown's hero sergeant Bowe Bergdahl's release from captivity after nearly five years.

BASH: Nick, I'm sorry to interrupt you. We are now hearing Bowe Bergdahl's parents. And we are going to stop and listen to their introduction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is part of a very large military, diplomatic and other governor mental agency team. Dr. Brad Poppen (ph), Major Hickey and I have been dealing with them on matters large and small.

I would like to say that it's been one of the great honors of my whole career to assists this soldier's family during their time of need. And I know, Major Hickey and Doc Poppen (ph) feel the same way.

We welcome members of the media and the many Idahoans who are with us here today, who have supported the POW/MIA cause and who specifically have supported the Bergdahl family throughout this five year ordeal. And I know Bob and Jani have more words on that.

Those of us who have served in uniform have grieved with the families of our brothers and sisters who made the ultimate sacrifice. And we share the agony of those who have come back from our wars with physical and mental scars. Our thoughts are with them always.

But today, we have the opportunity to share in the joy of one family whose son is coming home to them. The Bergdahls have been through an ordeal the rest of us can only imagine and I know we're all pleased to see a happy outcome.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Bob and Jani Bergdahl.

(APPLAUSE)

JANI BERGDAHL, BOWE BERGDAHL'S MOTHER: Thank you so much.

Please forgive me if I do end up reading this. I'm going to try not to but I probably will. Today, I'm going to address my son. I love you, Bowe. I am so very proud of you. And, of course, all of your very large family would also like me to tell you that they love you also and are also very proud of you.

We've been working very, very hard for your release these last five years along with the whole of our government, even other governments and most especially, of course, Qatar, never losing hope in you or for you.

Right now, so many people are in place to assist you and all of the aspects of your recovery to full health, trust them. It's OK. And give yourself all of the time you need to recover and decompress. There is no hurry.

You have your life ahead of you. We continue in our minute by minute prayers for you as you go through this healing process and we praise God for your freedom. I think you may be very surprised at the number of people who have gathered you into their hearts, at home in the valley, here over Idaho across the country and around the world. You have a very amazing support system among all of these people.

I am so looking forward to seeing your face after these last 5 1/2 years, long, long years. And to giving you a great big bear hug and holding you in my arms again never wanting to let you go.

Our family, your family is strong in faith and hope. You are from a strong tribe. You are even stronger now. Five years is a seemingly endless long time but you've made it. I imagine you are more patient and compassionate than ever. You are free. Freedom is yours. I will see you soon, my beloved son. I love you, Bowe.

(APPLAUSE)

BOB BERGDAHL, BOWE BERGDAHL'S FATHER: I'd like to start in the back row and just go name by name by name of all of the people who have supported us have the beginning of this. And then we can go across the country and across the world and that would be appropriate. Unfortunately, we don't have the time or the music would start playing and we'd have to leave.

We're talking like this because we haven't talk to Bowe yet. We haven't called home, Bowe. Although, you all know, we have the capability to do that with satellite technology. There's reason for that and that's because Bowe has been gone so long that it's going to be very difficult to come back. It's like a diver going deep on a dive and has to stay back up for recompression to get the nitrogen level out of the system. If he comes up too fast, it could kill him.

We're pretty resilient. Jani pointed out. Bowe is still pretty resilient. He's passed through all of the checkpoints with flying colors. But this is very well organized. As you can see by the gentleman on the end of the row there, Doc Poppen (ph), he's our psychologist, he is one of the men running this recovery and reintegration and we've known doc for how long? The first year, the first summer, I think.

So going all the way back there we've had this kind of support behind us. And we're proud of that. We were always content with that. And it's so big and includes so many people that there's no way we can thank them all. So if we did, we would miss people and then we'd feel guilty and we don't want to do that.

So Bowe, let me say to you, let me start over again now that I've explained the context of this. Bowe, I love you. I am your father. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE). I've written to you over and over. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE). Can you speak English still? I would write him.

But now, I hope that when you hear this and when you're ready to hear this and when you see this, I hope your English is coming back and I want you to know that I love you. I'm proud of you. I am so proud of your character. I'm so proud of your patience and your perseverance. I am so proud of your cultural abilities to adapt, your language skills, your desire and your action to serve this country in a very difficult, long war.

But most of all, I'm proud of how much you wanted to help the Afghan people and what you were willing to do to go to that length. I'll say it again. I am so proud of how far you were willing to go to help the Afghan people. And I think you have succeed.

Your ability to adapt in the harsh conditions for five years is an amazing testimony of human endurance and as hope for the loved ones of people who still have captive loved ones all over the world. Syria, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan.

So we as a family -- well, now we feel guilty because Bowe is safe and he's coming home and you're still suffering, but we haven't forgotten you. This is going to be the slowest press conference in history because I'm going to pick through these notes that I just wrote coming in on the plane.

(INAUDIBLE) No one left behind and General Dempsey, thank you for your comment the other day because, typically, he nailed it. The Ethos is true. Bowe, you are not left behind. I told you you wouldn't be left behind.

But that wasn't easy. You'll never know how complicated this was in such a complicated area of responsibility. We will never meet most of the people that were involved in this. The ones we have met, we have extremely thankful and we're even more thankful for the people that we will never meet. And they like it that way. That's what they do. Like the guys in the helicopter the other day.

Bowe, when you hear this, and eventually you will hear this, you have a very devoted team around you. Right now in Germany, listen to their instructions. We sent them. These are handpicked people. We are on first-name basis with these people. They are true, they know what they are doing, they are here to help you and they have our great gratitude. To -- especially to the recovery community and the Sire community, we just thank every single one of you. We are so proud of the way this was carried out.

Again, too many people to thank. Those supporters, starting with the back row, the middle row there, all of you guys, the biker dudes and dudettes around America.

(APPLAUSE)

J. BERGDAHL: We do know some of you don't ride bikes, and it's OK.

B. BERGDAHL: AKA, the biker dudes and dudettes.

When you rode in to Hailey that day and conveyed that we were not alone, that was really good for our souls and we'll never be able to thank you enough. Just amazing. And your day will come when we can do that for Bowe as well but we're just all going to have to be patient.

So beginning with that group that day, the people in Hailey, the wood river valley, you know, this little town in Idaho that was suddenly on the map and then expanding from that in magic valley and treasure valley and all of Idaho, just amazing.

And we're so much like Afghanistan. I wish I could write a book about that. Our character is a lot alike. The mountain, the desert environment breeds tough people, people who know how to farm here and make a living and it's hard. But it makes you tough. And if it doesn't kill you, it makes you tougher. And we are just so appreciative of people in Idaho

And then, throughout America, huge support. And Bowe's actually got -- he's easily got millions of people around the world who are supporting him.

My twitter friends, my intelligence network, my analysis network, my language specialists, the people who fed me stuff I would otherwise miss, I hope I get to meet some of you. It's a virtual community but it was so important to me. It kept me informed on stuff beyond my wildest dreams once it started to kick in. So thank you.

I don't want to go into the big thank you of every agency and department of the American government. We've tried to do that in the appropriate places. But you, as the American people should know, that should this ever happen to you, you will see parts of your government that you never knew were there and you'll be so thankful for people like Doc Poppen and these people that come to your side. Particularly for our family Major Kevin Hickey, in the middle here, our casualty assistance officer, basically, our right arm. He's our travel agent, our personal secretary, our personal anti-bureaucrat machine, the officer that had the skills and capabilities to take on the colossal eventually, because we were just overwhelmed with the scope of this. And the longer it went, the harder it got. So Major hickey, I don't know what we would have done without you. Colonel Marsano came by our side and helped us understand what was happening in the media and how news cycles worked and just gave us an understanding of what to do. You don't know what to do. You're overwhelming. So Colonel Marsano, thank you.

The Idaho National Guard, the facilities that we had to travel to for secure briefings and the fact that you were there and so graciously willing to help being led by the governor at the top and General Saylor, they are here. Thanks, guys. I mean, we felt like we were a family and we didn't have to travel to Washington every time we needed a briefing because we could come here.

The governor (INAUDIBLE), personal support there was off the top coming from the governor's office. They were there and we knew they were there and we knew that if we needed anything, they would continue to be there as unwavering support.

Now I want to talk about the future starting right now. So the recovery and reintegration of Bowe Bergdahl is a work in progress. I want to really convey that. Because it isn't over for us. In many ways, it's just beginning for Jani and I and our family. There is a long process here.

So I'm asking our friends and our community and the media to be patient and to be respectful. Please recognize that we are still on a mission. We're still in recovery mode ourselves, let alone concern about how Bowe is going to come back and what we need to work on.

Reintegration after this long must be carefully manned. Much of it is dependent on our family being unrestricted and focused on Bowe's recovery. Someday, some day there will be a time for interviews and books and whatever. I have a lot to say about this. I know Bowe is going to have a lot to say about this. But that's -- that's still a distant future thing. And I won't let things get in the way of Bowe's recovery.

That's about all we wanted to say. I've seen some of your questions from the media. Once we go down that road, you know, we might as well have a two-hour press conference. But we're going to move on to the next phase.

We're going to go get some sleep, we're going to rally our families and we're going to check with our people and we're going to do the next step of the phase. So this is the way it's done. There's nothing wrong here. This is the way it works.

And we appreciate you being here. We appreciate being back in Idaho and we look forward to more interaction in the future. So thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, everybody, for coming.

BASH: A very powerful and heartwarming press conference/statement from Bowe Bergdahl's parents. In the beginning, it was like listening in on a private conversation between a mother and her long lost son because she has not been able to speak directly to her son. She did it through us. She did it through the media saying, I love you, saying I'm proud of you and that your family loves you, sending direct messages to her son, again, who she has not spoken to in over five years, or about five years. And listening to that, again, almost like a fly on the wall was absolutely bone-chilling.

And then as we just heard from Bowe Bergdahl's father, thanking a lot of the people who have been with them, who have been their support systems on a personal level and when it comes to giving them information about what they need to know, it was pretty remarkable. The other thing was -- the pretty clear plea to give their son time, to give them time. And one of the things that really hit home was Bowe Bergdahl's father saying that he needs some time to come up, talking about it with the metaphor of a scuba diver saying that if he comes up too fast, it could kill him. They understand that it's going to take some time for him to reintegrate which is why, even though they are his parents, they have not spoken to him directly.

And I want to bring in our Ed Lavandera who was in the room who has now made his way back camera to talk about what it was like in that room -- Ed.

LAVANDERA: You know, incredible. There's about two dozen members of this motorcycle group, you heard Mr. Bergdahl refer to, this POW/MIA group, who just shown up and repeatedly support the family over the years. They were at the back of the room over here. Those are the people that you heard them clapping for them as the Bergdahls came in and out.

But you know, Dana, what I think I was struck by and I think for people who -- it's fascinating, I would travel the country and I would talk about having covered the story of Bowe Bergdahl.

It's been fascinating over the last five years how few people actually knew that there was a soldier missing in Afghanistan and in large part because the Bergdahls shunned most interviews. They only did a handful of interviews over the last five years.

So this is a story that kind of flew below the radar in many ways for five years, as crazy as that might seem to people. But I think when you heard Bob Bergdahl speaking today, I think you got a glimpse into his personality, the methodical nature by which he kind of studied the situation and learned more about it when you heard him talking about his network of language sources and intelligent sources.

These were efforts that he did. He released a You Tube video in hopes that that would spark a communication between his son's captors and himself directly. There is also thing, you know, reaching out through the twitter and trying to talk to people that would help him understand the Afghan culture, understand the Haqqani network and how all of these things kinds of worked in that very difficult environment and political environment there in the Middle East.

So I think when you heard him talk, I think you really got a sense of his personality and the way that he went about things during the course of the last five years, a man who would immerse himself in piles and piles of books on the culture and the political situation and the language. And that's one of the things that I found the most fascinating of all, I've seen the Bergdahls go through all of this.

BASH: Certainly is. Ed, I want you stand by for a minute because on the phone we have Bill Richardson, who is the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, former governor, former congressman but also, Mr. Ambassador, more importantly for this situation, you have firsthand experience in negotiating the release of captives around the world, North Korea, and Iraq, and Cuba.

What do you make of this big picture and also let's stay on the human level here because you've spoken and you've been with people who have just been released from captivity. What is going on in Bowe Bergdahl's mind right now?

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS (via phone): Well, it's supreme elation and also I think what's very important is they are asking for space for Bowe because he surely right now is -- has got traumatized because of the whole experience. But I think this event, the press conference shows the humanity of the moment. In fact, I think it shows that the administration did the right thing and that no soldier should be left behind. That every measure should be taken to bring him back. And -- but most importantly, I think it's a message to the American people that, you know, we do criticize our government a lot but when it comes to standing by our troops, our ability to get them out, it shows that things worked and that the military, the diplomatic efforts, the mediators, the Qataris, the administration moving decisively to bring Bowe back because of health and safety reasons, they moved actively and decisively. So it's a very good chapter in our military and foreign policy what just happened in Idaho.

BASH: And you -- again, you have been the negotiator. You have been in these very sticky situations that are far from cut and dry, very complex where you might have to make assurances that under normal circumstances you wouldn't make to help an American citizen come back from either North Korea or Iraq or Cuba or wherever you were around the globe.

What is that like to do something that you know might not sit well with some when it comes to negotiating, but to do it in the hopes of having a moment like what you just saw, to bring back two parents' only son?

RICHARDSON: Well, this was a decisive moment because I believe the administration felt that unless they moved, the health and safety of Bowe would be jeopardized. It could be that the negotiations were falling apart and this is where you have to rely on the mediators, the Qataris. And I think the administration made the right decision. If they had followed the 30-day notification policy, there would have been probably leaks, there probably would have been a backing off by the Taliban.

So I think the president has the authority to make the executive authority to make the decision he did. But at the same time, I think the humanity of the situation, the fact that his health and safety, Bowe's health was jeopardized and the administration claimed that was the case, that they moved to seal the deal, to make it happen and then have our special forces ensure that the deal happened in taking potential military action if there was -- if there was any breach of that deal.

But most importantly, Dana, I think it shows that if you negotiate quietly, if you trust your mediator, even bridge as broad and as a divisive as our relationship with the Taliban, that a small element of trust is created to be able to bring back a human being like Bowe who had suffered for five years and say to our military, you know, we'll stand behind you if you're captured. I think in the minds of a negotiator like myself, I've been in these cases, you have to act decisively and you have to go with your gut, you have to know when to make the deal, and you have to be able to take the heat and to stand the criticism because you know the president is going to be criticized for this.

But I think he took decisive and quick action and this press conference is a result of that quick action, the celebration, humanity, an American family will soon be reunited with their son.

BASH: Which is why your former colleagues in Congress are -- even those who are highly critical are trying to walk a fine line in their criticism of the fact that they believe the president may be even just flat out broke the law in doing this.

But I want to go back to a word you just used, again, as a former negotiator, someone who has done this before, and that is trust. Because one of the big question marks is, can the U.S. trust, that an exchange for this very powerful and important release of an American soldier, that it can -- that the Qataris can be trusted to make sure that the prison swap that they did, that the five detainees who have now left Guantanamo, who by most accounts were very dangerous guys, responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, that they aren't going to go back into the battlefield. Is that trust justified?

RICHARDSON: Well, the Qataris have helped us in negotiations like this before. So have the Omanis. They helped us, for instance, with the reining and hostages, those hikers. So I believe this trust is there with the Qataris. I think they have to have two ass assurances. One is that the travel ban of one year be strictly enforced. But the second one and I'm not privy to the negotiations is that these individuals not be allowed to be combatants again. Obviously, they can't travel for a year, but after a year, they are going to have to go somewhere.

Hopefully what this also will do is that it's very clear that the U.S. and the Taliban were negotiating just for this prisoner. They were not saying that our relationship is going to get better on foreign policy and bilateral grounds.

But by that small trust, that the Qataris and this negotiation brought, maybe, Dana, this will mean that we can talk to the Taliban on other issues, not big issues, not the overall relationship but a lessening of hostilities, a cessation of the huge gaps that we have on humanitarian issues.

BASH: And that is certainly a hope of some, that in the new world, where the U.S. won't be a presence militarily in Afghanistan and that the Taliban becomes more of a political force in Afghanistan, the hope is that this would be perhaps some seed of diplomatic relations in the future. But you're right, there is a skepticism.

One more question for you because you've worn so many hats. You were in the administration as secretary to two cabinets. You were at the U.N. but you were a member of Congress so you know the political pitfalls in all of those arenas. Given that, yes, you clearly think that the administration did the right thing here, but do you think they maybe should have picked up the phone and called the chairman of the armed services committee, called the intelligence chair, maybe not 30 days before but like five minutes before or a day before to just try to stem some of the criticism that is coming now?

RICHARDSON: Well, I don't know all of the details about who they call and when they called. It seems that the national security adviser did say that calls were made.

I was a member of congress, but I've also been a negotiator. And I can tell you, Susan, not that when you tell the Congress something, it all leaks. Sometimes it does, though. And so you're taking real, real dangerous steps by the more people you tell.

I think in this case, it can be justified because the president has executive authority. And I think he said it in his statement in accepting that legislation that he had authority not to proceed with a pre-notification, period. But at the same time, the practical political steps is you want to consult.

I believe they did adequate consulting, but, you know, there's also a little partisanship. I saw some of the shows this morning. You know, let's pile on. But if there's any reason not to pile on, it's that press conference, the family greeting the possibility of seeing their son soon, the freeing of an American soldier. And in that case, a president has to make those really tough decisions. And I think the president made a really tough decision and it's the right one.

BASH: They sure do have to make tough decisions. And we should underscore that this is not the first president of either party, both parties, to make decisions, executive decisions that angers Congress. It's sort of, I guess, the way democracy works.

And you're absolutely right that watching that press conference and getting the emotion and understanding the humanity of this couple wanting their son to come home for nearly five years is something that you just -- you can't put into -- almost put into policy or put into words. So I appreciate your insight particularly since you've been there and done that on so many levels and so many hotspots around this world.

Thank you so much, Bill Richardson, for joining us.

And we'll have more on the release of sergeant Bergdahl up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Let's go back out to Boise, Idaho, where the parents of sergeant Bowe Bergdahl just spoke to the media. Ed Lavandera is there.

And Ed, what they talked about their experience, but the fact that they have not yet been able to speak to their son and they're giving him some time to reintegrate, as his father said, is kind of remarkable. And it just shows you the restraint that they have since they haven't spoken to their son in nearly five years.

But the concept of being -- as us, as viewers and voyeurs, if you will, being able to listen to them try to send a message to their son, saying "I love you" and "I'm proud of you" and "we've been here for you," it was chilling. Almost hard to keep it together as a viewer. I can't imagine what it was like in the room.

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, what's interesting, Dana, is that in many ways, that's the way they've spoken in public during the last five years, when the Bergdahls would come out during vigils and speak. They would always speak directly to their son in the hopes that some radio station or some sort of broadcast or some of his captors would play those clips for him for some reason. So in many ways, that hasn't stopped for this family.

As you mentioned, I thought it was definitely very fascinating, but it's also something they've been doing for many years now. And obviously, you got the sense from them that they have completely kind of turned over this whole process and putting full faith in the military system and how they reintegrate soldiers and trying to make this as ceaseless and as painless as possible for their son. So they are putting their full faith in the military.

In fact, he alluded to the fact that the people who are around him now were handpicked, which I thought was kind of interesting. And I don't know to what degree how in the world, you know, all of that happens, but it kind of fits the personality that I've seen from the Bergdahls over the last five years and that they would be very involved in those meticulous kind of details and wanting to know exactly who's going to be around their son the moment he was rescued.

BASH: Well, they certainly have good reason to have full faith in the military at this moment, considering the fact that they went to such lengths to bring back their only son to freedom. Talked about reintegration, do we know much about that process, about how he's -- how their son, Bowe Bergdahl, is going to get through the process of basically they're going to check out his physical health, his mental health, but going from there and back home into his parents' arms?

LAVANDERA: Yes, it's a long process. There's a long, detailed kind of formula that military officials will follow. And the first step here is what we're seeing in Germany is checking out that physical health, and then you get that process, and that's why he will be going to the medical center in San Antonio that has a team of psychiatrists and specialists that handle exactly these types of situations. In fact, I was at that facility several years ago when some hostages that were American hostages that were involved in a hostage situation in Colombia were sent back to the United States, and they were sent to this facility in San Antonio for this very reason, because they specialize in exactly this kind of situation. And we're told that that's exactly where the Bergdahls will reunite physically with their son, if they don't get a chance to speak with him before, but they are clearly following the leads of the specialists that are around them and trying to figure out exactly when is the right time to kind of reintegrate and begin the process of reconnecting. Not to mention the whole process of reaclimating (ph) Bowe Bergdahl to put into American life one once again. And which will be a monumental task as well.

BASH: ED Lavandera, thank you much for you insights. I want you to stand by. We are getting close to the top of the hour. We are going to reset and get back to you.