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Taliban Release Bergdahl Handover Video; Mississippi GOP Primary: Too Close To Call

Aired June 04, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks a lot, Kate. Have a great day.

NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, moment of release. Breaking overnight, first video of the actual Bowe Bergdahl swap.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon is reviewing it. They don't doubt its authenticity.

COSTELLO: Moment by moment, frame by frame, the former POW looking pale and weak.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The intensity that's on Bowe's face, we don't know what he's thinking.

COSTELLO: This morning new questions abound.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Who were the men that came to get him on that helicopter?

COSTELLO: Where the video was shot and what the terrorists are chanting throughout the tape.

As Obama watches from Poland, critics coalesce.

SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R), RANKING MEMBER, SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I don't know how stupid this administration thinks the American people are.

COSTELLO: Let's talk live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me. We begin with those riveting new images of former prisoner of war Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. The Taliban releasing this video on their Web site and it is extraordinary. Seventeen minutes long, it shows the exchange between the Taliban and American Special Forces.

You can Bergdahl in a truck. His skin looks pale. He looks emaciated. He appears to blink frequently under the intense Afghan sun.

I paused there so you can hear the Taliban members chanting, "Long live Mujahideen of Afghanistan, long live Mullah Omar," the leader of the Taliban.

The Taliban then indulges in some propaganda, asserting the Americans were so flustered they offered the wrong hand during a handshake. The Taliban narrator says, quote, "We told them that once they arrived in the area, we would be having a white flag. When they landed, they were too afraid and worried that they shook hands only with two people and gave a left hand to a third one."

About Bergdahl, the narrator says, quote, "When he first saw the helicopters, he became very happy, but the Americans left very quickly and we didn't get time to convey them our messages."

Bergdahl's handover appeared orderly and calm. But the Taliban say they came prepared to fight if necessary, the narrator saying, quote, "We were given assurance by our leaders that nothing would take place. But we took our armed friends there only for the safety of ourselves because you can never trust your enemy."

Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon with an in-depth look at this video.

Barbara, tell us more.

STARR: Carol, what you just mentioned, that the Taliban said that the U.S. Special Operations Forces appeared to be flustered, I'm going to go out on a limb and say I highly doubt it. My suspicion is they had every intention of getting Bergdahl back on that chopper as fast as they could and simply getting out of there.

This video is an extraordinary look at Bowe Bergdahl, an American soldier's walk to freedom and the men who came to get him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Breaking overnight, the first images of the actual Bowe Bergdahl swap emerging on the Taliban's Web site.

Chanting praise for their leader, 18 armed Taliban militants seen standing in wait perched on grassy hills in the valley, guns and rocket launchers at the ready. The narration says this meeting took place at 4:00 in the afternoon in Khost province, Eastern Afghanistan.

At the center of the action, a silver pickup truck, Bowe Bergdahl seen inside sitting in the back seat. Bergdahl dressed all in white. He appears to be nervous, blinking, shaky. Bergdahl seen talking with one of his alleged captors. At one point, the army sergeant even cracks what looks to be a smile while talking and then wipes his eyes.

Seen flying overhead, a twin-engine plane approaching the meeting point. And then suddenly like a scene out of the movies the Special Forces Blackhawk helicopter descends. Two Taliban militants immediately escort Bergdahl towards the chopper, waving a white flag. Three U.S. Special Operations commandos approach, shaking hands with the Taliban militants. They pat down Bergdahl's back and immediately begin escorting him to the helicopter. In Bergdahl's left hand, a plastic bag. The contents, not yet known.

The commandos wave back to the militants as they run towards the chopper. They pat Bergdahl down again, this time in a deliberate and thorough fashion, presumably a swipe for explosives right before loading him in.

This face-to-face exchange lasting less than 10 seconds before they were off. A message later emerges, "Don't come back to Afghanistan."

Another portion of the edited video shows the homecoming of the Taliban prisoners in a separate location. A caravan of SUVs pulls over alongside a busy stretch of road. The five Guantanamo Bay detainees exit, hugging their supporters.

This video now detailing what is considered a highly controversial exchange. The Obama administration facing steep criticism for what some say is a negotiation with terrorists in exchange for a U.S. soldier who some say is a possible deserter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Now as you look at that video, Carol, U.S. officials have told us for the last couple of days, all of the exchange procedures on that field had been carefully worked out and agreed to ahead of time. I don't think anybody was surprised that it was filmed. The U.S. Special Operations commandos that got off the helicopter to get Bergdahl had sunglasses, hats, beards, scarves.

They had their faces well covered. They were very cautious. When you look at the video, they walk backwards, they do not turn their back to the Taliban. They are very careful. They get Bergdahl right back on the helicopter. And one of the last shots you see on the video, Carol, as that helicopter is taking off, a couple of the commandos are sitting sideways, their feet dangling out of the helicopter, even until the last minute they are keeping watch, they are very careful.

COSTELLO: And they also searched Bergdahl twice for weapons or bombs.

Barbara Starr reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

I want to talk more about this video moment by moment, frame by frame, Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst. He's with me now, along with chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, and CNN's Matthew Chance, who is in Landstuhl, Germany where Bower Bergdahl is being treated at a military hospital.

Peter, I want to start with you. This video was slickly produced by the Taliban, posted on their Web site. It even has a music bed. You're the expert. What's the most striking thing about this video in your mind?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: How unsurprising it is. You know, I mean, this is a group that's had a propaganda arm that has been pretty active for the last decade. They tape almost every operation they do. It would be extremely surprising that they tape what they regard as a significant operation here.

They have their own dedicated spokesman who's on call 24 hours a day, a sort of version -- a sort of Taliban Jay Carney, if you will. They are, you know, very media adept. So the fact that they've produced this video to me is unsurprising -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Matthew, these images, you can see Bergdahl is clearly unwell. If you look at his military photo in 2009 and look at him now -- do we have that? I think we do. Well, it'll come up eventually. Anyway, if you compare Bergdahl's condition to when he went into the service in Afghanistan to now, you can see clearly something is up with him.

What are the doctors telling you in Germany?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, clearly he spent nearly five years in Afghanistan, never mind five years in captivity with the Taliban in Afghanistan, that's going to have a toll on your health. And indeed, there are medical issues which the experts here in Landstuhl Regional Medical facility are working on with Sergeant Bergdahl.

At the course of the fact that he spent so long in captivity in Afghanistan, they're not being specific because of patient privacy laws. But they are saying that some of his treatment is involving tackling issues regarding his diet and his nutrition. And so clearly there are some issues that require, they say, hospitalization.

And it's interesting. The video also says, the narrator on the video in Pashto also says that the first thing U.S. Special Forces asked when they got to that location to receive Sergeant Bergdahl was, look, what's his health like? Don't lie to us. Tell us the truth if he's ill. And they said that they thought he was fine. And so, yes, you can see him walking to the helicopter. He looks in relatively good shape.

But what they're doing here at Landstuhl right now, he's giving them check, he hasn't been given a checkup for five years, remember, certainly not by the American military. And to see if there were any underlying health issues and indeed to address those issues they have identified so far.

COSTELLO: And, Jim, you can also hear the Taliban say, don't come back to Afghanistan. And they're addressing Bergdahl. They actually have a stamp on the video saying that. What do you suppose the Pentagon will make of that?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I wonder if that message is to Americans in general, don't come back, now is the time to leave. You know, I think the Pentagon will know, and as Barbara said, they expected this to be video, as Peter said, they also video things. But this is a propaganda moment for them. They want to show themselves face-to-face with the great American adversary and all their technology and helicopters and say that we stood up to them and look what we got in return. We got five of our own in return. After holding Bergdahl for five years, we made the exchange on our own terms.

You know, this is a moment that they want to use for recruiting and to talk themselves up in effect. And then with that -- those final words serve as a warning, don't come back, this is the price you pay, et cetera. You know, this is the kind of thing we've seen before. They like to use these kinds of moments or others including attacks, of course, which they video on American troops for propaganda purposes.

COSTELLO: Right.

SCIUTTO: And it really is, Carol, just -- this is a rare moment of adversaries meeting face-to-face. It recalls moments during the Cold War when you'd have a prisoner exchange on a bridge, in an eastern European city, between the old Soviet Union and the U.S., or even, you know, meetings in no man's land during World War I. A rare meeting between enemies who face each other for 13 years and killed a lot of each other. It really is a remarkable moment to see on tape.

COSTELLO: Yes. And it's remarkably slick as well.

Because, Peter -- Peter, you can see the faces of the Taliban. They're not hiding their identities, at least some of them.

Are we seeing a more emboldened Taliban or are these low-level people?

BERGEN: I -- you know, the Taliban is a force of 30,000 to 40,000 people. So the fact that they're showing some of their faces, I don't think it means much. It's not like this is a sort of tiny little group. This is a large scale group. But I think, you know, one of the points is that I think is important about the prisoner exchange for Bergdahl is, you know, it's not about this particular prisoner. It's about the principle.

And the reason the principle is important, for any U.S. soldier, man or woman out in the field, he or she must know that if something goes wrong, they will be saved, whatever the circumstances of there being taken by the enemy. So I think the principle is upheld, whatever the -- whatever circumstances of his departure from that base.

COSTELLO: And, Jim, just a final question to you, the Pentagon will be looking at this tape moment by moment. What exactly will they be looking for?

SCIUTTO: I would say two things, you know, faces, IDs and tactics. As Peter says, it won't be hugely revealing because there are so many Taliban fighters in videos and there are a lot of videos there. But they'll want to know who is involved. And that will have some intelligence value.

Also a little bit about tactics, the weapons they have, you know, the security cordoned that the Taliban set up there, that kind of thing, helpful perhaps. But again, something that they're largely familiar with because they've been fighting the Taliban for 13 years. But both those things do have value.

And you'll remember this tape that came out in Yemen several weeks ago of a big powwow of al Qaeda fighters, that had tremendous value. And after that, there were some drone strikes and so on that might have profited from that taped release. So -- you know, these things do have some intel value, in this case probably not remarkable, but something they'll certainly be looking at.

COSTELLO: OK. I want you all to stay put because I want to carry on this conversation after a break. But I've got to take a break right now. So stay right there. We'll be back with much more on this extraordinary video released by the Taliban.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right. As we told you at the top of the show, the extraordinary video released by the Taliban, a very slickly made video made by the Taliban. American Special Forces landing in a helicopter, Bowe Bergdahl is in the truck, that's the Taliban's truck. The Taliban are armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, the Army Special Forces land and they take Bowe Bergdahl away, up into the air and to freedom and to Germany where he remains at that military hospital.

I want to bring back Peter Bergen, CNN terror analyst, and our national security correspondent Jim Sciutto.

A couple other things struck me in this video. And, Peter, I think you pointed this out. Bowe Bergdahl looked really scared in your mind. Tell us why you think that?

BERGEN: Well, we know he's been -- I don't think -- we're not exactly sure how often he was moved. My guess is very infrequently. We know he made one move when he was captured. He was then moved into Pakistan where the Haqqani network is based. That was a bad move for him because that was the move into five years of captivity. He would have had no idea what this move was about, I don't think.

He's clearly scared. There's a possibility it was going to be some kind of worse form of activity or something worse. That explains the way we see his picture, his face and the pictures we're seeing.

COSTELLO: At one point the Taliban actually says to Bowe Bergdahl that the American forces are here and you're going home. That was kind of strange to me.

BERGEN: Well, it was true. I guess they wanted to explain what was happening. Clearly he was scared.

COSTELLO: Yes, just -- you know, because the moment in the video -- there's a moment where some people say he's sort of smiling at his captors. But I wonder if it was that moment when the Taliban was telling him he was actually going to go home. I don't know. Things will become more clear later in the day. The other interesting thing and you pointed this out, Jim, was that the Americans at one point placed their hand over their heart. Why do they do that?

SCIUTTO: It's a sign of respect, a sign of greeting in Afghan culture, in fact, in many Middle Eastern cultures. It shows this is a remarkable interaction between enemies here.

Special Forces who have killed many Taliban forces, Taliban fighters who have killed many American troops and Special Forces, a handshake, a hand to the chest. But at the same time, as you see the video continue, as one of the Special Forces troops turn toward the helicopter with Bergdahl, the other walks backward, keeping his eye on the Taliban as he talks away. I'm imagining he's armed, they're armed as well. It was interesting to see nothing was left to chance there. You saw that in his body language.

You know, just a sign that this was a tense interaction, even if it was a successful one in the end.

COSTELLO: It was interesting, Peter, on this video the Taliban said American forces appear flustered, yet it's the Taliban holding the white flag.

BERGEN: These guys are probably Army Delta Force or U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6. They're not flustered by this kind of -- this was an easy day for them.

COSTELLO: All right. We're going to talk much more about this in the NEWESROOM later on.

Peter Bergen, Jim Sciutto, thanks for your insight. I really appreciate it.

Still to come in NEWSROOM, a hotly contested primary in Mississippi pitting the Tea Party against the establishment. The winner? That's still to be determined.

Dana Bash is in Jackson, Mississippi, with that story.

Hi, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol. It is unbelievable that this incredibly nasty race is three more weeks longer. We'll have more on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: After four decades in the Senate, Mississippi's Republican Senator Thad Cochran is fighting to return to Washington. And the battle appears to be far from over. Cochran facing a tough challenge from Tea Party backed candidate Chris McDaniel, in a race that is still too close to call.

CNN chief correspondent Dana Bash is in Jackson, Mississippi, this morning. Good morning, Dana.

BASH: Good morning. It is remarkable the sun is up here and we still have no idea who is the victor in this Republican primary race after a nasty, intense fight for the past many, many months. It looks it will be about another three more weeks because the law is the winner will have to get 50 percent of the vote and neither has done that.

So, the big question you might ask is why? Why did a 36-year Senate veteran not beat back a challenger from within his own party when there was so much intensity here by the national party, by Cochran and people he surrounded himself with?

And the answer is that, if you kind of look at who Thad Cochran is, he is the classic establishment Republican that the Tea Party nationally has wanted to beat. He's been there for four decades. He is poised to be in charge of the committee that deals with federal spending, and they feel that he has simply lost touch, that he doesn't understand the new Republican Party.

Even Cochran supporters will admit they didn't do enough to galvanize people who admire that kind of service and the wave against the establishment Republicans and for Chris McDaniel, his conservative challenger was too strong. Not too strong take him out but too strong to have the race settled last night.

COSTELLO: So, going forward, there will be a runoff, right?

BASH: It looks that way. There's 0.4 of a percentage between Chris McDaniel, and 50 percent. It is so incredibly close. We're talking a couple thousand votes.

Some haven't been counted. Everybody is preparing for a run-off. There's no question.

And, look, when you talk about this being nasty, there are allegations for conservative bloggers who went in to Thad Cochran's ailing wife and took photos of her. There are mailers that have gone out, with things Chris McDaniel said during a radio show that is explosive and controversial. A lot of mud being slung here.

People here are not going to want to believe this. It's probably just the beginning, what they'll see over the next three weeks, because now, when you look at the ultimate situation decision about this battle -- the civil war, I should say, within the Republican Party, the battle is here and it is so, so, so incredibly intense because if the Tea Party does not get Thad Cochran with Chris McDaniel winning, it's hard to see them getting any big win this election year.

BASH: Got you. Dana Bash reporting live from Mississippi this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM: Hillary Clinton mounting a furious campaign, but not of the presidential variety. It's for her new book. That's taking the former secretary of state to the pages of "People" magazine. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)