[Anderson Cooper, Cnn Anchor:] Good evening, thanks for joining us. There is breaking news tonight on the Bowe Bergdahl controversy, including revelations from a closed-door White House briefing tonight on Capitol Hill, which we just learn included a video, apparently showing Sergeant Bergdahl's declining health. It didn't however, put out the political firestorm and we'll discuss that, to mention shortly tonight. As always, though, our focus first is on the facts and there are plenty of new facts that we have learned tonight. New information about the kind of soldier Bowe Bergdahl was before he vanished. There is also this, for the first time tonight we have a view to the rarest of battlefield moments: two bitter enemies meeting under temporary truce. American Special Forces and Taliban fighters face to face. Their steps carefully choreographed, tension, obviously, high as Sergeant Bergdahl is delivered after five years in captivity back into American hands. You should know that the video was shot by the Taliban who are now using this as propaganda throughout the region. That said, there is much more to it than that. So, we'll take a closer look at the video in a moment. But first, though, the breaking news, what we're learning about the Army's initial investigation into then Private Bergdahl's disappearance and the intelligence that led the deal for his return. Barbara Starr has that. She joins us now from the Pentagon. So, over the past few days, Barbara, there's been a lot said about Bergdahl's time as a soldier, people who served with him call him a deserter. You're finding out the commanders painted a different picture of him, correct?
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, that is right. Anderson, good evening. There was an initial fact-finding investigation when Bergdahl first disappeared. I've spoken to a source who's been briefed on those findings and knows them in detail. This source telling me that Bergdahl's own commanders said he was a good soldier, that he did what he was supposed to do. At some point the other troops in the unit reported that Bergdahl appeared bored and started saying things about wanting the unit to do more. That he thought the unit was too passive. But here is something else that is quite interesting. The troops also reported that Bergdahl had left, indeed, the unit once before, that he had gotten outside the wire. Well, how did that happen? And what does that say about unit security? Because if Bergdahl could slip past the concertino wire that also means the Taliban might have been able to find a way to get in. What kind of security, what kind of oversight, what kind of command was in this unit? These questions are likely to start being raised, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Yeah, I mean the bottom line is that there is still a lot we don't know exactly about the circumstances that led up to this and also about his actual departure. You are also learning more about why there may have been growing concern about his health and safety in the videos.
[Starr:] That is right, there's now been two recent videos not released to the public, as you mentioned, one played for Congress earlier today. Sources who are familiar with the content tell us those videos do in fact show him in declining health. That, plus there was additional intelligence, we're not being told what it was, but it was briefed to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in the last several days. It led to a great deal of concern, we're told about his declining health and his safety. Officials saying that as the U.S. was beginning to draw down troops in Afghanistan, they were becoming very concerned that Bergdahl would be seen by the Taliban as being not such a valuable hostage anymore.
[Cooper:] What are you hearing about the Taliban video showing the handoff of Bergdahl to Special Forces? I imagine it is obviously a topic of interest, certainly, within the Pentagon where you are.
[Starr:] It has, of course, been topic number one around the Pentagon always today. Look, people are looking at Bergdahl and there is a lot of humanitarian concern about this man's situation. But they are looking at those Special Operations forces coming off the helicopter. These guys are the real deal. They were either SEAL Team 6, Army Delta Force, maybe some CIA. Those are the guys that usually work together on this kind of operations. They got off the plane, weapons hidden, and walked straight towards the Taliban. They were in control, they knew what they were doing, it was choreographed. Like I said, those guys that you see there getting of the helicopter, they are viewed around the Pentagon as the real deal, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Well, it's also interesting because you see one of the assuming officer, walking backwards, not turning his back on the Taliban, and also another guy sort of patting down Bergdahl's back, before escorting him to the chapter, then they actually give him a more thorough search before actually letting him on the chopper, in case of any sort any sort of devices. You see one of the officers there on the left starting to work backward, there just quick pat down Bergdahl, they walk him toward the chopper, we'll get him to a little bit more. Barbara Starr, I appreciate the update, there is more footage now of Bergdahl's return as seen and narrated by his captors. It took place in eastern Afghanistan Khost province. We have added the sub titles, this is being seen around the entire region, let's take a look. It is fascinating to hear their vantage point on this. The entire video runs considerably longer. Again, that is being used by the Taliban as propaganda. It is also the only window we have into Bowe Bergdahl's first minutes of freedom. Chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto walks us through it.
[Jim Sciutto, Cnn Correspondent:] The riveting eight-minute Taliban propaganda video contains intriguing clues about Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, his Taliban captors and his American rescues. A thin, aging Bergdahl blinks repeatedly, while seated in the pickup truck. And again, as he stands looking at the approaching American helicopter, signs his eyes were unused to natural light or signs of emotion. At one point, Bergdahl manages a brief, awkward smile, evidence of happiness or nervousness, one captor then taps him three times on the shoulder and says to him, don't come back to Afghanistan, next time you won't make it out alive. An ominous threat and sign of fear between captor and captive. A Taliban narrator sets the scene.
[Unidentified Male:] We waited in the area for around ten minutes before the helicopters arrived. And there were 18 Mujahideen fighters with me in the area, and we had armed Mujahideen on the peaks of the hills around the area.
[Sciutto:] And he is carrying a white plastic bag, the contents unknown. Then, the unprecedented face to face meeting between U.S. Special Forces and the Taliban fighters. Handshakes, an American places his left arm across his chest, an Afghan sign of respect. Another quickly frisks Bergdahl. The Taliban narrator recounts what he claims they said to each other.
[Unidentified Male:] They first asked us about the health condition of the captive, and told us to tell them the truth if he was not well. But we saw that he was fine and told them that.
[Sciutto:] The soldiers waved, one keeping his eyes locked on the Taliban even as he walks backwards. Bergdahl keeps his eyes focused straight ahead. He is stumbling, the legs of a man repeatedly shackled or just a nervous walk across rocky terrain. At the helo, Bergdahl is patted down once again, this time much more thoroughly. A precaution against a bomb or booby trap. The black hawk helicopter disappears into the sky. U.S. officials say don't read too much into Bergdahl's physical appearance in this video. They say that two previous proof of live videos they obtained in the month before his release showed several signs of his declining health and that was enough to accelerate efforts for this prisoner exchange. Jim Sciutto, CNN, Washington.
[Cooper:] Well, between the video, new details about Sergeant Bergdahl's time in captivity, and continuing outcry surrounding the deal to free him. There's certainly a lot to talk about. Joining us is Dan O'Shea, former Navy SEAL commander and former coordinator of the hostage working group, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Also, national security Analyst Peter Bergen and investigative reporter David Rohde who endured seven months in Taliban captivity before managing to escape and he was with "The New York Times," he's now with Reuters. David, obviously, you didn't go through a swap like this. But what do you see in that video when you see Bergdahl blinking in the light?
[David Rohde, Reuters:] The blinking the way he acts seems completely natural to me, when they show him, and he's sort of sitting up in the back of a truck, that is exactly how they moved me around. They always had a turban or some kind of cloth or a bag over my head whenever they moved me. And I think he was lying down in the back of the truck, they sat him up. They took the bag off. And that's why he's blinking. So, it doesn't you know, surprise me. I thought, you know, his walk looked good.
[Cooper:] And dressed the way you were dressed?
[Rohde:] I think they bought him new clothes. I mean so, what people are right about is that I think the Taliban knew this deal was in the works. And so there is a period between when there is his declining health, and they might have been treating him better in the last few weeks or months. And they were definitely, I think, they let him maybe it was his choice to shave whatever beard he had, or shave his hair and they gave him new clothes to make him look better. And he smiles because this is the moment he has been waiting for, for five years. I mean the Taliban there themselves says that Bowe Bergdahl was thrilled to see an American helicopter.
[Cooper:] Yeah, Dan, the American personnel in the video, it's interesting, the men who walked up to retrieve Bergdahl certainly not wearing uniforms. It's there is a very important reason for that, you said. Dan.
[Dan O'shea, U.s. Navy Seal Commander:] Oh, sorry.
[Cooper:] That's OK.
[O'shea:] I thought you were directing that back to David.
[Cooper:] No, that is OK.
[O'shea:] Yeah, of course. Yeah, of course, they're going to be dressed they're not going to be dressed in uniform. They are you have got to understand this situation is very tenuous, one of the most dangerous parts of the personal recovery is that moment when the U.S. Forces are trying to recover that downed pilot or this missing American, i.e. Bergdahl. So, they want to present as non-threatening, you know, overture, to the turnover piece. So, you know, there is a flip side to it, too. These guys obviously they don't look like they're threatening, but you can guarantee these guys are armed to the teeth and are ready to respond. And you can see that in the demeanor in the way they approach the Taliban and so on, so forth. So, they were ready for everything as were all the other helicopters and the overhead support, probably an AC-130 gunship on stand, but it that if the situation turned for the worse they would have been ready to respond immediately.
[Cooper:] And Dan, you really get a sense of how tense this moment is, this exchange, by the searching the kind of the quick bag search of Bergdahl's bag and then the much more kind of involved, full body search as he's being stepped into the helicopter. They had no idea if he could have been wired with an explosive device.
[O'shea:] Yeah, of course. That has got to be a fear that they were going to be walking into an ambush. We had cases of that in Iraq. We'd get a report that there was hostage held in a certain house, we would send forces into the room, and they would be come at detonated IEDs or improvised explosive devices imbedding in the walls. So, of course, they are very cautious walking up, they gave first a cursory search to ensure he was not wearing a vest and then a more thorough search when he got to the helicopter to make sure there was not any type of bomb and or a weapon that could have been used and they just They do this in all situations, it's not just with Bergdahl, but this is part of the protocol in the first recovery mission, that they have to treat all hostages and secure them and make sure there's nothing that can harm the hostage and or the rescuers themselves.
[Cooper:] Peter, you know, we've talked a lot on this program with you about the possible deal with the Taliban, negotiations with the Taliban. It is fascinating to see, actually, the Taliban and the U.S. military coming face to face as a result of this more limited deal.
[Peter Bergen, National Security Analyst:] Yeah, and you know, combat troops, as you know, Anderson, are going to be pulled out of Afghanistan at the end of December 2014. And traditionally, at the end of hostilities, there is a prisoner of war exchange, there are 18 other Afghans who are still in Guantanamo. If we're not in a state of war with the Taliban, as a legal or military matter you can imagine that there will be other releases and probably less controversial. Because the other 18 that are still in did are not the five that we've seen who, you know, did play leadership roles in the Taliban.
[Cooper:] David, I know you wanted to come in, and sort of the the kind of the homeland comparisons that some are making, and kind of the undercurrent do you feel there is an undercurrent of I don't know if it is anti-Muslim sentiment, or how do you see the reaction to what's going on?
[Rohde:] It is strange, because this scene today, reminded me exactly like my captivity, and it's very odd to see everyone dissecting why is he blinking? And what does it mean that he is smiling, someone questioned did he had Stockholm syndrome, because he's smiling. I think that is unfair to Bowe Bergdahl. He has to answer these questions about why I left this base, but people have dissected his father's beard. You know, the father grew that beard in solidarity with his son. The family is Christian, they are not Muslims, there is a rumor that the Bergdahls are Muslim. That is totally false. And it is just it's just disturbing. I mean the problem is not Islam, it's not some mysterious force that brainwashes people, you know, it is violent extremists.
[Cooper:] Peter, you like David have also been in contact with Bergdahl family, I know, over the years. Do you think the of some of these theories is premature. I mean it does seem like we don't know the full details of exactly what happened to this young soldier?
[Rohde:] Yeah, well, I mean you know one thing that was very interesting. In the WikiLeaks cables that talk about what happened. It's there is very conflicting information. I mean there is some suggesting that he was taken while he was on the latrine, there are some suggestions that he wandered off. And it is not at all clear. These are contemporaneous accounts, not relying on people's memories five years later. So, I mean that is still a very much an open questions, but, you know, Bowe Bergdahl's dad a very smart guy, and he reached out to people like David who obviously knew better than anybody else what was happening to his son. And he also reached now to people who are experts in al Qaeda and the Taliban, he wanted to find out what was the mindset of these people who were holding his son in a way to kind of understand them. And as the negotiation went forward he felt that that was useful information to know.
[Cooper:] Peter Bergen, it is good to have you on. Dan O'Shea, David Rohde as well. A quick reminder, make sure you set your DVRs, so you can watch "360" whenever you like. Next, the political follow up for President Obama including what was said inside that classified briefing tonight on Capitol Hill. We're getting some reports. Later, Bowe Bergdahl's unconventional upbringing, what if anything it says about the soldier that he became.