Meet The Press – June 1, 2014

Meet The Press – June 1, 2014

Guests:

Jim Miklaszewski

Chuck Todd

Kevin Tibbles

Chuck Hagel (Sec. of Defense)

Mike Bloomberg

Michael Leiter

Paul Rieckhoff

Rep. Adam Kinzinger

Fmr. Rep. Jane Harman

Fmr. Speaker Newt Gingrich

Rana Foroohar
George Stevens, Jr.

Gregory: wow a U.S. soldier was

released from captivity from the

Taliban after 5 years

Miklaszewski: he was used

for propaganda purposes

Gregory: wow

Miklaszewski: but the U.S. felt

they had to get him out before

the Afghan war ended

Gregory: no spoilers!

Miklaszewski: sorry Dave

Gregory: good morning Chuck

Hagel: hi David

Gregory: how is Bergdahl's health?

Hagel: well he was a POW of

the Taliban for five years

so it's not great

Gregory: that's understandable

Hagel: although he is walking and talking

Gregory: how did the negotiations get done?

Hagel: I want to thank the Amir of Qatar

Gregory: well go ahead

Hagel: I can't say anything else

Gregory: does this show the

Taliban can help run Afghanistan?

Hagel: it might and it could

Gregory: can you be less specific?

Hagel: this could be a new

opening to the Taliban

Gregory: Republicans are mad

they were not consulted before these

Taliban were released from Gitmo

Hagel: look there was no time –

we had to save Bergdahl –

we had the opportunity and we took it

Gregory: also Rep. Rogers says

this deal will encourage terrorists

to take Americans hostage

Hagel: we didn't negotiate with terrorists

– Bergdahl was a prisoner of war

and this was normal

Gregory: but these detainees

are dangerous

Hagel: Gitmo needs to be closed anyway

Gregory: but some say

we're rewarding terrorists

Hagel: look Obama drones

a terrorist every other day

Gregory: more on weekends

Hagel: we find and hunt terrorists!

Gregory: did Bergdahl desert his post?

Hagel: we're focused on helping

him re-integrate into society

and reunite him with his family

Gregory: but he won't speak

English like a real American!

Hagel: well he hasn't spoken 

English in 5 years

Gregory: but his dad says he

can't communicate in English

Hagel: neither can Sarah Palin

and she was almost Vice President

Gregory: I'm suspicious of this POW

– I've seen Homeland you know

Hagel: he's been through hell!

Gregory: was he tortured?

Hagel: we can figure that out later

Gregory: how do you fix Veterans Affairs?

Hagel: we owe Shinseki a debt

of gratitude for his service

Gregory: fine but 22,000 troops are

coming home from Afghanistan

and they're screwed

Hagel: at the Pentagon we 

work very closely with the VA

Gregory: well isn't that innovative

Hagel: don't get snippy Fluffy

Gregory: thanks for coming Chuckles

[ break ]

Gregory: aren't these released

detainees super-dangerous?

Leiter: yeah they fought

against America and America won

Gregory: so is it safe to release them?

Leiter: yes it is because

we are leaving Afghanistan

Gregory: is everybody in 

Gitmo a bargaining chip?

Leiter: the current exchange rate is

five Gitmo detainees equals one American

Gregory: so maybe we trade prisoners

for something valuable like oil or gold

or bootleg DVDs of Game of Throne

Leiter: I hope not – those dudes terrify me

Gregory: why?

Leiter: they really really hate America

Gregory: why is that

Leiter: cause they've been 

trapped in Gitmo for years

Gregory: that makes sense

[ break ]

Gregory: Adam what is

your reaction to this deal?

Kinzinger: welcome home Bowe! –

although you are probably a traitor

Gregory: I see

Kinzinger: I am disappointed and

shocked by this deal I welcome

and disapprove of

Gregory: he has difficulty speaking

English which means he is anti-American

Reickoff: I am just glad we got our man back

Gregory: what about the VA?

Rieckhoff: this is a defining moment

for America – its to step up for our Veterans

Gregory: how did Shinseki not know?

Kinzinger: a good leader would know

Gregory: right!

Kinzinger: I like Shinseki very

much but he's also terrible

Gregory: exactly!

Kinzinger: I want to see people fired!

Gregory: so do I besides the ones already fired

Gregory: Paul I've heard care is

good it just takes too long

Rieckhoff: it is good but the delays

have been going on for decades

Gregory: reform is taking long

Rieckhoff: I mean one guy

has been waiting decades for care

Gregory: Adam I know you want

people fired but are Republicans

in Congress willing to spend the

money to fix the VA?

Kinzinger: the answer is not 

just to spend money – 

it's to get better outcomes

Gregory: so is that a yes or no?

Kinzinger: the answer isn't to

throw more money at the problem!

Gregory: of course

[ break ]

Tibbles: people are angry

here near Fort Bragg

Vet's Wife: Shinseki isn't the problem

– the VA is understaffed

Green Beret: putting bonuses

ahead of veterans is criminal

Green Beret: our foreign policy

is weak and ambiguous and our

enemies take advantage of it

Vet's Wife: the U.S. can't police the world

Tibbles: here they say the VA needs

more than a new figurehead –

it need to be completely fixed

Gregory: when we come back – Benghazi!

[ break ]

Gregory: welcome panel –

let's talk about Ed Snowden!!

Todd: we have an exclusive poll

that shows most people don't like

Snowden but young people do kind of like him

Gregory: wow!

Todd: also the hashtag #patriot

beat the hashtag #traitor on twitter!

Gregory: well that settles it

Todd: everyone says he should

come home but he says he

could never get a fair trial

Gregory: America is entrenched

on the great traitor or patriot debate!

Todd: yes but there is a third

group that thinks the whole

debate is really stupid

Gregory: Newt Gingrich some

people like the fact that we're

talking about surveillance but

don't think one guy should have

the right to take and disclose

whichever secrets he wants

Gingrich: visit the 9/11 museum!

this was treason and he's a traitor!

Gregory: whoa

Gingrich: he aided and abetted the enemy!

Gregory: but we didn't we need to

have real debate about surveillance?

Harman: Congress had a debate 

when we amended FISA

Todd: seven years later!

Harman: well we did

Gregory: is he a traitor Jane?

Harman: I wouldn't call him a traitor

but you can't take those documents

Foroohar: both sides have been evasive

Todd: the young kids love the

idea of one person taking the

law into their own hands –

Snowden is like a whistleblower startup

Gregory: Chuck Hagel says Snowden

damaged national security

Hagel: I assure you there

is plenty of evidence

Gingrich: fuck those millennials –

when we're attacked and their

precious smartphones are

under rubble they won't care

about spying – they'll want revenge

Gregory: go on Newt!

Gingrich: this is is a big deal –

it cripples our capacity to fight

the bad guys and murderers

Gregory: what is the

future for Snowden?

Harman: he should cut a deal and

serve prison time so no other

young person ever does the same thing

Gregory: Hillary Clinton says

she will not participate in politicizing Benghazi

Todd: she's getting out in front

of Benghazi so it will be old news by 2016

Foroohar: the key question of Benghazi

is why was Susan Rice on

Meet The Press instead of her

Gingrich: the big issue of 2016

will be west African terrorism

Gregory: really?

Harman: there's no there there

Gregory: what is America's responsibility

in the wake of its many failed wars?

Todd: Benghazi was a dangerous

place because of the overall Libya policy

Gregory: omg next week is the 70^th

Anniversary of D-Day

Brokaw: in WWII everybody fought –

even Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart

flew jets and Chaplin mocked Hitler

Brokaw: the army had great film

directors like John Ford and John Huston

Frank Capra and William Wyler 

and George Stevens!

George Stevens Jr: my dad saw

'Triumph of the Will' and the

next day he joined the army

Brokaw: that's so cool

Stevens: then I was looking

his old stuff and found color

footage of D-Day – it was amazing

Brokaw: there is even color film of Dachau

– those swastikas really pop

Expert: we see those who fought

in WWII as larger than life but

they were ordinary people

who became larger than life

Gregory: ironically with all this

great war nostalgia the President

is talking about not having so

many wars which is sad

Brokaw: well technically wars are bad

Gregory: but also awesome

Brokaw: yes D-Day is an example

of everyone pulling together which is great

Gregory: true

Brokaw: we're just beginning to

understand that D-Day was really big

Gregory: thanks for coming Tom

[ break ]

Gregory: sure the massacre in

California was bad but will it really

have any impact on gun laws?

Bloomberg: we have too many

guns in the hands of criminals

kids and crazy people

Gregory: how do you keep the crazy

from having guns because the

NRA might agree with you here

Bloomberg: we need to empower

cops and courts to take guns from lunatics

Gregory: good luck with that

Bloomberg: and we need to

keep a national database of

people with mental problems

Gregory: some of my

best friends have mental problems

Bloomberg: and also keep guns

away from people with a record

of domestic violence

Gregory: you want to take on the NRA

Bloomberg: no – we just want

reasonable background checks

Gregory: but gun owners are

one-issue voters so you always lose

Bloomberg: that's where me 

and my money come in

Gregory: thanks for coming

Gregory: did you know Maya Angelou

was a poet and author and

civil rights activist who won three grammys

[ break ]

Gregory: on twitter people are

asking what is the future of Gitmo?

Harman: we should close it and

stop giving terrorists ammunition

Gingrich: these people want

to defeat our civilization!

Farhoo: close it but don't trade with terrorists

Gregory: and that's another

episode of Meet The Press