CNN Founder Ted Turner to Piers Morgan: 'It's Good' More Soldiers Are Committing Suicide Than Dying in Combat

Media mogul Ted Turner appeared on CNN's "Piers Morgan" last Friday, where he made a shocking statement about military suicides. Rather than discussing the tragic elements associated with the trend of men and women in uniform taking their own lives, the CNN founder said that this phenomenon is actually a "good" thing.

An official transcript from the network outlines, word-for-word, Turner's bizarre statement:

MORGAN: You made the point to me in the break there, more American servicemen have --

TURNER: -- are dying now from suicide over there than are dying in combat.

MORGAN: That's shocking, isn't it?

TURNER: Well, what -- no, I think it's -- I think it's good, because it's so clear that we're programmed and we're born to love and help each other, not to kill each other, to destroy each other. That's an aberration. That's left over from hundreds of years ago. It's time for to us start acting enlightened.

MORGAN: What's it like to give away a billion dollars? I can't even imagine.

TURNER: It was a third of what I had at the time. So it was significant. You can't do it very often. But -- so I made a special occasion out of it. It was -- you know, it was for the United Nations to help the poorest people in the world.

Before saying "I think it's good," it almost sounds as though Turner was going to use a different descriptive (i.e. terrific or terrible), although it is tough to be sure. On another bizarre note, after making the proclamation about military suicides outpacing combat deaths, Turner said, "It's time for to us start acting enlightened."

Judging from the text, above, one obviously wonders why Morgan didn't push him further on the issue. Rather than digging deeper as to how such a development could be labeled "good," he moved on, asking, "What's it like to give away a billion dollars?"

Watch the footage, below:

Considering the dearth of follow-up questions and the network's decision not to display the story prominently, there are numerous curiosities worth exploring. Was the story purposefully buried? Why didn't Morgan, who has been more than harsh on social conservatives (i.e. Kirk Cameron) who appear on his show, search for clarification and firmer answers?

Let us know what you think in the comments section.