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Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Congress on Wednesday that "we made the right decision" in exchanging five Guantánamo Bay detainees for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Hagel also defended the Obama administration against the barrage of sharp criticism it has faced for not informing lawmakers ahead of the swap, saying "time was not on our side."
Hagel testified at a House Armed Services Committee hearing that the decision to transfer the five detainees to Qatar — which acted as an intermediary in the negotiations — was ultimately made by President Barack Obama after U.S. intelligence officials determined Bergdahl's health was "poor and possibly declining," based on a "disturbing" video sent by the Taliban in January.
"The president’s decision to move forward with the transfer of these detainees was a tough call, but I support it and stand by it," Hagel said.
The defense secretary detailed at length the circumstances that led to the exchange, saying the Qatari intermediaries with whom U.S. officials worked had warned that "any leak would end the negotiations for Bergdahl's release."
Hagel also said that officials knew the military personnel conducting the exchange would be exposed to possible ambush, and that U.S. officials were not even given information on the precise location where the exchange would occur until an hour before it happened.
"For all these reasons and more, the exchange needed to take place quickly, efficiently and quietly. We believed this exchange was our last, best opportunity to free [Bergdahl]," Hagel said.
But the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon of California, blasted the decision as "deeply disturbing."
"This transfer sets a dangerous precedent in negotiating with terrorists," McKeon said in his opening statement. "It reverses long-standing U.S. policy and could incentivize other terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda, to increase their use of kidnappings of U.S. personnel."
McKeon, who has launched a committee investigation, described White House explanations thus far about the potential national security implications of the swap as "misleading and oftentimes blatantly false."
Hagel, however, called the former Taliban government officials "enemy belligerents" and said they had not been implicated in any attacks against the United States. He said Qatar, which has promised to keep the former Guantánamo detainees inside the country for a year, committed to sufficient security measures that led him to decide the risks were not too great.
Hagel also said that "if any of these detainees ever try to rejoin the fight, they would be doing so at their own peril."
Republicans and some Democrats in Congress have criticized the White House for not keeping lawmakers fully informed of the situation. Hagel acknowledged that the administration may have fallen short on that count.
"We could have done a better job of keeping you informed," he said, but he reiterated that it was an "extraordinary situation" that could have unraveled if word of the plan had leaked.
Philip J. Victor contributed to this report, with wire services.
Fighters armed with rocket launchers observed the transfer, which took all of a minute, from nearby hills.
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