Hagel: Safety, health of GI key for swap

Secretary says Congress left out of loop to prevent leaks

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks to members of the military during his visit to Bagram Air Field in Bagram, Afghanistan, on Sunday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel speaks to members of the military during his visit to Bagram Air Field in Bagram, Afghanistan, on Sunday.

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday that the military operation to free Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detainees was not relayed to Congress because officials believed the soldier's life was in danger.

In his first extensive public comments about Saturday's operation, Hagel said intelligence the U.S. had gathered suggested that Bergdahl's "safety and health were both in jeopardy, and in particular his health was deteriorating."

Taliban members handed Bergdahl over to special operations forces in eastern Afghanistan, and later in the day the detainees were flown from the Guantanamo detention center to Qatar.

The Pentagon did not give Congress the required 30-day notice for the release of Guantanamo detainees.

Hagel said it was the administration's judgment the military had to move quickly to get Bergdahl out, "essentially to save his life."

He said it was the unanimous consensus of the National Security Council, and the president has the authority to order such a release under Article 2 of the Constitution.

Only a handful of people knew about the operation and Hagel said "we couldn't afford any leaks anywhere, for obvious reasons."

In exchange for Bergdahl, the U.S. agreed to release Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq. Fazl is a former deputy defense minister for the Taliban, Wasiq is a former deputy intelligence minister, and Norulla Noori and Khairkhwa were regional governors.

Speaking to reporters traveling with him just hours after Bergdahl was flown from Afghanistan to a military medical center in Germany, Hagel said the special operations forces conducting the operation took every precaution, using intelligence gathering, surveillance, well-positioned security assets and a lot of helicopters to ensure that things did not go wrong.

"No shots were fired. There was no violence," said Hagel. "It went as well as we not only expected and planned, but I think as well as it could have ... the timing was right. The pieces came together."

But there was some ambivalence among the troops waiting in a hangar at Bagram to hear from Hagel on Sunday.

"Releasing five Taliban for one -- I don't know about that," said Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McGlynn, 23, of Williamstown, N.J. "This isn't a conventional war that we're fighting. I'm not sure it's an even exchange."

Sitting next to him, Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Kurt Tomcavage, 28, disagreed.

"I'm just happy he can get back to his family," he said.

Hagel said he was hopeful the prisoner exchange could lead to a breakthrough with the Taliban.

He said the focus of the operation was on the successful return of Bergdahl, but "maybe this could provide some possible new bridge for new negotiations."

The U.S. has long argued that the best way to a successful outcome in Afghanistan included reconciliation with the Taliban insurgents.

Asked if this type of swap might embolden other militants to take hostages, Hagel said that this operation was a prisoner exchange. And he said terrorist groups are already kidnapping young schoolgirls, business people and other innocent people.

Republicans pressed that the deal would embolden insurgents, perhaps encouraging them to grab U.S. troops or citizens as bargaining chips for the release of others in U.S. custody.

"Have we just put a price on other U.S. soldiers?" asked Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. "What does this tell terrorists, that if you capture a U.S. soldier, you can trade that soldier for five terrorists?"

Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican who leads the House Intelligence Committee, said the U.S. "negotiated with terrorists and agreed to swap five senior Taliban leaders who are responsible for the deaths of many Americans."

He also said he had "little confidence in the security assurances regarding the movement and activities of the now-released Taliban leaders, and I have even less confidence in this administration's willingness to ensure they are enforced."

Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, said the released Taliban prisoners will have "restrictions on their movement and behavior" in Qatar, while declining to discuss details.

Rice denied Rogers' claim that the U.S. negotiated with terrorists to secure Bergdahl's release. The U.S. negotiated through the government of Qatar, she said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.

Hagel declined to say whether he believes Bergdahl was attempting to desert the Army or go absent without leave when he walked away from his unit and disappeared nearly five years ago.

"Our first priority is assuring his well-being and his health and getting him reunited with his family," Hagel said. "Other circumstances that may develop and questions -- those will be dealt with later."

A senior Defense Department official indicated Sunday that the Army would probably not be punishing the sergeant for any violations of rules.

"Whatever he may have done, I think he's more than paid for it," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak on the topic. "Five years is a long time."

Hagel added that his own time in Vietnam and the fact that he knew people like Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was a prisoner of war, gives him a personal connection to such an exchange.

"This is a very happy day for the Bergdahl family," Hagel said. "It's a very important day for our troops and our country."

He said that he was particularly struck by the fact that unlike McCain and other prisoners of war who knew there were other U.S. prisoners nearby even when they were in solitary confinement, Bergdahl was alone, bereft of any solace that could come from knowing there were fellow soldiers close by who were in the same situation.

"In this case, Bergdahl was by himself," Hagel said. "As far as we know, there were no other Americans."

Hagel said he planned to talk to the Bergdahls soon and will speak with the soldier at the appropriate time, so as not to interfere with his health-care needs.

"I am particularly happy for the family. What they have had to endure, how they've endured it -- it's been remarkable. They have not been bitter. They have adjusted, they never lost hope and faith," Hagel said.

Bergdahl's father, Bob Bergdahl, said Sunday he admired his son's patience, perseverance and ability to adapt during nearly five years as a prisoner of the Taliban.

"But most of all, I'm proud of how much you wanted to help the Afghan people, and what you were willing to do to go to that length," Bob Bergdahl said, fighting back tears during a news conference in Boise, Idaho. "And I think you have succeeded."

He did not elaborate on what his comments meant.

"You are from a strong tribe; you are even stronger now," said Bergdahl's mom, Jani Bergdahl. "Five years is a seemingly endless long time, but you've made it. ... You are free. Freedom is yours. I will see you soon, my beloved son."

Although details of the swap had been agreed upon, the U.S. commandos arriving to take Bergdahl from the site along the border with Pakistan came prepared to fight, Hagel said.

"Where there's always danger, you prepare for all eventualities," Hagel said.

U.S. forces "took every possible precaution we could take, through intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, through having enough of our assets positioned in the right locations, having enough helicopters, and doing everything we could possibly do to anticipate violence, and anything going in a different direction," Hagel said.

Bergdahl was taken to the site by as many as 18 Taliban fighters, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Saturday. Bergdahl walked to the waiting U.S. helicopters and the operation was over quickly, according to the official, who asked not to be identified to discuss operations.

Hagel declined to say which commando units were involved or what types of helicopters were used.

"Some specifics are classified and will remain that way," he said.

Hagel met about a dozen of the special operations troops who were involved in recovering Bergdahl and thanked them, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, said a sense of excitement grew at headquarters as the news spread of Bergdahl's release.

"You almost got choked up," Dunford said. "It was pretty extraordinary. It has been almost five years and he is home."

Information for this article was contributed by Lolita C. Baldor, Calvin Woodward, Deb Riechmann, Darlene Superville, Rahim Faiez, Zarar Khan, Rebecca Boone and Kimberlee Kruesi of The Associated Press; by Helene Cooper of The New York Times; and by Gopal Ratnam and Derek Wallbank of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 06/02/2014

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