US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel defended on Wednesday the swap of five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, saying: "I would never sign any document or make any agreement, agree to any decision that I did not feel was in the best interest of this country." Hagel said during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee that this was an "extraordinary situation," as "first, we weren't certain that we would transfer those detainees out of Guantanamo until we had Sergeant Bergdahl in hand. And second, we had Sergeant Bergdahl in hand only a few hours after making the final arrangements." He indicated that "in November of last year, we requested that the Taliban provide a new proof-of-life video of Sergeant Bergdahl.
In January of this year, we received that video, and it was disturbing. Some of you may have seen the video. It showed a deterioration in his physical appearance and mental state compared to previous videos." He stressed "our entire intelligence community carefully analyzed every part of it and concluded that Sergeant Bergdahl's health was poor and possibly declining. This gave us growing urgency to act." "As the opportunity to obtain Sergeant Bergdahl's release became clear, we grew increasingly concerned that any delay or any leaks could derail a deal and further endanger Sergeant Bergdahl," he continued.
Hagel affirmed that for many reasons the exchange "needed to take place quickly, efficiently and quietly. We believe this exchange was our last best opportunity to free him." He added that "it wasn't until we recovered Sergeant Bergdahl on May 31st that we moved ahead with the transfer of the five Guantanamo detainees." He reiterated that President Barack Obama's decision "to move forward with the transfer of these detainees was a tough call. I supported it, I stand by it." "In consultation with the Department of Justice, the administration concluded that a transfer of the five could lawfully precede. The options available to us to recover Sergeant Bergdahl were very few and far from perfect," he noted.
He stressed that "in the decision to rescue Sergeant Bergdahl, we complied with the law, and we did what we believed was in the best interest of our country, our military and Sergeant Bergdahl." "America does not leave its soldiers behind. We made the right decision, and we did it for the right reasons, to bring home one of our own people," Hagel reiterated