Lolita C. Baldor
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, center, is seen aboard a U.S. Military Aircraft before speaking to members of the media during his flight, Sunday, June 1, 2014. Hagel spoke about the released of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl who was held hostage in Afghanistan, and who was handed over Saturday morning by members of the Taliban in exchange for five Afghan detainees held at the military prison in Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Pool)
June 01, 2014 - 2:02 AM
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel says the military operation to free Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl (boh BURG'-dahl) from the Taliban was not relayed to Congress because officials believed the soldier's life was in danger.
In his first extensive public comments about the Saturday operation, Hagel says the information the U.S. had gathered suggested that Bergdahl's safety and health were in jeopardy and 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 Guantanamo to Qatar.
The Pentagon didn't give Congress the required 30-day notice for the release of detainees from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention centre.
Hagel says the military had to move quickly to get Bergdahl out "essentially to save his life."
News from © The Associated Press, 2014