Though he's conceded the administration could have done a better job keeping Congress informed about efforts to free Bergdahl, Hagel

stresses that things could have gone wrong if the White House hesitated or risked a leak:

"The U.

S.

signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar on May 12 regarding how Qatar would handle Taliban detainees transferred to its custody," Hagel said.





Soon after, "U.

S.

officials received a warning from the Qatari intermediaries that as we proceeded time was not on our side.

.

.

This indicated that the risks to Sgt.