Afghanistan: Chuck Hagel, Susan Rice defend decision to trade terror suspects for Bergdahl --- National security adviser Susan Rice and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel defended the Obama administration's decision to trade five Taliban-affiliated terrorism suspects for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only known American prisoner of war in Afghanistan, who on Saturday was recovered by U.S. Special Operations forces. -- "This is a joyous day," Rice said during an interview Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." --- Although the recovery of Bergdahl, who had been in Taliban captivity for five years, has been praised widely, the decision to trade five high-level Taliban officials has prompted heavy criticism from Republicans. -- Hagel, speaking from Afghanistan during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," said U.S. officials were concerned about Bergdahl's health. He brushed off Republican criticisms. -- "We didn't negotiate with terrorists," Hagel said, dismissing the suggestion that this swap could incentivize future kidnappings of American soldiers. "In war, things are always dangerous and their are vulnerabilities... but our record, the United States of America, in dealing with terrorists and hunting down and finding terrorists, is pretty good." --The swap, announced Saturday morning, has enraged some congressional Republicans, who argue that the decision potentially compromises national security because it amounts to a negotiation with terrorists. -- But, earlier on Sunday morning, Rice told CNN host Candy Crowley — when asked whether this meant that the United States could no longer claim that it does not negotiate with terrorists — that she "wouldn't put it that way." --- Other critics have argued that President Obama may have violated the law by not giving members of Congress the required 30-day notice before moving prisoners who were being kept at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. -- Top Republicans on the Senate and House armed services committees went so far as to accuse Obama of breaking the law. -- “Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.) and Sen James M. Inhofe (Okla.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a joint statement. -- Rice, however, insisted that Obama acted within his power as commander in chief, framing the choice as one to secure the release of a prisoner of war who had been captured in battle — rather than one that amounts to negotiating with terrorists. -- "Sergeant Bergdahl wasn't simply a hostage, he was an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield," Rice said. "Regardless of who may be holding an American prisoner of war, we must do our best to bring him or her back."