Special Forces Raid Rescues 2 Hostages In Somalia
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) --- When President Obama walked into the House Chamber Monday to deliver his State of the Union Address, he had just been told that special forces troops were in the process of completing a raid that freed two hostages, one of them an American, at a camp in remote Somalia.
"Good job tonight," he told Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta as he walked to the dais, leaving those who heard the remark to wonder what he meant.
CBS News reports that the president ordered Seal Team Six, the same special operations military unit that killed Osama bin Laden in May, to undertake the raid after he heard new intelligence that the health of American hostage Jessica Buchanan had begun to deteriorate.
"Jessica's health was beginning to decline and we wanted to act, said Vice-President Joe Biden in a Wednesday morning television interview.
The kidnappers apparently made ransom demands to Buchanan's family, communications that may have helped American intelligence workers track down the location where she was being held with a colleague from a volunteer organization that clears landmines,Poul Thisted, from Denmark.
"We have the best technical means in the world. We have satellites. We have lasers. We have the NSA (National Security Agency). We have the National Geospacial Agency. We can do just about anything. We can read a license plate at about 22 thousand miles," said John Weisman, author of the book Kill bin Laden, when he discussed the bin Laden raid with 9News Now in November.
CBS News reports that about two dozen special forces troops parachuted from a military transport plane, landing about one and a half miles from the remote desert camp where the hostages were being held.
"You go in hard. You go in fast. You go in the dark. You use what they call a trinity of speed, surprise and violence of action," said Weisman of special operations techniques.
As those special forces approached the camp, shots were fired, according to CBS News.
Nine suspects were killed in the resulting firefight. No Americans died. The hostages were taken by helicopters to safety.
The message to kidnappers?
"We will find you. We will find you and we will take care of America's interests," Vice-president Biden said.