I have received dozens of PMs and emails on the recent hostage rescue attempt of Luke Somers in Yemen. Folks...here is the bottom line. These are very complex operations that are driven by ACCURATE intelligence. Execution of these missions for the units that are tasked with operations of this nature are the best in the world at it...bar none. This is what they do and train for day after day. The list of things that can go wrong from the minute you board the aircraft to leave, to the moment your are exfiling is long. Rehearsals and detailed planning are part of the equation, when time permits. So what went wrong? I was not there and certainly dont want to play armchair quarter back, but what I can tell you is that it I am quite sure it was not a mistake made by our guys on the ground. I read online (not sure of the validity) that the US told Yemen authorities of the mission, and that it was a joint mission with Yemen security forces. Could that have led to a breach in security? Possibly. Believe it or not, one of the biggest threats (mission compromise wise) while I was conducting missions in Afghanistan and Iraq was the ever present barking dog at 3:00 am and waking up the bad guys. Did that happen on this mission? Possibly. This I know for sure. I would rather die in a rescue attempt gone bad than sit around and wait to have my head hacked off. There are no guarantees during high risk operations of this nature.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:02:31 +0000
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