SEAL Team 6: Somalia rescue illustrates new US military strategy
The Obama administration has spoken of the need for a 'smaller, more agile' military. Covert operations such as the one that rescued two aid workers in Somalia are part of that strategy.
The Obama administration has spoken of the need for a 'smaller, more agile' military. Covert operations such as the one that rescued two aid workers in Somalia are part of that strategy.
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Less than a year after a daring raid killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, another raid involving the same elite US Navy SEAL unit freed two aid workers being held hostage in Somalia by pirates in the type of covert, narrowly-targeted operation that is becoming more common for the US.
The SEALs, with other members of the US military, parachuted into Somalia about two miles from where the hostages were being held, walked to the location, and freed the hostages. They were picked up by helicopters, which brought them to the nearby town of Galkayo, where they flew out on a military plane, The New York Times reports. According to the Pentagon, no prisoners were taken, but nine Somali gunmen were killed. The Associated Press reports that all the captors were killed.
American Jessica Buchanan and Dane聽Poul Hagen Thisted were kidnapped on Oct. 25, en route to the airport in Galkayo while working for the Danish Relief Council.
The rescue operation is representative of the Obama administration's vision for a "smaller, more agile" military that relies heavily on targeted counterterrorist strikes against enemies, rather than large-scale, costly land invasions, the Associated Press reports. The administration is expected to announce today an increase in investment in special operations force and clandestine operations, which have become critical tools since 9-11.
According to The New York Times,聽Somalia has been considered "out of reach" for conventional military operations for years, although the US has executed several special operations raids like this one out of bases in Somalia's neighboring countries.聽
The Los Angeles Times notes that a 1993 US military peacekeeping mission failed and was forced to retreat after 18 Americans were killed. This week's successful rescue reflects the changes to the US approach to Somalia. Today the US presence is characterized by聽surveillance drones, special operations units, and warships off the coast.
Reuters reports that a US raid resulted in the death of a senior Al Qaeda militant in 2009 and that several other militants in Somalia have been killed in drone strikes in the past few years.
Somalis express "little sympathy" for the nine captors who were killed聽during the rescue operation because most Somalis are increasingly frustrated with the impact that piracy is having on the country, reports The New York Times. Neither the government nor local clans have the ability to exert influence over the pirate groups, which are well-funded.
Several Western hostages remain in Somalia, including an American freelance journalist kidnapped last week.
海角大神 reports that the increase in the number of land operations by Somali pirates is a result of the increasing pressure on them at sea 鈥� preemptive naval strikes have reduced pirates' successful strikes by half.