XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: sfp@bns.com   
      
   Maybe he should have sent Seal Team 6?  Oh wait...   
      
   The Pentagon attempted a rescue operation to free James Foley   
   and other U.S. hostages held in Syria by Islamist militants, but   
   the mission failed because the hostages weren't where U.S.   
   planners thought they were, U.S. officials told NBC News on   
   Wednesday.   
      
   The attempted rescue occurred early this summer when Special   
   Operations forces in helicopters, under air cover from U.S.   
   fighter jets, swarmed a compound and were engaged by forces of   
   the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, U.S. officials   
   told NBC News.   
      
   After a fierce gunbattle in which many ISIS fighters were   
   killed, the Americans determined that the hostages weren't there   
   and quickly left, the officials said. One added: "It all   
   happened very quickly."   
      
   A U.S. helicopter pilot suffered a minor wound when the chopper   
   came under enemy fire, but there were no other U.S. casualties,   
   officials said.   
      
   A Pentagon spokesman gave few details but said the operation   
   involved air and ground components and was focused on a   
   "particular captor network" within ISIS. The news comes a day   
   after ISIS released a gruesome video documenting the beheading   
   of U.S. journalist James Foley.   
      
   Lisa Monaco, President Barack Obama's assistant for homeland   
   security and counterterrorism, said in a statement that Obama   
   authorized the mission because the U.S. "had what we believed   
   was sufficient intelligence."   
      
   "It was the national security team's assessment that these   
   hostages were in danger with each passing day in [ISIS]   
   custody," she said. While the effort failed, Obama "could not be   
   prouder of the U.S. forces who carried out this mission and the   
   dedicated intelligence and diplomatic professionals who   
   supported their efforts," Monaco said.   
      
   http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/james-foley/mission-rescue-   
   james-foley-other-hostages-syria-failed-officials-n185391   
      
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)