An American engineer held hostage by Islamic militants in Afghanistan was freed in a daring nighttime raid by a Special Operations team last month, a rare move in a country where hostages often pay ransoms — or don't come home at all. A team of about 30 special operators composed mostly of Navy SEALs flew into the mountains outside Kabul on October 14 to retrieve the 61-year-old American businessman, killing his captors and returning him to safety after nearly two months in captivity, according to an account in the Army Times. "In my mind I'd given a military intervention a one out of a hundred chance," the unnamed engineer told the Army Times. The Taliban have kidnapped aid workers and journalists in recent years, and aggressive crime syndicates target wealthy Afghans and foreigners for ransom money.

This is a perfect example of why we have veterans day. Our soldiers going out and doing what they were trained to do. Good job on the rescue and everything you do. What we need is to allow the special forces a little more leeway and autonomy to conduct raids and missions like this and we can eliminate the threats by making more people think twice. Should Spec. Ops. be used for missions like this?

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