Obama Responds To Killing Of American Hostage Luke Somers

Photojournalist Luke Somers, a hostage held captive by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for the past fifteen months, was killed by his captors as U.S. Special Forces attempted a rescue Saturday morning. According to The New York Times, Seal Team Six went into a village in southern Yemen to rescue Somers and South African hostage Pierre Korkie, but were unable to get close enough to prevent the terrorists from shooting and mortally wounding both hostages before they could prevent it.

President Obama authorized the raid after AQAP released this video, in which Somers asks for help, and in which his captors set Saturday, December 6, as the date they would kill Somers if their unspecified demands were not met:

In a statement, President Obama said that the deadline was a deciding factor in authorizing the raid. “Since his capture, the United States has been using every tool at our disposal to secure his release,” the President said. “Earlier this week, a video released by his terrorist captors announced that Luke would be killed within 72 hours. Other information also indicated that Luke’s life was in imminent danger. Based on this assessment, and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an operational plan, I authorized a rescue attempt yesterday. I also authorized the rescue of any other hostages held in the same location as Luke.”

The AQAP threat followed another rescue attempt by U.S. and Yemeni forces in November that succeeded in rescuing eight non-American hostages, but Somers had been moved by the time that operation could be executed. It is that raid which AQAP referenced toward the end of this week’s video. White House Press Secretary Josh earnest, this week, fended off several attempts by the press to affix blame for that raid’s failure to rescue Somers on the White House…READ MORE

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