What assets can we utilize to get back our hostages? How can we prevent additional hostages?

2015-02-02T17:22:09-05:00

With at least one American hostage how can we prevent additional hostages being taken? What assets can we utilize to get back our hostages?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/02/02/obama-acknowledges-isis-has-female-american-hostage-says-us-deploying-all/

Obama acknowledges ISIS has American hostage, says US 'deploying all assets' to find her

President Obama is acknowledging that the Islamic State still has at least one U.S. hostage and that his administration is “deploying all assets” to find her.

Response by SGT Steven Eugene Kuhn MBA made Feb 2 at 2015 5:23 PM

2015-02-02T17:23:21-05:00

Get all civilians out and as far as assets; SEALs sound about right

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Feb 2 at 2015 5:28 PM

2015-02-02T17:28:18-05:00

First off, any civilian who are in high risk areas need to know that they are there at their own risk and if you get snatche you are essentially a dead person. The liklihood that we will be able to rescue you are slim. Most of these folks who are snatched are not there on official government business but are either reporters or volunteer aid workers.

That being said, the issue is not the military assets. What we have on the mTOE are all capable of doing a rescue. The issue is intel. we don't have the HUMINT in the region needed to be able to find hostages.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2015 5:28 PM

2015-02-02T17:28:46-05:00

I was thinking about this today...you truly have to wonder what it will take to defeat savages willing to cut the heads off of civilians or murder an entire village of men, women, and children like Boko Haram. I'd imagine trading an eye for an eye, but it would require succumbing to their level and the civilized world isn't ready.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Feb 2 at 2015 5:41 PM

2015-02-02T17:41:21-05:00

What capacity was "She" working in? Aide worker or media I imagine? If you get paid to go into areas like that, is the money really worth it? If you are an aide worker trying to help out humanity, keep your head on a swivel and have some decent security! I got offered a very high paying job in Iraq as a contractor and a year later the city was taken over by ISIS. I'd be a rich dead man. When we wore a uniform, we knew what it meant to be taken alive. I go anywhere I am ordered. I try not to place myself unnecessarily in harm's way. I pray for her and her family.

Response by COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM made Feb 2 at 2015 5:47 PM

2015-02-02T17:47:27-05:00

- Use "The Untouchables" Rule. They send one of yours to the hospital, you send one of theirs to the morgue.
- Use "The Godfather" Rule. Its not personal, its just business.
- Use "Pulp Fiction" Rule. Get medievel on their ass.
- What assets can we use to get our hostages back? Every tool that we have in our toolbox except for negotiating with terrorists and paying terrorist ransoms. This only encourages more hostage taking. This includes but is not limited to: other nations assets, CIA, DoD, HLS, NGOs, PVOs.
- How can we prevent additional hostages? Outlaw American citizen travel to Syria and Iraq except for official governmental purposes, punish those who break the law regardless of excuse (press, aid worker, tourist), send the overall message through act and deed that taking American hostages by anyone but especially ISIS is very bad for the hostage taking organization.

Response by CPL Rick Stasny made Feb 2 at 2015 10:03 PM

2015-02-02T22:03:23-05:00

Bring back the PII Missle System. Turn the sand into glass. I hate to see such extreme measures used, but nothing else seems to have an impact.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2015 11:06 PM

2015-02-03T23:06:28-05:00

Frankly, we can't trade 5 more GITMO hostages for anyone. The Jordanians were willing to trade prisoners, and ISIL still killed the Jordanian pilot. This demonstrates an unwillingness for them to negotiate with anyone, so we should not even attempt to negotiate with them.

I am sorry, but if you were in a high-threat area and were taken captive, you are now potentially expendable. I know that sounds callous of me, but in all actuality, we must define acceptable parameters for executing a rescue mission. If you take on a high-risk mission where success is highly unlikely, and the many lives lost are the likely outcome, then you might consider if it is worth it to pursue such an operation. If I were taken captive, I would not be counting on rescue and I certainly would make it harder for them to hold onto me.

The failed mission in Yemen seems to be an example of a mission where there was a clear option to perform a rescue mission. Given, it was unsuccessful, but it was still executable. Would it have been if it would have been in a highly-urban, ISIS controlled city in Syria? Maybe not.

We have phenomenally trained operators, who are willing to put their lives on the line for missions like this. We need to ensure that their training meets all current intelligence and give them the latitude to evaluate potential missions for merit and operational capabilities. This does not need to be one of those things where it becomes a pissing match where one force states that the can't do it and another does, just to one up them (as we have seen in the past). There needs to be a centralized coordinator that assists in determining who has the skills and capabilities and then see how planning can be coordinated for feasibility.

Lastly, we have got to become an enemy that is so frightening to them that they do not want our hostages. I will say that in Eastern Africa, they seem to leave westerners alone. Al Shabbab and other factions do not want to draw the attention of the western world and by proxy their military any more than they already have. They know that we are stronger than they are and that we could take them out. They know that we have capabilities that they don't even understand. It's simple. They would not hold an American long because they would be scared of the results. We need ISIL to live in the same fear in order to prevent these situations.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 3 at 2015 11:27 PM

2015-02-03T23:27:21-05:00

We use any assets at our disposal to get the current hostages back. Then...