We have an idiom in America called “Monday morning quarterback”, meaning it’s easy to criticize a decision that results in failure.
A lot of finger pointing may occur in the UK surrounding Linda Norgrove’s unfortunate death, but I applaud the decision to try and rescue her.
We had a horrible hostage crisis ourselves in the late 70s when over 50 Americans were held captive in Iran for 444 days. Our president , Jimmy Carter, did not send our Special Forces until months into the ordeal, and when he finally gave the go-ahead, it ended in failure with 6 soldiers killed in the desert.
As a nation, our collective pride was never lower.
So, even though the attempt ended in Norgrove’s death, your country sent a message to the world that the UK will not cower in the face of danger and will respond to defend her people.
That’s a very good thing!
The UK Telegraph reports that questions have been raised over the failed attempt by US special forces to free a British aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan NATO soldiers and Afghan forces conduct a search operation in Kunar province.
Linda Norgrove was killed on Friday night when one of her captors detonated a suicide vest as Nato troops arrived by helicopter to rescue her.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague defended the operation to rescue Miss Norgrove, saying it was "her best chance of safe release .
But The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that local Afghan leaders wanted to negotiate with Miss Norgrove's kidnappers to win her freedom but were overruled by Nato commanders who feared she was about to be smuggled to Pakistan and handed over to al-Qaeda militants.
The 36-year-old aid worker from Uig on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides had been in Afghanistan since 2005, dedicating herself to improving the condition of its stricken people.
She was on her way to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Salar Canal, a 24km waterway providing irrigation for up to 8,500 farming families, when she was abducted on 26 September, alongside three Afghan nationals with whom she was working.
Miss Norgrove's name had not been revealed during her 13-day ordeal for fear of further jeopardising her safety.
Her parents had only recently recorded a video appealing for their daughter's release, but she was killed before the Foreign Office gave the go-ahead for it to be broadcast.
The operation to rescue Miss Norgrove began under the cover of darkness on Friday night after special forces pinpointed her location in mountains close to the Pakistan border.
They were within moments of reaching her when she was killed.
Troops who battled through small arms fire to reach the remote compound where she was being held discovered her lying on the ground mortally wounded. They tried to give her medical treatment but she succumbed to her wounds.
Six members of the gang are thought to have died during the fighting.
An official close to the operation said: "She was killed by an explosion probably caused by a suicide vest, held by one of the attackers. There was nothing about her injuries that suggested ISAF forces caused her death."
Prime Minister David Cameron said it had been "right to try" to secure Miss Norgrove's release.
He said: "My thoughts are with Linda's family, who will be devastated by this tragic news. She was doing valuable work for the Afghan people. Decisions on operations to free hostages are always difficult.
"But where a British life is in such danger, and where we and our allies can act, I believe it is right to try. I pay tribute to the courage and skill of all those involved in this effort."
More details here
Mourn her loss, but be proud of your country!
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