http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/21/james-foley-failed-rescue-mission/August 21st, 2014
06:42 PM ET
Navy SEAL: White House should not have revealed any information about failed rescue mission
(CNN) – Before American journalist James Foley was executed by the terrorists known as ISIS, the militants had tried to squeeze a ransom out of the United States, asking for more than $130 million in exchange for his life, according to Foley's former employer, the GlobalPost.
The U.S. has a policy of not negotiating with terrorists.
The White House said there was a rescue attempt to save Foley and other ISIS hostages, a special operation that was launched early this summer that ultimately failed.
"This was a flawless operation, but the hostages were not there, so we'll do everything we need to do, to continue get our hostages back," Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said Thursday.
But Daniel O'Shea, a reserve Navy SEAL officer who served as the coordinator for the hostage working group at the U.S. embassy in Iraq, says the White House should not be revealing any information about the operation at all.
"Releasing information about classified operations serves no tactical nor strategic value. It certainly doesn't help those folks who have to launch future missions," said O'Shea.
"I'm at a loss of words why there's so much information coming out, even after the fact that," he says.