Special-ops hostage rescue in Somalia shows shape of US campaign to come The USA Times

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Special-ops hostage rescue in Somalia shows shape of US campaign to come

(AP Photo/Pete Souza, White House)

WASHINGTON - The Navy SEAL operation that freed two Western hostages in Somalia is representative of the Obama administration's pledge to build a smaller, more agile military force that can carry out surgical counterterrorist strikes.

That's a strategy much preferred to the land invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan that have cost so much American blood and treasure over the past decade.

Special operations forces, trained for such clandestine missions, have become a more prominent tool in the military's kit since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that led to the war in Afghanistan.

The administration is expected to announce Thursday that it will invest even more heavily in that capability in coming years.