Obama Learned of SEALs' Success Before SOTU

President had ordered Jessica Buchanan's rescue Monday night
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 25, 2012 11:30 AM CST
Obama Learned of SEALs' Success Before SOTU
This undated photo shows American Jessica Buchanan.   (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)

If President Obama was smiling last night, it's partly because just hours before the State of the Union he'd taken a phone call telling him that the Navy SEALs rescue of Jessica Buchanan and a companion had been a success, Politico reports. Some 15 minutes after the speech—without having left the Capitol—Obama called Buchanan's dad to tell him she'd been rescued and "was on her way home." Having monitored Buchanan's situation for months, Obama had ordered the raid Monday night, amid reports that Buchanan's health was deteriorating.

"They said it was the time, the opportunity," Joe Biden told ABC News this morning. "Jessica’s health was, was in a word, ‘failing,’ and they concluded they should go at this time and the president gave a go." SEAL Team 6 reportedly parachuted onto the scene, the AP notes. "As commander-in-chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said today. (More President Obama stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X