I detect the start of a witch-hunt over the tragic death of Linda Norgrove and it needs to stop.
Linda chose to put herself into harm's way to protect others and help make their lives better, it is a noble thing to do and her bravery has rightly been recognised. The American special forces who attempted to save her also risked their lives and we should never lose sight of that.
It may be fashionable to sneer at the American army or to assume that Linda's death was the result of gung-ho, trigger happy hicks but it would be deeply wrong to do so, like our own special forces the Americans are highly trained and professional. I don't pretend to know what it is like in the claustrophobic, confusing and intense environment of a real hostage rescue and neither does anyone else who hasn't been in one. Second guessing their actions and having "what they should have done" conversations are meaningless and insulting.
Clearly we need to learn from this, but lessons will not be learned if those involved feel besieged or fear that they will become scapegoats. Conflict isn't like the films, it is imprecise, confusing and dangerous and some times the good guys don't win.
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That is all true, but it appears that the advice from local sources was that a rescue attempt was very risky and that success was more likely to come from talking. We need to wait to see what the investigation uncovers because it may well be that a gung-ho rescue atttempt was in fact part of the reason this happened.
She was effectively dead from the moment she was captured, so all of these Mondoy Morning Quarterbacks need to wind their necks back in. Much like the recent Mark Saunders case, where the police firearms officers have come in for some criticism, the liberal chattering classes and the media have decided that they are better judges of what action should have been taken, despite having no knowledge of anything other than finger pointing or gossiping.
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