Danish Refugee Council, AFP / Newscom
When President Obama stepped into the House to give the State of the Union last night, he pointed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and said, “Good job tonight.” The reason? American commandos—the same team that carried out the bin Laden mission—had just dropped into Somalia by helicopter, killed nine pirates, captured several others, and freed two aid workers, including an American woman, who had been held captive for months. In a statement this morning Obama said he authorized the operation on Monday. “Thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our Special Operations forces, yesterday Jessica Buchanan (pictured at left) was rescued and she is on her way home,” Obama said in the statement. Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, were kidnapped by two truckloads of gunmen in October on their way to the airport.