This Is How We Fail Our Soldiers.

By bureaucracy and stupidity.

In early May, seven soldiers were on lookout near a patrol area in a dangerous part of Iraq. Four heavily armed al-Qaeda attacked them.

Four of the soldiers were killed on the spot and three others were taken hostage.
A search to rescue the men was quickly launched. But it soon ground to a halt as lawyers - obeying strict U.S. laws about surveillance - cobbled together the legal grounds for wiretapping the suspected kidnappers.

More:

For an excruciating nine hours and 38 minutes, searchers in Iraq waited as U.S. lawyers discussed legal issues and hammered out the “probable cause” necessary for the attorney general to grant such “emergency” permission.
Finally, approval was granted and, at 7:38 that night, surveillance began.

Too late.

Read the rest and weep.

via LST