| From the Two-Letter Press Agency, so fair use only here: |
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday the U.S. "will take all necessary and proper steps" to deal with an Islamist attack on a natural gas field in southern Algeria that has resulted in Americans and other foreigners taken hostage.
| Just like we did in Benghazi... |
Panetta would not detail what such steps might be,
| Since Obama himself doesn't know... |
but he condemned the incident as "terrorist attack" and likened it to al-Qaida activities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and in the United States on 9/11.
A militant group that claimed responsibility says it's holding seven Americans, but State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said she wouldn't provide details to protect those who were kidnapped. Panetta said he didn't know the numbers of those kidnapped.
Militants said they attacked and occupied the field partly operated by the energy company BP
| Wonder what the site protection was like. Did BP have guards present? Where they locals (ala the Benghazi type that walked/ran away when the shooting started) or were they Western? |
because of Algeria's support of France's operation against al-Qaida-linked Malian rebels groups to the southeast.
| I suppose that makes sense in an Islamic way... |
"It is a very serious matter when Americans are taken hostage along with others," Panetta told reporters in Rome, where he spent the day meeting with Italian leaders, in part to discuss the operations in Mali. "I want to assure the American people that the United States will take all necessary and proper steps that are required to deal with this situation."
| Though Leon doesn't know what those are... |
Panetta told reporters in Italy that he was briefed Wednesday on the Algeria attack and said the U.S. is in consultation with the Algerians to determine what the situation is and what happened.
He said he did not know if the kidnappings were connected at all to the French military assault in Mali.
"I do know that terrorists are terrorists and terrorists take these kinds of actions," he added, "We've witnessed their behavior in a number of occasions where they have total disregard for innocent men and women. This appears to be that kind of situation."
| That's why they're called, "terrorists", Leon... |
Nuland said that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke Wednesday by telephone with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal.
| Was that at 3 am local time? |
She also said the U.S. Embassy in Algiers issued an emergency message to American citizens encouraging them to review their personal safety.
| As in, you might want to get out of Dodge... |
"We're obviously taking the appropriate measures at the embassy as well," she told reporters.
| Let's hope they learned something from Benghazi. Another attack on an American embassy or consulate will be awfully hard to explain. Champ might have to get those children back for another press conference, and they can't afford to miss too many days of school... |
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