Wow - some of you definitely have no clue of military ops. I come from a background where I gather information from open-source material. To be blunt, I am amazed that Fox can even consider themselves a news organization. Their journalistic integrity as well as the quality of the information they put forth is an embarrassment.
1. The individuals in question were not active duty seals. They were out of the US military and working for the CIA. That does not diminish their selfless acts or the ultimate sacrifices they made - it enhances what they did.
2. It's shitty but diplomatic channels exist for a reason. You do not invade the sovereign integrity of a country without permission. When you do, you can't complain that your pilots got shot down and were killed. We don't have to worry about that happening in the good ol USA, but consider what steps we would take if another country did that to us. Don't forget they still have manpads and active SAM sites in Libya. Everybody would be calling for the POTUS' head if a pilot had gotten shot down.
3. F-16s: What would have been their purpose? Have you seen the area they would have been operating in? Who would have been guiding the aircraft in on the targets?
4. For those of you old enough to know your history --- Somalia and Iran. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, read up on what happened with hastily drawn up rescue plans involving the US and those 2 countries.
I can't wait to hear your responses.