The White House said Wednesday that President Obama isn’t considering — yet — sending U.S. special forces to Nigeria to rescue nearly 300 girls kidnapped by a terrorist group.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney. “At this point we’re not actively considering the deployment of U.S. forces to participate in a combined rescue mission.”
Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, has said the U.S. could send in special forces to rescue the girls without permission of the host country if they were located. But Mr. Carney said the 26 U.S. military advisers and FBI agents in Nigeria are focused currently on the search for the girls.
“We are actively advising — including through military personnel — the Nigerian government as it seeks to find, to locate and to rescue these girls,” he said. “Finding them is the first step.”
The terror group Boko Haram has offered to exchange the girls for prisoners it says are being held by the Nigerian government.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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