both of the aid workers were rescued unharmed and taken to nearby djibouti. it has been called a success because both hostages were rescued unharmed. we're told at least eight pilots were killed. that still leaves over 150 hostages, mostly sailors, held by somali pirates. there ransoms are well into the millions of dollars. george, to put this in perspective, this is a high- profile, very dramatic rescue, this will not solve the problem of piracy. if anything, it could drive some of the pirates towards more of violent action. there's an unconfirmed report going around today that pirates have amputated the arm of a sea captain as punishment because his company will not pay the ransom. a really terrifying ordeal for offle held by pirates somalia. >> barack obama, the president, has to behave presidential. barack obama, the politician, has to go after the opposition. more fair america,re where the rich carry what he called a fair share of the burden. bluntly, more taxes. "class warfare" shouted his opponents. let's go to washington and our correspondent, adam br

sources say about two dozen seals jumped from a transport plane near the desert town of djibouti. moving quickly and quietly, the commandos crept about a mile and a half to a nearby camp where u.s. intelligence had determined american aid worker jessica buchanan, and deignis coworker poul hagen thisted were being held. as the seals closed in on the somali kidnappers, shots were fired. all nine of the suspects were killed, but there were no american casualties. two army helicopters swooped in, picked up the seals and the freed captives, and carried them to safety in djibouti. they were kidnapped october 25 in a lawless region of somalia where pirates and criminal gangs used kidnapping as money-making operations. the two were working in that area with a group clearing mines and unexploded bombs. a senior administration official says president obama decided monday night to launch the rescue after fresh intelligence revealed that buchanan's health was quickly deteriorating. the successful mission came just nine months after seal team 6 tracked down and killed osama bin laden. on "cbs

hands and headed for djibouti. by 8:45 last night, as he walked into the capitol, the hostages had still not arrived in djibouti. but cameras caught this moment, president obama congratulating secretary of defense leon panetta. >> good job tonight. good job tonight. >> reporter: buchanan had been a dedicated aid worker, focusing on demianing. she suffers from an undisclosed medical condition, that after three months in captivity, was deemed life-threatening, triggering the mission. back in washington, at 10:32 p.m., with the hostages confirmed safe, the president called jessica's father to tell him his daughter was free. jessica's family received the good news, as well. >> it's such an answer to all our prayers. i mean, i can never tell them how thankful i really am for what they do and what they did. >> reporter: the family hopes to reunite with jessica in the next day or two, after final medical evaluations. but she's said to be doing well, david, considering all these been through. >> we're all glad to hear that

and then the hostages were taken to djibouti, where the u.s. has its biggest military camp here in africa. just northeast of where i am here in kenya. really dramatic stuff and really anything could have gone wrong and it didn't. so many people who know jessica buchanan here are so relieved that she's out there alive after 92 days. >> i want to ask you, you're in nairobi. you talked about the hostages not too far from you in djibouti. as i understand it, jessica's husband lives in nairobi and obviously he is awaiting her return to this part of the world and also her dad is en route from the u.s. it's what, 1:00 in the afternoon there? what's the status? >> reporter: well, at the moment, we're hearing many reports from different sources. abc news is reporting that her dad will be reunited with her in italy. we're hearing that jessica buchanan's husband who actually lived in somalia with her, has left somalia and he's on his way to djibouti. the white house has not confirmed any of this. we are working our sources to just find out when this meeti

blackhawk helicopters swooped down, picked up the s.e.a.l.s and hostages and headed for djibouti. the first hint that something extraordinary had taken place took at 9:08 p.m., back on capitol hill in washington. as we walked into the house chamber for his state of the union address, the president was seen congratulating secretary of defense leon panetta. >> leon, good job tonight. good job tonight. >> reporter: the president said nothing of the rescue during the speech. and it was not until afterwards, with buchanan finally in safe hands, that he was able to call buchanan's father, to tell him that his daughter was free. jessica buchanan's husband, a swedish aid worker, and her younger brother, also received the good news. >> just answered all the prayers. you know, it just makes you proud to be an american. i can never tell them how thankful i am for what they do and what they did. >> reporter: buchanan and her colleague were captured october 25th, while visiting sites for their program, educating somali children, about the dangers of weapons in this war-torn country. buchanan,

the hostages were placed onboard and flown an american base in djibouti. by the time it was over, nine with wed. vice president biden said buchanan's health was the reason the president authorize the rescue. >> they say jessica's health what was failing. they concluded they should go at this time. the president gave the go. >> reporter: the aid workers' convoy was attacked last october by criminals seeking random. -- ransom. their come bound was ripe with pirates and ban of did its. -- and bandits. there was an indication something was up when the president greeted defense second father net >> the president: good job.gm >> reporter: minutes after the address the president phoned jessica's father to tell him his daughter was safe. t.j. winick, abc news, new york. >> president of the college buchanan he attends says she is doing quell -- doing well. she attended a college in pennsylvania. the college president told cnn by phone that cuban none's family can hardly wait to -- that buchanan's family can hardly wait to see her again. >> the word is that she is s

the hostages were placed onboard and flown an american base in djibouti. by the time it was over, nine with wed. vice president biden said buchanan's health was the reason the president authorize the rescue. >> they say jessica's health what was failing. they concluded they should go at this time. the president gave the go. >> reporter: the aid workers' convoy was attacked last october by criminals seeking random. -- ransom. their come bound was ripe with pirates and ban of did its. -- and bandits. there was an indication something was up when the president greeted defense second father net >> the president: good job.gm >> reporter: minutes after the address the president phoned jessica's father to tell him his daughter was safe. t.j. winick, abc news, new york. >> president of the college buchanan he attends says she is doing quell -- doing well. she attended a college in pennsylvania. the college president told cnn by phone that cuban none's family can hardly wait to -- that buchanan's family can hardly wait to see her again. >> the word is that she is s

facility in neighboring djibouti. and there was some urgency to this operation as vice president biden indicated just a moment ago. apparently, according to officials we're talking to, the fbi, which had been in contact with the kidnappers, had determined that jessica buchanan was suffering from some severe infection that apparently could have threatened her life. so they, the fbi in this case, had actually asked the military if it was time to intervene, and then on monday, president obama gave the order to undertake the operation. the decision was paid on tuesday to go in on wednesday night or early wednesday morning actually. somalia time. and the rescue was pulled off flawlessly. the s.e.a.l.s killed the nine kidnappers. loaded the two on a helicopter, took them to djibouti. and it's not clear how long it will be before they're cleared to return to the united states or in the case of the dane of course, to denmark, craig. >> jim miklaszewski from the pentagon for thus afternoon. mick, thank you. >> you bet. >>> pre

state in neighboring djibouti. >> the president authorized to this. we have our special operations forces. i will not go into further detail. they concluded that they should go at this time. >> his relief last night was obvious. this could have gone very wrong. >> a good job, denied. >> -- >> good job, tonight. >> the calculated risk had paid off. it was the highest profile u.s. military action in somalia since they pulled up in 1994 could it still leaves 150 hostages, most of them sailors. the ransom for their release is rising, well into the millions. >> these ransoms are making the situation in the economy in somalia work. millions of dollars are being poured into a criminal economy in a country that is correct the security, administration and where there are millions starving -- that is bereft of security, administration and where there are millions starving. >> there will be calling an international conference on somalia next month. the kidnapping will not stop with a single rescue operation. preparations are underway to hold the next victims to

>> we're told two dozen seals from seal team 6, one of the most elite commando units left djibouti on-130 aircraft, parachuted into this encampment in northern somalia and shots were fired. they killed nine of these criminal, alleged criminals, whatever you want to call them. they grabbed the hostages, no casualties among the seals and the hostages were in pretty good shape and they left by helicopter and went back to djibouti. >> brown: and they grabbed some of the kidnappers? >> we're told it's not the case now. >> brown: oh, i've seen it moving around here. so right now it looks like none? >> we were told by the f.b.i. there were several who were apprehended but the pentagon is denying that saying no one was apprehended in this case. >> brown: you were just there peter pham. what is the situation with the government? they're unable, unwilling to deal with these criminals or pirates? >> well, the idea of a somali government, the so-called federal transitional government of somalia is a legal fiction that makes it convenient for us to pretend that there's some governing authority the

base in a neighboring area, djibouti. the entire operation lasted one hour. >> i can tell you the president personally authorized this. special operations forces, i will not go into any more detail than that. they concluded that they should go at this time, and the president gave the go. >> this could have gone very wrong. >> good job tonight, a good job tonight. >> in his state of the union address, the president commended the successful operation and also talked the news -- talked about the news that the risk paid off. the high-profile military action in somalia since u.s. forces pulled out of there in 1994. it still leaves over 150 hostages, mostly sailors, held by the somali pirate and bandits, and the ransoms for their release are going higher, running into the millions. >> this is making the situation and the economy in somalia worse. millions of dollars being pulled into the criminal economy in a country that is bereft of security administration and where there are millions starving. >> one of those still held in s

two army choppers were called in and carried the seal team and the hostages to djibouti. >> i'm sure it was well-planned and timed. they used the element of surprise. >> president obama did not mention the rescue during his state of the union address. but as he arrived, he congratulated the defense secretary, leon panetta on the rescue. >> good job tonight. >>> after his speech, the president called jessica buchanan's father to tell him the good news. his daughter had been rescued. a senior administration official said the president decided monday to launch the raid after intelligence sources revealed buchanan's health was deteriorating. she and her danish colleague were kidnapped in october. they were working with an aid group when they were ab ducked. those who know buchanan say she fell in love with africa while a student in pennsylvania. news of the rescue came as a relief to students and faculty. >> she's a person of devotion, a person of resolve, a person of commitment. >> ever since we heard that she was kidnapped, we've been praying for her every single day. >> the obama admi

we understand that jessica buchanan and paul tisted are safe and are on their way into djibouti. that is where americans have a base. >> we are used to people being picked up at sea. that is common practice now. what does this tell us about the way in which pilots are prepared to operate now? >> they were picked up in central somalia in broad daylight, the two aid workers. the security team actually picked off the gang that held them at gunpoint. they were betrayed by their own security. haveof the attacks at seat become more difficult because there are more armed guards protecting those vessels. so there has been a spy in the number of kidnappings and abductions in somalia and across the border in kenya. gangs are looking to try to take people hostage on land instead of at asea. -- at sea. nevertheless, it is the same people. then they are held on the coast and there's usually a very long wait for a large ransom. in this case they were taken back in october. so they are very lucky to have gotten out after a relatively short time in captivity. >> that's true. thank you very much.

military base in djibouti. president obama called jessica's father to tell him his daughter had been freed. they were working for a danish relief organization when they were kidnapped three months ago. the fbi was in constant contact with the kidnappers. in a white house briefing this week, president obama was told buchanan's health had taken a turn for the worse. on monday night, the president ordered the u.s. military to launch the rescue operation. this morning on "today," vice president joe biden said they simply had run out of options. >> the president authorized yesterday because special operations forces said this was the time. jessica's health was given beginning to decline. she is a young woman in her 30s. we wanted to act and they did. >> reporter: at the danish refugee council where the two hostages work, incredible relief. >> very happy to hear that this hardship situation has been been for more than three months is now over. >> reporter: there are reports tonight that the kidnappers recently reject

jessica buchanan spent her first full night of freedom in djibouti. she's in good shape, given all she has been through. this morning, jessica buchanan is at a u.s. military base in italy to reunite with loved ones after three terrifying months in captivity. >> she said i feel safe for the first time in 93 days. the men that risked their lives, you just can't say enough. it's -- really, really appreciate it. >> reporter: we're learning new details about the raid tuesday night that saved the 32-year-old buchanan and fellow aid worker 60-year-old poul thisted. seen here in a proof of life video shot last october. >> poul and i are alive. >> reporter: at about 1:40 a.m. somalia time, 5:40 in washington. s.e.a.l. team six was aboard a c-130 moving rapidly toward the target. a remote encampment, deep in northern somalia. one by one, the s.e.a.l.s hurled themselves out of the plane in high altitude. they parachuted silently to within a few miles of the hideout and then hiking in. within minutes, gunfire erupted from the kidnappers, but the s.e.a.l.s quickly

jessica buchanan spent her first full night of freedom in djibouti. this morning, jessica buchanan is on her way to a u.s. military base in italy, to reunite with loved ones. after three terrifying months in captivity. >> she says i feel safe for the first time in 93 days. the men at the risked their lives, you just can't say enough. it's -- really really appreciate it. >> reporter: we're learning new details about the raid tuesday night that saved the 32-year-old buchanan and fellow aid worker 60-year-old poul thisted. seen here in a proof of life video shot last october. >> poul and i are alive. >> reporter: at about 1:40 a.m. somalia time, s.e.a.l. team six was aboard a clrks-130 moving rapidly toward the target. a remote enkamcampment, deep in northern somalia. they parachuted silently to within a few miles of the hi hideout and then hiking in. beginfire erupted. the s.e.a.l.s quickly killed all nine of the heavily armed men. by 2:30 a.m. local time, the hostages, now in u.s. hands, were moving on board blackhawk helicopters headed for djibouti. b

military base in djibouti. president obama says buchanan is on her way home. the state of the union last night, president obama seemed pleased with the success of the mission. he pointed to defense secretary leon panetta as he entered the house chamber. >> good job tonight. >> the president is crediting the extraordinary capability of our special forces and could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission. a daring rescue by navy seals freeing those hostages in somalia including one of the hostages from virginia. more later. brianne carter reporting. >> are other big story, the state of the union address. president obama takes his debt message on the road today visiting the first of five battleground states. >> the president called for a return to economic equality last night and laid out an ambitious plan to get the nation on the right track. john gonzalez is live on capitol hill with reaction. good morning. >> good morning. the president warned last night that the economic disparity and threatens the middle class, if a message that is clearly

>> reporter: what we know the raid was launched from a camp in djibouti. where the most of the drone flights from horn of africa and yemen are flown out of. we understand the hostages were taken there and still on the ground there. president obama spoke last night to jessica buchanan's father. we have a picture released by the white house. that seal team as well as hostages flew to djibouti after they freed the hostages and killed the nine somali captors. bill: jennifer. breaking news this morning. when you get more come on back, thanks, at the pentagon. martha: you heard him last night. president obama saying everyone has to pay their fair share he believes. he laid out his economic vision for america in the state of the union address last night. the president says that the wealthy should pay more in taxes, not less. >> tax reform should follow the buffett rule. if you make more than a million dollars a year you should not pay less than 30% in taxes. and my republican friend tom coburn is right. washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. in fact if

and they weren't yet back to djibouti, the american base, but we knew at that point that they were safelled jessica's father right after the big speech, when she was safely at an american base in africa. only then did he go public with what the s.e.a.l.s had accomplished. an interesting thing here, too, we'd heard all week that one of the reasons that the raid became so urgent was because she had this kind of deteriorating health condition. that turned out not to be true at all because they really didn't want to -- they didn't want to make it seem like they could get the ransom up because she was ill. you know, that was a way to kind of downplay that whole thing. so that was very interesting. she's not sick. she is okay according to some reports. >> and they wanted to keep it low profile on purpose. they didn't want to, you know, blow it out of the water for lack of a better term, just so that -- the somali captors didn't think that they had some sort of celebrity or somebody that was worth a high ransom. >> exactly. >> intentional. >> well played all the way around, politically and mil

helicopters swooped in, carrying buchanan and thisted to an american base in djibouti.e highly classified operation ended just before the state of the union address. there was an indication something was up when president obama pointed out defense secretary leon panetta. >> good job tonight. good job tonight. >> reporter: jessica's brother stephen released this statement -- "it is a great day to be an american. we are very proud and very thankful to s.e.a.l. team 6." a teaching colleague of buchanan's from kenya was overwhelmed by the good news. >> excitement. also just tears of joy coming. and just excitement and just almost giddiness. >> reporter: the timing of the operation was due to the worsening of a pre-existing undisclosed medical condition that jessica is said to suffer from. rob and paula? >> it sounds like they got her out just in the nick of time before her health really took a turn for the worse. she's 32 years old, that woman, too. >> and the mission, they parachuted in, had to walk a couple of miles, and then they took out all of their captors. they were

the use of an austere base in djibouti for the recent soft rescue of two aid workers held in somalia is just an example of how effective such presence can be. and even if we no longer size our army and marine corps for large-scale multiyear stability operations such as those in afghanistan and iraq. we are establishing ways to retain a key expertise and the lessons learned so that subsequent generation of americans does not have to painfully relearn them as we did after vietnam. the underlying theme that runs through all of this is an emphasis on flexibility, agility, readiness, on retaining capability across the full spectrum of missions. this is the key to sustaining our leadership in an era of complex challenges and hard fiscal choices. consider, for example, one of the most discussed words in the strategic guidance, and i mentioned it before, reversibility. some have seized on this word as a sign that some of our principles are not firmly fixed, or that our decisions on key programs are subject to rapid change. in fact, reversibility mean something completely different. it refers

helicopters picked up the seals and captives and flew them safely to the african nation of djibou djibouti. >> the fact that they were able to get in, get both hostages out, kill all nine bad guys and not get an american killed is just a tribute to how good these guys realry. >> cbs news spoke to jessica buchanan's father john who spoke with his daughter tuesday night. she was emotional but good. she's got health issues, not life-threatening, she'll be fine. she said daddy, i love you and i'll be fine. she was kidnapped along with paul hagen thisted. they reached out to the family through aid organization. the families use private negotiators working in tandem with u.s. officials to try and secure their release. buchanan's father told us the fbi were looking over their shoulder the whole time. they were efficient, kind they were on top of everything. new intelligence that buchanan's health has gotten worse prompted the decision to use military force. meanwhile, half a world away, president obama was preparing his state of the union address when he got word that seal team 6, the same team t

base in djibouti. buchanan and thisted were working for a danish aid organization, were helping with defining when their convoy was attacked last october. u.s. officials say the attackers were common criminals and pirates, seeking ransome. the head of the aid organization told abc news this morning that the 32-year-old buchanan has been strong throughout. the operation which had been highly classified, ended just before the president gave his state of the union address last night. he gave a tip that something was afoot when he pointed out defense secretary leon panetta. >> leon. good job tonight. good job tonight. >> reporter: but president obama made no mention of the rescue, nor did the head of special operations, who was a guest of the first lady, admiral bill mccraven. it was mccraven, a navy s.e.a.l., who played a big role in the bin laden mission. the president authorized the raid on monday. when he spoke to jessica's father last night, he said americans have jessica in their thoughts and prayers

has military camp, a navy base, in djibouti, right to the northwest of somalia there, and that has been really set up to improve the security of the entire region. and very useful, we think, in this operation indeed. >> all right. david mckenzie, thank you, david. >>> it is a bittersweet day for arizona congressman gabrielle giffords, she just formally resigned from congress so she can focus on recovering from the brain injury that she suffered when she was shot last year. her farewell just a short time ago, very emotional on the house floor. >> i am so proud of my friend, and it will always be one of the great treasures of my life to have met gabby giffords and to have served with her in this body. we have all been through such a tumultuous year. the nation has been through a tumultuous year. no one more tumultuous than gabby and her family and her constituents in her beloved home city of tucson, arizona. >> that was giffords' friend and colleague congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz reading her resignation. i want to bring in dana bash who was in the house during the ceremony. it wa

military base in nearby gentlemdjibout djibouti. there were signs that jessica buchanan's health had taken a turn for the worse. and that it was even life-threatening. monday night, with no time to lose, the president ordered the u.s. military to launch the rescue operation. >> good job tonight. >> only a day later as president obama delivered his state of the union address, the hostages were already on their flight to freedom. at 32 years old, buchanan had already devoted her life to the african people. teaching school and doing relief work for somali refugees. at the valley forge christian college in pennsylvania, where she earned a degree in teaching, college president dr. don meyer said africa was in her blood. >> when she came back, she couldn't, she literally could not talk about africa without tears in her eyes. because of her burden to make a difference and help. >> edward zoomy, a name, said her father, john, had been worried about jessica for months. >> you could tell it was always on his mind. of course it was, it was his