Panetta Promises 'Proper' Response to Algerian Terror Attack

Speaking from Rome, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said the U.S. will take “all necessary and proper steps” in response to the attack and subsequent hostage crisis in Algeria. 

Panetta called it a “terrorist act” and said “it is a very serious matter when Americans are taken hostage, along with others.”

Yesterday, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb made it clear that the targeting of Americans was intentional–that it was a way to send a message that the U.S. will “face the consequences” if they help the French fight Malian Islamists in southeast Algeria.

Panetta provided no timeline for a U.S. response, however, one has to wonder if the U.S. might be prepared to carry out its “proper” response sooner rather than later, since an untold number of hostages have already been killed.