Naval postgraduate school monterey, california thesis

C. RECOMMENDATIONS 
This thesis developed a theory to determine the best execution time to conduct a 
hostage rescue attempt, by explaining the phenomenon of a hostage crisis 
biorhythm 
and 
proposing four hostage rescue principles essential for success—
surprise, intelligence
, 
operator’s skill, 
and 
deception.
The analysis conducted in this thesis must be 

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implemented in all counterterrorist organizations, specifically those that deal with 
hostage rescue operations. The findings in this thesis enable decision-makers at the 
strategic, operational, and tactical levels to better plan and organize hostage rescue forces 
to respond striking at the enemy’s centers of gravity and exploiting culmination points.
Additionally, this thesis enables decision-makers to comprehend the hostage crisis 
environment by providing a hostage rescue planning model that can be implemented in 
any counterterrorist joint task force to give a clear picture of possible outcomes 
throughout a hostage crisis.
Strategic special operations such as hostage rescues require the surgical precision 
of an expert counterterrorist unit. The highest levels of government must maintain the 
pulse throughout the planning, preparation, and execution of such operations. CT forces 
must be used when the opportunity comes, fully understanding the risks and benefits of 
unleashing such units on the enemy. The operational art of using a counterterrorist force 
must encompass a thorough understanding of the four principles presented in this thesis.
In a hostage crisis, engaging a terrorist threat with extreme prejudice whenever 
negotiations fail will send the correct message to the terrorist organization.
A hostage siege is a dramatic event, highly visible and effective in getting 
international attention; the terrorists will continue to use this tactic to achieve leverage.
U.S. national policy and commitment to recovering hostages must be steadfast; 
bargaining or yielding to terrorist demands only increases the likelihood of more hostages 
taken. No matter how much money is spent, or how well trained our hostage rescue 
forces are, we still have innocent people killed because of operations “gone wrong” 
(Pittman, 2003, p. 1). On the other hand, brilliant operations such as CHAVIN DE 
HUANTAR reinforce the fact that surgical hostage rescue operations do work. The U.S. 
has the best counterterrorist forces in the world. We spend billions of dollars outfitting 
and preparing them to do a job nobody wants to take responsibility for, and then expect 
no political blowback. We must let the professionals do what they do best. The U.S. 
counterterrorism strategy in the GWOT should encourage the use of CT forces 
aggressively against any hostage taker; a faint-hearted policy based on previous failures 
and risk aversion will not bring our hostages home. 

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