Afghans sheltered SEAL from Taliban

CNN:

Afghan villagers sheltered a U.S. Navy SEAL wounded in a battle last month with the Taliban until they could get word to American forces to rescue him, a military official said Monday. The SEAL was part of a four-man reconnaissance team that went missing June 28 after calling for help during a firefight in the mountains near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. ... An Afghan villager found the SEAL and hid him in his village, the official said. According to military accounts, Taliban fighters came to the village and demanded the American be turned over, but villagers refused. The SEAL wrote a note verifying his identity and location, and a villager carried it to U.S. forces, the official said. The note indicated to U.S. troops that they wouldn't be entering into a trap. The commando was rescued July 3.

Apparently, we are not totally failing in the battle for hearts and minds in Afghanstan and the Muslim world. These villagers were very brave, and doubtless risked their lives both for this particular SEAL, and in a larger sense, for a free Afghanistan. I honor their courage.