After that, when told of some hostage in Somalia and a SEAL Team ready to snatch them, the timing was probably up to the White House. No way do I believe that the rescue just “happened” to occur in perfect timing to be announced by Obama at the SOTU address.
Yep. Tail wagging dog exercise. Obama has learned that JSOC gives him carte blanche service with a high probability of success. It's one of the very few things he can grasp to in a hurry for a glory plug. You know that op was set to go for weeks waiting for a myriad of factors to line up. Barry pulled it off the shelf, probably within a week of his SOTU speech.
Yep, agreed. Obama and team know they can order the brass to jump on command. And it will work—in the short term. But the leaks and memoirs will be scathing. I hope some of the leaks are in time to help derail his reelection.