They recognized that the growing threat of global terrorism heightened the prospect that Americans would be taken hostage overseas. A special unit was needed, they argued, to rescue them. Unfortunately, Delta Force's first notoriety stemmed from failure. Some of its members participated in the botched Desert One operation in 1979 to free 66 American hostages from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Bad publicity struck again in 1993 when the ill-conceived manhunt for Somalia warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid ended in the ambush of a U.S. special forces unit and the death of 18 soldiers.
Many successes remain secret.
In any conflict involving American troops, Delta Force is on the scene prepared for a hostage situation. They also perform reconnaissance deep inside enemy lines and join with other commando units, such as Navy Seals, on special missions. Delta Force members were believed to have penetrated Iraqi territory during the 1991 Persian Gulf war in a hunt for ballistic missile launchers. The reason they keep their identities secret is to protect Americans from the world's most dangerous terrorists. The issue of Delta Force aiding the FBI at Waco is not new.