Posted on 04/11/2009 5:56:12 AM PDT by kellynla
When Somali Muslim pirates raided the Alabama on Wednesday, the U.S.-flagged cargo ship was cruising the Indian Ocean en route to Mombassa. The 21 Americans in the crew were trying to deliver tons of food and other agricultural materials for the World Food Program, to be distributed among destitute Muslims in that Kenyan port city, and beyond.
“Hearts and minds” — that has been the theme music of the anti-anti-terrorism chorus for eight years. George W. Bush freed 50 million Muslims from tyranny and gave them a chance to make better lives even as the rigors of doing so devoured his presidency — all the while launching, for Africa, the most generously funded program for AIDS prevention and treatment in history. For his trouble, he was branded an unfeeling, unilateralist cowboy by Democrats and the international Left, the erstwhile champions of nation-building and universal health care.
His successor has been only too quick to cement the slander. When not bowing to the Saudi monarch (admittedly, only slightly more nauseating than Bush’s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” jaunt with His Oil Highness), Pres. Barack Obama bleated across Europe that America has been “arrogant.” By his lights, our actions since 9/11 (which include writing constitutions for Iraq and Afghanistan that enshrined sharia, the Muslim legal code, as governing law) have suggested we are “at war with Islam.”
For Barack Obama, hearts and minds are about Barack Obama — things to be fondly turned to him at the expense of a country that does more for human rights, and more for Muslims, than any nation has ever done. Indeed, Obama’s signature (and thankfully failed) legislative proposal during his short warm-up act in the Senate was the “Global Poverty” bill, a trillion-dollar redistribution from the American taxpayer to the “international community.” Back then, Senator Obama chided his countrymen for not doing their part while the lavish American foreign-aid spigot — far and away the world’s most munificent — poured out the perennial $21 billion, not counting additional billions in emergency military expeditions to aid victims of earthquake, tsunami, and war.
But as the hearts-and-minds game goes on, the “international community” on the receiving end stands unimpressed as ever. Turns out it’s a jungle out there. What impresses, as all America’s enemies from the Barbary pirates through Osama bin Laden have always known, is the strong horse against the weak horse. What makes possible global trade, which turns into American wealth, which turns into unparalleled American largesse, is American might — American might and an American commitment to use that might as necessary to ensure a civilized global order.
“Civilized” is a much-misunderstood word, thanks to the “rule of law” crowd that is making our planet an increasingly dangerous place. Civilization is not an evolution of mankind but the imposition of human good on human evil. It is not a historical inevitability. It is a battle that has to be fought every day, because evil doesn’t recede willingly before the wheels of progress.
There is nothing less civilized than rewarding evil and thus guaranteeing more of it. High-minded as it is commonly made to sound, it is not civilized to appease evil, to treat it with “dignity and respect,” to rationalize its root causes, to equivocate about whether evil really is evil, and, when all else fails, to ignore it — to purge the very mention of its name — in the vain hope that it will just go away. Evil doesn’t do nuance. It finds you, it tests you, and you either fight it or you’re part of the problem.
The men who founded our country and crafted our Constitution understood this. They understood that the “rule of law” was not a faux-civilized counterweight to the exhibition of might. Might, instead, is the firm underpinning of law and of our civilization. The Constitution explicitly recognized that the United States would have enemies; it provided Congress with the power to raise military forces that would fight them; it made the chief executive the commander-in-chief, concentrating in the presidency all the power the nation could muster to preserve itself by repelling evil. It did not regard evil as having a point of view, much less a right to counsel.
That’s not our position anymore. The scourge of piracy was virtually wiped out in 19th century because its practitioners were regarded as barbarians — enemies of the human race (hostis humani generis, as Bret Stephens recently reminded us in a brilliant Wall Street Journal essay). They derived no comfort from the rule of law, for it was not a mark of civilization to give them comfort. The same is true of unlawful enemy combatants, terrorists who scoffed at the customs of civilized warfare. To regard them as mere criminals, to assume the duty of trying to understand why they would brutalize innocents, to arm them with rights against civilized society, was not civilized.
We don’t see it that way anymore. Evil is now just another negotiation. Pirates and terrorists are better known for their human rights than for their inhuman wrongs. On Thursday, America’s commander-in-chief didn’t want to talk about the pirates — “Guys, we’re talking about housing right now,” he chided a reporter who dared to raise the topic as the Somalis held the American ship’s captain hostage. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, was dispatched to assure the public that the world would come together to deal with this “criminal activity” — a relief if you were wondering whether the naval destroyer on the scene was equipped with Miranda-warning cards.
This is the self-destructive straitjacket for which transnational progressives are fitting us. Indeed, the Law of the Sea Treaty — a compact Obama would commit us to — has hopelessly complicated the rules of engagement under which the pirates have thrived, just as Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions (a treaty Ronald Reagan was prudent enough to reject) has become an offensive weapon for jihadists everywhere. Having harnessed ourselves, we are once again the weak horse.
Except for one thing: The Americans on the Alabama, like the Americans on Flight 93, didn’t wait for the international community to send the pirates a strong letter. They saw evil, they took it on, and as a result they took their ship and their lives back. The president may not think the United States is a particularly exceptional country, but you can bet Islamic radicals on land and sea noticed that dealing with a U.S. crew is an exceptional experience. There remains something in the American character that won’t slide so easily into the straitjacket.
Words to live by all right, and words that OB will never, never understand.
Perfect analogy (not that OB would understand, of course).
You're not inferring that since I have (thankfully) never been in a military combat situation that I have no right to keep and bear arms for the protection of my or my loved ones lives are you?
at the risk of being misunderstood, 'welcome to the internet generation'! here, we have to make sure that our 'game ports' are at the ready. In a previous day, we'd have had arms at the ready! Thanks for the article and your service!
no need for an American to die, as long as Jimmuh Carter Rules of Engagement are NOT implemented!
Pretty much explains the Chicago Machine now occupying DC!
How many times has the act of attempting to defend, and at least having the means to attempt to do so, stopped bad things from happening?
Also, what is the "hit" rate of fire in military operations? WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam...
Would guess many rounds did not hit anything. That isn't to say they didn't serve a purpose.
Honestly, not trying to be argumentative, or make a point that training isn't important. Just trying to make the point that sometimes you don't get to pick the situation you end up in and at least having the tools to help you survive is a first step.
How a person reacts to such a situation - that's a wild card. As another pointed out - they had seen well trained Marines freeze in such situations. Guess it depends on the situation and the person.
Looking for a fight - I see your point. If the fight comes to you,wouldn't it be best to be as prepared as you can?
You seem to have a problem connecting the dots, unless you and your family are merchant marines. Happy sailing cowboy!
Obama is a socialist pacifist , what would we expect?! Still, he could redeem himself if he told the Court to stuff it and arm all merchant marine ships from America. He then should order the Navy to sink every ship coming out of Somalia without warning. Just kill every one of them. He will never do it because he is not pro-American life only our enemies will do for life as Chavez, Castro, these demonic pirates, the Iranian thug and the Korean with a bad haircut. This guy is actually making me ill.
Yes, I read it a couple of years ago and agree it is an excellent book!
Your additional two points are correct. I was operating from memory and missed them.
The real pirates of this world are the lawyers, politicians, and environmentalists running wild these days. These Somalis are chump change.
However, roguish Somalis do make dashing, swaggering pictures with their RPGs and AK47s. Pasty Bawney Frank, fatso Chris Dodd, slimey Franklin Raines, oleaginous Barak Hussein Obama and the legions of "legal" brigands do not make nearly as sexy pictures even though they have stolen thousands of times as much.
I wish we could get our Navy to take them out as well...
She does act as if she's high or stoned...
Avoid the question, fine by me...
"There is nothing less civilized than rewarding evil and thus guaranteeing more of it. High-minded as it is commonly made to sound, it is not civilized to appease evil, to treat it with “dignity and respect,” to rationalize its root causes, to equivocate about whether evil really is evil, and, when all else fails, to ignore it — to purge the very mention of its name — in the vain hope that it will just go away. Evil doesn’t do nuance. It finds you, it tests you, and you either fight it or you’re part of the problem."
What? You think you are the only one on FR who has been in a firefight? You are terribly rude to pnh102, knowing absolutely nothing about them. For all you know he/she may be a soldier on duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Packing heat is used by many people in real life not just on TV. I am 67 years old, have served my country and been in several firefights. Most people do ok, some don't.
The 20 Americans who took back their ship certainly did well, especially when you consider they are not armed but the pirates were "packing heat" in the form of AK47s.
You want someone to stow their talk I would suggest that you take your own advice.
Your suggestion went into the “round file” LOL
The HUGE difference in my posts on firearms and 99% of the “keyboard cowboys” on FR; is that I have had years of combat experience.
Happy Easter
I changed my mind about that conversation you had with mr. “I’ve killed before”. Those scumbag pirates from somalia are now saying they will kill Americans. Ships sailing in that area should have weapons. Big Weapons.
And the events of this weekend prove this to be true. Armed people saved the day.
I would never have the reason to argue with the knowledge of one of our nations service men or women. They certainly know more than I do on that front, and they know more about the training, and unfortunately the realities that go along with combat situations.
Reading the posts I just felt, that there was some kind of bias or neglect regarding the need and importance of people understanding that they ultimately have the responsiblity to protect themselves and should take the steps necessary to have the tools to do so if at all possible.
I also felt that the exact same arguments being posted were earily familiar to those of anti-2nd Amendment groups. Hit a nerve I suppose.
If the untrained and ill equipped go looking for a fight - well that's a different issue. Being prepared in case trouble comes looking for you - well, that is what I hope to accomplish. Not saying I want to storm the beaches at Normanday - just that if the beach comes to me, I at least want to have the tools (literally and figuratively) to help me get to higher ground.
I never want to test that, but hope that if I am tested, I will make a good showing at least.
Take care.
With all due respect...
I don't want your experience. I hope to never have that experience. I'd prefer it if nobody did.
That said, I will call you a fool or even dangerous if you intend to direct people not to be prepared to a reasonable extent to take on the responsibility of ensuring their own safety.
If some idiot comes on here and asks where they can jump the next ship to pirateland so they can live out some deranged fantasy associated with shooting up the bad guys - have at them, please. Make them hear that unique metallic ripping sound of a round flying too near by. Let them know the hell that such situations entail, the reality of the losses and I am sure pain.
But for those that post asking why not be prepared for trouble if trouble comes to find you...
I see a world of difference between what you consider a keyboard cowboy, and what another might see as a keyboard boyscout - just trying to look into the options for always being prepared.
Take care and thanks for your service.
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