Posted on 04/14/2009 8:55:43 AM PDT by presidio9
Sept. 19 is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Courageous Captain Rescued by Navy Seals View SlideshowCaptain Richard Phillips, who has been held by Somali pirates since Wednesday in a small life boat off of Africa, has been freed. After this weekend, April 12 might become International Keelhaul A Pirate Day. With a rescue of captured Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama -- and killing the Somali pirates holding him hostage -- the US Navy created a feel-good Easter story.
Even more significantly in a political sense, President Barack Obama suddenly makes himself look rather different on the national security front than either of his two Democratic predecessors.
When Americans hear the words "hostage," memories inevitably arise of the 444-day ordeal 30 years ago when embassy staff was held captive by Iranian revolutionaries. That stand-off helped destroy President Jimmy Carter's popularity. Adding to the feelings of impotence, were Carter's rescue orders that ended in eight U.S. helicopters crashing in the Iranian desert. Between the national security debacle and the deteriorating economy, Carter looked ineffective all around.
The final humiliation was when the hostages weren't released until Ronald Reagan took the oath of office Jan. 20, 1981.
Even closer to the Somali shoreline where Phillips was taken by pirates, 18 members of the armed services lost their lives in a Mogadishu battle with Somali rebels in October of 1993 -- most after two Black Hawk helicopters were downed by rocket-propelled grenades. The incident was chronicled in the book and movie Black Hawk Down. Following the battle, President Clinton ordered U.S. forces out of Somalia -- a response that Osama bin Laden has referenced as an example that America will back down when confronted.
Though the stakes were much different in this latest hostage situation, President Obama has shown that he's willing to act quite decisively. By giving the go-ahead to the Navy, Obama shows that he is willing to use force -- successfully -- in order to free an American. No U.S. individual was harmed, and the pirates were given a strong message: America under President Obama will not wait forever to negotiate with pirates. It also sends a clear message on how the civilized world needs to react to the expanding pirate presence off the coast of Somalia.
But for Obama, the timing couldn't have been better -- mere days after he returned from a foreign trip offering words of conciliation to the world. There, he apologized for America acting "arrogant." Well, now back in the White House, the president seemed to borrow advice from Teddy Roosevelt: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
Or at least an accurate sniper's rifle.
So far in the three months that Obummer has been president, this is THE FIRST THING HE GOT RIGHT!
He put a halt on pirate activity, you know, or was that shooting teenage pirate failures.
I don't think Presidents are expected to stand idly by, holding their council until they see which way the wind is blowing.
Wait a minute! I thought Carter was a great president, wasn’t he? Now we have a second admission. Not only did President Roosevelt’s policies fail, now that The Messiah is expanding on them, now President Carter’s policies were inadequate, too. Isn’t it great.
Oh Lord!....now he’s Teddy Roosevelt?....Please!....All he did was tell the Navy Captian, it’s your call. If you f___ it up then your going under the bus otherwise I will take the credit and let the media add Teddy Roosevelt characteristics to my resume.....
Good thing for him it happened now and not AFTER he has gutted the military. The resources he called upon may not exist in three years.
What was Obama’s alternative?
Tell the Navy, “No. I order you not to hurt the hijackers!”
Hussein lets the SEALS kill some punk teenagers after the captain escapes, and blood rushes to the nether regions of NBC's "journalists".
If this was Bush they would be saying “President Orders Murder of Somali Teenagers”
The only differences between Carter and Obama are that Obama is even further to the left and has even less experience.
If it had been Bush yesterday, NBC would be ranting and raving about how these poor misunderstood pirates didn’t the benefit of a doubt, legal aid, and a fair trial.
By calling in the FBI to handle an international hostage incident? Then waiting for days to plug a few scumbags with sniper shots? Is this what passes for "national security" manliness?
Good grief.
The ship was under attack for a week?
Where was Obama’s steely resolve when the crew needed him PRIOR to being boarded?
He didn’t put a halt to the pirates. They just took 4 more ships. I believe his hand was forced by our military. Just a gut feeling here. Now he is talking about establishing a coast guard for Somalia to help them patrol their own waters. More money going to Somalia? Guess who will be getting the coast guard ships. More sea power to the pirates?
Thump ... thump ...
Carter and Clinton, under the bus. Is nothing sacred? I’m waiting for them to trash Kennedy and FDR.
zerO didn’t “get it right”- the on-scene commander and the sniper team got it right
there is still time for zerO’s bolsheviks to demand an investigation and mull over whether to prosecute the military for hastily killing untrained teenage pirates because they were black poor muslims
“Oh Lord!....now he’s Teddy Roosevelt?...”
Teddy Roosevelt is just one of his many personalities. So far he is Abe Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, JFK, and Ronald Reagan. He can’t even lift a big stick, let alone wield one.
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