Posted on 04/24/2009 3:55:12 PM PDT by Starman417
Stung by the widely circulated “SEAL pals” account of what really happened in Somalia (discussed here last Friday), the Obama administration had National Security Advisor James L. Jones and a number of anonymous Pentagon sources give their side two days ago in a Washington Times exclusive. Their mission, according to reporter Bill Gertz, was:
... to dispel Internet reports that the military was delayed from taking action by indecision inside the White House.Clintonesque parsing of words is evident throughout the Jones-Pentagon account, amounting on more than one occasion to outright dishonesty. Yet the actual information they provide (as opposed to the lawyerly spin they try to put on it) actually confirms the most damning details in BooBooFan’s purported SEAL report.
Exhibit 1: The Rules Of Engagement.
BooBooFan states the ROE this way:
Once [SEAL teams] arrived, BHO imposed restrictions on their ROE that they couldn't do anything unless the hostage's life was in "imminent" danger.The Pentagon’s rebuttal states the ROE without any requirement that the danger be "imminent":
"It took awhile to get facts and then to get the military on scene," said one senior military official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing special forces operations. "As the picture got more clear and commanders' requests went back down the chain, the guidance was: 'We would like a peaceful resolution. However, if Captain Phillips' life is in danger you can take appropriate action.'But we know from Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, speaking at the time of the incident, that the ROE did specify "imminent danger," and that this was interpreted literally:
Navy officers aboard the USS Bainbridge were in the midst of a drawn-out hostage negotiation when Navy snipers saw one of the pirates aim his AK-47 machine gun at Capt. Richard Phillips's back and concluded the American was in "imminent danger," said Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of naval forces in the Middle East.Gertz’ report includes Gortney’s earlier statement, but without any comment on its inconsistency with the current rebuttals. Intead, Gertz just relays the interpretation that is presented to him, where the Pentagon dismisses the “imminent danger” claim by denying that the ROE was in any way restrictive:
The posting also stated that rules of engagement imposed by the president prevented action unless the hostage's life was in imminent danger.The military official said the commander had authority to take action at all times because Mr. Phillips was being held at gunpoint.
Yes, but as soon as the pirates took their weapons OFF of Philips, our sailors were barred from taking action. This is exactly the opportunity they would have been waiting for in order TO take action. So the ROE was, you are free to take action, UNTIL you have an opportunity, then you can't, as actually occurred when Philips briefly escaped his captors.
Jones and the Pentagon spokesman try to cover this up, Jones by mis-stating the ROE, the Pentagon spokesman by pretending that the ROE did not really restrict anyone, but Vice Admiral Gortney's statement makes perfectly clear that the crazy ROE was followed to the letter. Instead of taking out the pirates at a moment of minimum risk to Captain Philips, they actually waited until Philips was in maximum peril. With all due credit to our soldiers for following orders, that is absolutely insane.
Exhibit 2: The passed-up rescue attempts
Here our anonymous Pentagon spokesman takes the lawyerly parsing of language to new heights, pulling off an amazing bait-and-switch.
BooBooFan’s claim is devastating if true:
The first time the hostage jumped, the SEALS had the raggies all sighted in, but could not fire due to ROE restriction.The Pentagon's reply seems to be equally devastating:
However, military officials at the Pentagon involved in the operation said Navy SEAL snipers had not arrived on board the Bainbridge at that time and therefore could not have fired on the pirates.Except BooBooFan never said it was the SEAL sniper team that had the Islamofascist pirates sighted in, and the Pentagon’s own account verifies that regular SEAL teams were already on site. In Gertz' paraphrase:
Mr. Obama first authorized a few Navy SEALs from a base in Africa to deploy to the Bainbridge and take necessary action. The team was flown by transport aircraft and parachuted to waters near the warship, officials said.The arrival of the first SEAL team gave the military an emergency capability if the pirates holding the ship’s captain became violent. Mr. Jones said the Pentagon requested a second, more complete SEAL team to be dispatched from the United States and Mr. Obama approved that request as well.
Once Captain Phillips leapt in the water, it did not require snipers to take out the pirates. As I put it in my own initial remarks on the subject:
WTF? No one was ready at the machine gun to waste the pirates when this guy got clear?According to BooBoo, a SEAL team WAS ready, and Jones' account confirms this detail. It is only some slippery use of language on the part of the Obama-defending military spokesmen that make this sound like a debunking, when it is actually a confirmation.
Exhibit 3: It was either Obama himself, or his immediate underlings, who devised the ROE
The administration’s rebuttal effort takes pains to paint the controversial Rules of Engagement as coming from CENTCOM, not the president:
(Excerpt) Read more at Flopping Aces ...
The told you so ping.....?
It is pathetic that we have a youthful, inexperienced, and indecisive man as President and attempting to micromanage military operations. This guy is a complete boob.
Disgusting, just disgusting.
Note to any American citizen currently outside our borders:
YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!!!! God be with you, because the President of the United States sure as heck is NOT!!!!
Oh man, bump this.
Can we get some pirates to DC to take hostages and pronto?
Obama is sealing his doom with his closing of Guantanamo, release of the memos, and now the photos. Our military, CIA and the FBI are seeing how quickly he will throw everyone of them under the bus, and will in turn, throw him under the bus. They aren’t going to take the fall for a loser like Bambi.
I would suspect Obama wanted Captain Phillips taken to main land and then he would have made a resolution with some old tribal families in Somalia to save Captain Phillips.
Obama - a legend in his own mind.
Fixed it.
ping
bttt
The Captain is white....the pirates are black Africans.
I’d say that if you are a WHITE American you’re on your own.
But remember, according to Jonah Goldberg we have to give credit where credit is due . . . .
Sadly, this is true.
Obama has demonstrated to the world just how worthless the individual American life is to him.
BTTT
A muslim protecting brother muslims.
LLS
This contrasts with what I would have set the ROE as if I were POTUS. I don’t care if you can resolve this peacefully I want the pirates terminated with prejudice all of them.
#8: I sure hope you’re right.
0’b said piss on the victim to be. Better put some ice on that.....
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