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 BooBooFans 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 Pentagons 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 Gortneys 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.
BooBooFans 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 Pentagons 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 ships 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 administrations rebuttal effort takes pains to paint the controversial Rules of Engagement as coming from CENTCOM, not the president:
(Excerpt) Read more at Flopping Aces ...
Thanks for the info Ern........good post !!
Brilliant, I read it twice. ( Needs to be posted as an article maybe?)
Jonah also said Republicans need to give up family values, I heard him say it with my own ears!
Good report!!!
When will I hear about this on Fox,CNN or MSNBC?
Good GOD the man is inept and ignorant. A dangerous combination.
When the good captain made his brief statement at the airport with his family, he had a long list of people and groups that he wanted to thank. Notably absent was the president. It struck me at the time- you know those moements when silence is soooo loud? I found it telling..
The teleprompter was in the repair shop for a couple of days,so he twiddled his thumbs till he got it back.
Bttt
Great post. It hints at some other Navy inside baseball that goes on, not just the SEASs vs FBI, but the ST-6 (DevGru) vs the “regular” SEALs who might have already been on scene. I wasn’t there, so I’m purely guessing, but back in the day (Greneda, for example) there was a push-pull between DevGru (then ST-6) and the “regular” SEALs. In Greneda, this led to a fatal snafu, when SEALs were parachuted into a rendesvous at sea similar to this Somalia situation, and a boat crew was lost. ST-6 just had to get into it, even though “regular” SEALs were already on scene as part of the ARG (Amphib. Ready Group).
To my thinking, having been out of this for many years, “regular” SEALs could have resolved the situation just as well as the hotshots from DevGru (ST-6). They were already there.
For that matter, the ships own self-defense weapons such as there (I believe it is) 25mm rapid fire guns, could have blown the lifeboat to confetti the SECOND that the captain jumped clear and started swimming. It is beyond my belief that they were not focused on that lifeboat second by second 24/7 with that gun, using advanced day and night optics.
The SECOND that the captain jumped for it, in a rational world, that lifeboat would have been confetti. If the situation was not being run by CYA JAG lawyers, instead of by SAILORS. (Surface Warfare and SEALs.)
Man ....even the best of the best is crapped up with elitism .......damn !
We used to have EOD teams that were and weren’t dive and jump qualified. We went out of our way to make sure we could support any and all missions handed to us, easy or tough with any alphabet agency or sister service. When we were given ammo to destroy we did it one round at a time to hone our skills with all of our tools from 45 auto to 50 BMG M82A1’s. We offered training for dynamic entry and demolitions etc to those who had training we needed. We may not have had all the skills of those we traveled with but we could get the job done albeit none to quiet at times.....:o)
Stay safe !
At least back in my era, ST-6 called themselves “The Jedi Knights” among other things. They were the only SEALs authorized to wear only civvies and have long hair / 365, not just on certain deployments.
Their training budget was HUGE even compared to “regular SEALs.” So there was a tendency to hold out and wait for the “best” SEALs to arrive, even when perfectly fine “regular” SEALs were already on scene and fully prepped.
This is especially foolish considering that ST-6 / DevGru is not a career path. SEALs go into and out of DevGru, and back to the “regular” teams. So most “regular” platoons (16 guys) have a couple of former ST-6 guys in them already. And since 9-11, the “regular” SEALs are all combat tested operators. Bigtime.
Not too mention, Marine snipers on the Boxer could have helo’d over to the Bainbridge and done this job easily even if the “regular” SEALs deployed on the ARG were not available. This was the easiest mission ever.
My first choice would have been to have standing orders in place, so that when the captain swam for it, the 25mm gunner would have smoked the lifeboat into smithereens.
But no, everybody back in CONUS wants everybody on scene to wait for the “hotshots” to arrive. This counts the FBI and DevGru.
The forces on the scene could have handled it, but the White House and SOCOM want to maintain control from afar.
I got this in an email last week.
Bump fer later.....
Oh, boy....
schumer said so too! family Values are a thing of the past
Thanks Obama is indeed indecisive inconsistent and scary!
Good writeup by FA.
Jonathan Landay and McClatchy Newspapers Still Ignorant About Saddams Ties To Al Queda
******************************************EXCERPT of BIO ******************************
Hes also written several books on the Global War on Terror and Iraq under the pen name, Sam Pender. These books include: Iraqs Smoking Gun, The Ignored War, Americas War With Saddam, How Did It Come To This?, and Saddams Ties to Al Qaeda.
Link to Scotts books
Link to Scotts Sam Pender books
Link to Scotts videos
You cannot even trust the media to get the basketball score correctly these days
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.