Monday, April 13, 2009

Navy Seals takeout Somali pirates

When we first heard about the Somali pirates holding American freighter Capt. Richard Phillips hostage in a small boat my wife angrily exclaimed, "A bunch of pirates forces America on it's knees! Where are Special Forces or Navy Seals?"

I thought at the time she summed it up well. America appeared to be on its knees and where in the hell were our special ops? As a retired Green Beret I knew that somewhere in or near the immediate area off the coast of Somalia the US Military was standing by to rescue the good captain. Standing by for orders from the new president.

This was a test for President Obama and his administration. Would he order a rescue attempt? Authorize the use of military force? The world was watching. He had just made his first foreign visit telling world leaders what an arrogant country America was and bashing his own country in the process. When asked about the incident by reporters Obama said he was discussing housing and dismissed them with a wave of his hand. So much for looking out for an American being held hostage by a bunch of armed, Somali thugs.

I though President Reagen gave the best definition of foreign policy and national defense when he said, "Our foreign policy should be based on the principle that we will go anywhere and do anything that has to be done to protect our citizens from unjust treatment. Our national defense policy should back that up with force." Can't be any plainer and to the point than that.

Although it seems that just about everyone in the Obama administration is either a buffoon or a tax cheat he must have a few top level advisers with common sense. I'm sure someone, a military type, advised the president that it was time to quit pussyfooting around and authorize the use of military force in dealing with the pirates. A voice whispered in his ear, "Now is the time to appear Reagen like Mr President. Give the order and let the military carry it out, Sir."

"Dingy" Harry Reid and Nancy "Birdbrain" Pelosi and their gang of losers and traitors, including the smartest woman in the world Hillary Clinton, probably reacted to the use of force with an "OMG I can't believe he authorized the Navy to kill those poor, unfortunate pirates. How terrible. What will the world think?"

Who gives a rat's butt what the rest of the world thinks. You can bet the scumbag, Somali pirates will think twice before attacking one of our ships on the high seas again.

Regardless of world opinion, US Navy Seals deserve medals for taking out three Somali scumbags with three well placed sniper shots and wounding a fourth in the successful rescue of Captain Phillips. Way to go Navy Seals!

President Obama, finally in authorizing the use of military force, acted like a Commander In Chief. And it works every time it's used if the president issues the order and then let's the military do its job without undue interference from the White House. It worked when Reagen sent the US military into Grenada to rescue US students in Grenada in 1983. And it worked when President Bush one sent US troops into Panama and toppled Noriega and again in Desert Storm One to oust the Iraqi military out of Kuwait. And its been working in Iraq and Afghanistan in spite of the "cut and run" policies of congressional Democrats.

The Korean War, 1950-53, was our first "no win war" where it was okay to fight and die but not win because it might start a bigger war. Truman fired Gen. MacArthur for insisting on winning a war. In Vietnam we just "cut and run" after winning all the battles. President Johnson bragged to reporters that the Air Force "can't bomb an out house in North Vietnam without my approval." As a result of micro managing the Korean and Vietnam Wars from the White House we now have a nut case in North Korea threatening to nuke everyone and a bunch of armed, communist thugs running things in Vietnam. The Carter administration made the same mistake in the failed operation to rescue US hostages in Iran. Give the order then get the hell out of the way is a winning policy.

The failure of the US military operation in the Mogadishu, Somalia under the Clinton administration (Black Hawk Down) is another stark example of failed leadership from the White House. In October, 1993, a 440 man US Delta force launched an operation against Somali Warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid and his rebel force. Outnumbered and refused reinforcements the Delta force suffered heavy casualties in a seventeen hour battle that resulted in eighteen killed and eighty-four wounded. The bodies of dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu and seen on TV around the world. Clinton responded by withdrawing US troops from Somalia. Another "cut and run" debacle.

The next move for the Obama administration, now that the Somali riffraff has threatened to start killing hostages in retaliation for the deaths of the three pirates, is to order military air strikes on Somali targets including pirate vessels. The only thing these scumbags understand is military force. Every time they hijack a ship we strike a target in Somalia.

The Obama administration should request, in no uncertain terms, other nations join the US in conducting joint military operations against Somali pirates and their bases in Somalia. Speak softly but carry a big stick policy worked well for Teddy Roosevelt. However, in the end it will be up to the US to lead the charge.

The time has also come for merchant shipping to start arming their crews or hire armed security. The US Navy has shown that shooting and killing pirates has a dampening effect on hijacking ships and taking hostages, especially when its a US ship.

The Obama defense team has a chance to institute a "talk softly but carry a big stick" policy in dealing with Somalia and its bunch of pirates. A douse of superior US military firepower would definitely send the right message.

Let's hope the new president is listening.

2 comments:

Sgt JC Lyde, THP said...

It's about friggin time that we had some immediate reaction to unwarranted action. Glad their dead and am upset we only wounded the last one. Want to be a pirate? Try it on the french ships. They'd probably trade boats with you and "hand paddle" to shore. Good to see you Colonel. Stop by sometime.

Bartman said...

Well said, Jim, although the pirates have already disproved your prediction that they'd "think twice" before attempting another takeover of an American ship on the high seas. I think you're right that we must attack the pirates' bases and supply lines. We must punish their constituencies. Unfortunately, our president has already declared his loyalty to his African kinsmen, who are in fact Somali, not Swahili. It is going to be very difficult for him to take decisive action against Somali bandit princes, and they know it.

B. James Stinson
Comparing Obama to JFKhttp://comparingobama2jfk.blogspot.com/