Do you remember the first Presidential Debate:
MCCAIN: So let me get this right. We sit down with Ahmadinejad, and he says, “We’re going to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth,” and we say, “No, you’re not”? Oh, please.
In America, we believe in the concept of “Just War.” We believe that violence to another person is only acceptable if it is to secure justice. For some reason America does not seem it “just” to send special opp teams in to rescue an American citizen. [Your right, JFK didn't send troops blazing into CUBA but this hostage situation by far is something totally different.]
During the debate Obama pushed the idea of face-to-face discussions and debates with those who do not define justice as we Americans define it. Justice is the preservation of the value of the person. McCain never said that he was against face-to-face discussions but only that he would sit down with those who were moral, fair and willing to work with the United States. The underlining truth was that, “You will never be able to come to an agreement with an insane man.” Obama thinks differently.
Well, here we are with those dang Somalia Pirates. It’s been two days since they boarded the Maersk Alabama and took Capt. Richard Phillips hostage. The Department of Defense has brought in more warships to deal with the situation in addition to FBI negotiators to help keep Phillips alive. We all know that the longer a hostage situation goes for the more difficult it will become. The Somalia Pirates boarded one of our ships (it was flying our flag) and is now hoping to force the richest country in the world to hand over some cash.
The question everyone is going to ask is, “Why hasn’t Obama sent in the SEAL teams or any other special opps team to finish this up?” You know they want to clean this mess up and they have trained for situations such as this. But mum is the word for Obama. He hasn’t even let America know that his priority is to protect American citizens and get this man out alive. Consider this, only after 2-3 days in office Obama felt the need to send in an unmaned aircraft to destroy a few American threats in Pakistan. This hostage situation is not a threat. I certainly won’t question Obama’s decision to do this. However, he is not willing to send a team in to rescue an American hostage? McCain was right. All Obama has done is tell the pirates, “Look, I’m not going to set up preconditions but I am going send a lot of ships to you to tell the world I mean business.” So what do we get for these empty words…the pirates are calling other hijacked ships to bring their hostages to use as human shields. Why? Because they are going to attempt to force America to choose to either let people die in plain sight or set the precedent that the United States pays up and says, “Uncle.” (BTY military action is going to have to happen before any other ships get there so that these human shields are not part of the equation,)
The Democrat way is to always pawn responsibility over to someone else and say, “Let’s get the world community involved before we help rescue one of our own.” Those pirates need to know that it is never a good idea to attempt to cause harm to an American. The world needs to know that America is a just nation and we will defend ourselves. But this isn’t happening because this hostage situation is very tenuous one for Obama. Obama’s reputation is hanging on the life of Phillips. If Phillips dies then Obama’s silence and lack of quick action is going to communicate to the world that he doesn’t care about one of his countrymen. If Phillips does survive then Obama will tell the world that although he was silent he was focused on getting this man out alive. In the long run Obama’s silence is going to rightly communicate a certain aloofness no matter what. The fact of the matter is that America elected a President who is not militarily minded and frankly shows that he doesn’t know what he is doing. Phillips’ life is now in the hands of a President who doesn’t know what to do and if it goes well he will give credit to himself. If it doesn’t, he will put the responsibility on someone else. I don’t think that he will be too eager to take responsibility for the lose of a life of a hero as he took responsibility for the foibles of his nominees.
It makes me sad to think that although Phillips was willing to put himself into harms way the most powerful man in the world will not lift a finger for him in the way of sending in a SEAL team that is specificly trained for these types of situations. Phillips is a hero and I am praying for the peace of God to not only be over his familly. In addition, I am praying that God will give wisdom and clearity of thought to the minds of those in charge to be quick in action, percise in their execution, and just with their violence in order to set this man free.
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The fact that there are pirates in todays world is sad testament to the once feared navies of America and Britain. So long to the shores of Tripoli.