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BO Is Taking Credit |
By Ethel C. Fenig
American Thinker
April 14, 2009 |
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Rebukes are easy from our betters,
From men of quality and letters;
But when low dunces will affront,
What man alive can stand the brunt?
Jonathan Swift, 1667-1745 |
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President Barack Obama (D), as
Commander in Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, is taking credit
for the successful rescue of ship captain Richard Phillips,
basking in the glow of an absolutely outstanding performance and
raw courage of the ship's captain Richard Phillips, the ship's
crew and the U.S. Navy under his skilled direction. |
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However military correspondent Jeff
Emanuel at Pajama Media claims the reality is quite different;
the inexperienced Obama and his equally inexperienced staff and
advisers, committed to a peaceful resolution, needlessly dragged
out an incident that, thanks to Phillips' bravery, could have
been successfully resolved in a few hours with minimal loss of
life. |
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Instead, because of Obama's
dithering, it turned into a drawn out, dangerous confrontation
that, ironically, caused the death of three of the Somali
pirates, and almost cost Phillips his life. |
However, instead of taking direct, decisive action against
the rag-tag group of gunmen, the Obama administration
dilly-dallied, dawdled, and eschewed any decisiveness
whatsoever, even in the face of enemy fire, in hopes that
the situation would somehow resolve itself without
violence. Thus, the administration sent a clear message to
all who would threaten U.S. interests abroad that the
current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has no idea how
to respond to such situations — and no real willingness to
use military force to resolve them.
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As a result:
What should have been a
standoff lasting only hours — as long as it took the USS
Bainbridge and its team of NSWC operators to steam to the
location — became an embarrassing four-day-and-counting
standoff between a rag-tag handful of criminals with rifles
and a U.S. Navy warship.
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Initially
Phillips escaped his captors and bravely jumped into the water.
The Navy commander could have fired on the pirates but Commander
in Chief Obama, safely ensconced in the White House and still
all warm and fuzzy from the cynical applause he received on his
expensive--but futile--overseas trip, denied the Navy permission
to mount a rescue operation because--oh dear!--the pirates might
be injured. When the pirates pointed a gun at Phillips' back,
and finally the Navy commander received permission to act
because of the imminent danger to Phillips' life, the Navy Seals
fired. The incident quickly ended. |
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Because of a deep scratch on his
hand, one Somali pirate, said to be a young adolescent, had
earlier surrendered and the Navy generously took him on board.
And treated him! What will happen to him? Well, brave Attorney
General Eric Holder wants to try him as a mere criminal, perhaps
in the U.S. And then? |
I agree with Emanuel that:
My money is on a life of
welfare checks, a plot of land (in a red state, naturally),
and voting rights in Chicago, New York, and Seattle.
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Let's all hold hands and sing
Kumbayeh! That will stop piracy and make the pirates like us. |
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