According to television news reports today, President Obama was asked no less than four times about the Pirate situation off the coast of Somalia. Yet he had no comment, preferring to talk about his emphasis on the helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.
No comment? It has been more than 200 years since an American-flagged ship was boarded by pirates. That was until this week. Yesterday Somali pirates boarded an American ship, Maersk Alabama, as it traversed the waters off the Somali coast. The USS Bainbridge, a Navy destroyer is now on the scene, and an FBI negotiator has been called in.
Does no one fear the might of the United States any more? Is our Commander-in-Chief’s lack of comment a sign of lack of will? The reason no American-flagged ships have been attacked in over 200 years is because our Navy took swift and decisive action whenever threatened. Pirates and other lawless individuals knew to stay away from American vessels for fear of the full wraith of our military. But apparently the threat of overwhelming force is gone, and even a group of pirates don’t fear our power.
President Obama, the United States needs to take a firm and harsh stand against this. There should not be a proportional response, there should be a decisively disproportional response. We need to set fear in the hearts of any willing pirates so our ships remain untouched for the next 200 years. The only thing these thugs understand is force, so let’s give it to them.
We don’t negotiate with terrorists. Mr. President, do what you can to save the life of the ship’s pilot short of paying a ransome, but once he is safe, let the rains of hell befall the pirates and all who support them. Failing that, the American flag on the side of a vessel that once kept it’s crew safe is now nothing more than a bullseye.
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