Right wing blowhard complains that Obama administration was slow to act on pirate standoff

[The Night Owl]

This is pretty infurating...

The Story of a Successful Rescue (and a Democratic Administration’s Attempt to Claim Credit)
by Jeff Emanuel on April 12, 2009

After four days of floating at sea on a raft shared with four Somali gunmen, Richard Philips took matters into his own hands for a second time. With the small inflatable lifeboat in which he was being held captive being towed by the American missile destroyer USS Bainbridge, and Navy Special Warfare (NSWC) snipers on the fantail in position to take their shots at his captors as soon as the command was given, the captive Captain of the M.V. Maersk-Alabama took his second leap in three days into the shark-infested waters of the Indian Ocean.

This diversion gave the Navy Special Warfare operators all the opening they needed. Snipers immediately took down the three Somali pirates still on board the life raft, SEAL operators hustled down the tow line connecting the two craft to confirm the kills, and a Navy RIB plucked Philips from the water and sped him to safety aboard the Bainbridge, thus ending the four-day-and-counting hostage situation.

...

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 sending 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.

...

http://jeffemanuel.net/2009/04/the-story-of-a-successful-rescue-and-a-democratic-administrations-attempt-to-claim-credit

My response, which is awaiting moderation...

The length of the standoff had nothing to do with what the Obama administration did or didn’t do. According to McClatchy Newspapers, the Obama administration authorized the use of force against the Somali pirates hours after the USS Bainbridge arrived on the scene.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/65949.html

So, you’re right in arguing that quick and decisive action should have been taken against the pirates but wrong in claiming that it wasn’t. You should probably take back a lot of what you wrote here.

[Dawgs]

1. Then they are blaming the Navy, because he approved every one of their requests.

:shrug:

[Jack from Charlotte]

2. In hostage situations you wait them out.....

Even while planning to shoot the pirates, the way it works is you just wait. The hostage takers become bored, hungry, somewhat tired of being in rolling seas..... and then they do something careless like all exposing themselves to being shot, dead.

So while The Republic Party was criticizing The President for not acting, the rolling sea, boredom and hunger was doing it's job on the Pirates. Acting earlier would have been stupid.

Republican stupid.

And when the time came..... zap.

Thank God the non morons are back in charge of the US Govt.

[Zodiak]

3. Timing is everything

It is the height of stupidity to just rush in willy-nilly under some false sense of bravado. That is how innocent people get killed.

Of course, Republicans would never understand that because they specialize in getting innocents killed with their macho bullshit.

[discopants]

4. a good metaphor for pirates or the economy

Obama: strategic, methodical, persistence, success

vs.

GOP and rightwing media: impulsive, reactionary, spin & blame

[Puzzler]

5. This is pretty much the emerging anti-Obama meme from the crisis...

... and it's not a very good one either. But, it'll probably get some traction. It's the wingnut's "why did he wait" version of our "why did Bush wait" on 911 meme. Of course, the first one is complete BS, and easily debunkable even from the watching FOX news reporting (although, I'm sure Beck and his ilk, will conveniently ignore even their own "news" network).

[Historic NY]

6. raft....it was a rough weather life boat.

[onenote]

7. according to this guy the captain jumped out of the lifeboat -- I call BS

Did I miss something? Every version of this event I've read describes the captain as being bound -- indeed, "anchored" to the interior of the boat and with the order being given to take out the pirates based on a gun being put the back of his head. Emanuel claims the captain created a diversion by jumping in the water, creating the opportunity for the snipers to take out the pirates.

Both versions can't be correct.