Obama: Letting No Crisis Go to Waste

I'm reposting this because it's important for people to understand want's behind Obama's feckless policy regarding the Somali seagoing terrorists. Read Update III on how he is using the plight of Captain Phillips to further his surrender of American sovereignty.


John Keegan is a rare voice of civilization and reason in our present age of increasing barbarism and decadence:

Such ships must act promptly and ruthlessly, as piracy will spread unless it is stamped out. The Gulf of Aden is an exit from the Mediterranean, one of the world's most important seas, crossed annually by thousands of ships. So our campaign must be ruthless and pitiless: pirate ships must be sunk on sight and the crews left to swim to safety, if it can be reached.

This wont happen, of course. Instead the administration of President Pantywaist is thinking about bringing criminal charges:

FBI agents are investigating the Somali pirates who hijacked a U.S. ship and are holding its captain hostage, U.S. officials said Saturday, raising the possibility of federal charges against the men if they are captured.

"If there were ever a U.S. victim of one of these attacks or a U.S. shipping line that were a victim, our Justice Department has said that it would favorably consider prosecuting such apprehended pirates," Stephen Mull, the acting undersecretary of state for international security and arms control, told Congress last month.

That threat must really have the waterborne Jihadists shaking in their boots. Right after they're done laughing, they'll hijack yet another vessel. During his trip to Europe, President Girly-Man made it clear that it is now open season on American citizens, property and interests around the world. Even Somali pirates in row boats got the message.

Update: Mark Steyn has more "Our Reprimitivized Future":

"As it happens, Somali piracy is not a distraction, but a glimpse of the world the day after tomorrow.

When all the world’s a “distraction,” maybe you’re not the main event after all. Most wealthy nations lack the means to defend themselves. Those few that do, lack the will. Meanwhile, basket-case jurisdictions send out ever-bolder freelance marauders to prey on the civilized world with impunity. Don’t be surprised if “the civilized world” shrivels and retreats in the face of state-of-the-art reprimitivization. From piracy to nukes to the limp response of the hyperpower, this is not a “distraction” but a portent of the future."

Update II: Just beyond words, there is apparently no limit to President Pantywaist's contempt for American honor:

"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates off the eastern coast of Africa fired on U.S. sailors Saturday as they tried to reach the lifeboat where an American captain is being held, a U.S. official familiar with the situation told CNN.

The gunfire forced the sailors, who did not return fire, back to the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge, the official said.

The FBI is launching a criminal investigation into the hijacking and hostage-taking, two law enforcement officials told CNN. The probe will be led by the FBI's New York field office, which has responsibility for looking into cases involving U.S. citizens in the African region. Agents from the office were scheduled to leave for Africa sometime this weekend, the officials said."

Update III: Now it's clear why President Pantywaist is allowing the United States to be humiliated by a handful of seagoing terrorists. He wants to use this crisis in order to foist the Law of the Sea Treaty upon the American people. His cowardly administration is whining about jurisdiction like the amoral lawyers they are:

"Emphasizing the U.S. stand on bringing pirates to justice, U.S. Coast Guard chief Adm. Thad Allen said Sunday that "an international legal framework" is needed. Speaking on ABC's "This Week" program, Allen said "What you really have to have is a coordinating mechanism that ultimately brings these pirates to court where they can be held accountable."

The United States has signed, but not ratified, the U.N.-sponsored Law of the Sea, which allows signatories to bring pirates arrested in any part of the world to trial in their countries. France, for example, is holding alleged pirates arrested off Somali waters for trial.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has promised to work to get the treaty ratified. The United States originally objected, during the Cold War, that the treaty provisions militated against a free market. More recently it objected to the treaty's regime governing exploitation of minerals of the deep seabed. Lately, treaty critics claim it would impinge on U.S. sovereignty."

Captain Phillips is going to be left to the tender mercies of Islamic terrorists in order to allow the Obama administration to facilitate change for the worse. One has to wonder if even liberals are stupid enough to fall for this garbage.

Update IV: The US Navy has rescued Captain Phillips and send three of the pirates to Davy Jones. It's about time. The remaining pirate will enjoy three squares a day, indoor plumbing and an ACLU lawyer. To bad for President Pantywaist, now he will need another crisis for his Law of the Sea Treaty.

Crossposted at The Dougout