It was a deck of cards and we held all the aces. We didn't lose any ground, we rescued our man and brought justice to the pirates.
Captain Phillips' rescue brings me to an oft repeated slogan of the republican party, especially its extreme wingnut base. The idea that President Obama can not keep America safe. This episode atleast temporarily brings that innuedo to a close. President Obama is not only in charge, he is in fact in control.
First the AP reported that the pirates negotiated a safe passage in return for the captain (this is after they were faced with the strength of American superior military power off the gulf of Aden), the Navy and the FBI acting under the influence of the white house rejected their proposal. It was a deck of cards and we held all the aces. We didn't lose any ground, we rescued our man and brought justice to the pirates.
But as the news reached me about Captain Phillips' rescue, I was also struck about the fact that things could have easily turn the other way and I tried to imagine the hysteria of the wingnuts if the rescue operation had failed. Considering that these sorts of activities has been going on for several years before President Obama came on board, the wingnuts would still blame him for real and perceived errors in judgement.
On the other hand, the President could in exercising poor judgement have ordered the Navy and the FBI to grant the pirates a safe passage in return for the Captain but he showed as always a restraint and a masterful display of policy by not conceding any ground to the pirates. This man will keep America safe and at the right time when confronted with tyranny from states such as North Korea and Iran, he will definitely kick some a***.
This is no small feat when you consider that the last time the French tried to rescue some of their own off the gulf of Aden, one of the French sailors lost his life in the process.
So fellow Kossacks, I want you to write on this thread what you think the wingnut hysteria would have been if this operation had gone the other way.
A big thanks to the American Navy Seals, the FBI and the President of the United States.