Bravery On The High Seas

I stated in earlier posts after the election that Barack Obama would get a fair shake here at PYY, much fairer than the Left gave to GWB. But this doesn't mean I cannot criticize him and if you've read this blog with any regularity, you'll know that I've been highly critical on most of what we've seen from his administration, so far.

Naturally, if it's fair to argue against the bonehead policies and interventions assumed so far, it's also fair to give praise, when actions and implementations warrant it. This is but one moment, where a good job was done.

From the outcome, we can ascertain that this was handled well. There was no politicizing of this situation. The President's people were tight-lipped, as they should have been. They knew the situation and Obama had the guts to give the Navy authorization to execute the operation, as they saw fit. As an inexperienced Commander in Chief, he wisely allowed those who knew what they were doing, to do it without micromanagement.

We can surmise that time was getting short. The pirates and their hostage were out on the sea for quite awhile in just a lifeboat. Essentials (like drinking water) were probably getting scarce and the opportunity for action was becoming a shrinking window, by the hour. Add to this the imminent danger to the Captain and we have the makings of one of those split decisions that you cannot get back, once made,

As this story unfolded, I was only privy to the information available through the media. I didn't have any inside knowledge of anything, I just had my intuition. And like many, I probably would have acted a bit sooner with just as much authority, strength, and determination. But allowing the pirates to weary in the elements for a little while had its value, and in the aftermath shows that it was the wisest thing to do.

It will be interesting to see how future events like this are handled. We know that there will be future acts of piracy, because there many more out there just lurking and waiting for a victim. It's what they do for a living. The pirates have already sworn revenge and we must take them at their word.

So let's not kid ourselves here. We will have to be ready for some measure of retaliation. They will see this as a challenge and will most certainly up the ante next time. If I were the Administration, I would not hesitate to show others who are part of this discipline of criminals a thing or two. I would let them know rather swiftly, what is at stake if this kind of thing continues.

At this juncture in time, this kind of thing is merely a distraction from other more important issues. Right now, it's just a pesky fly that could cause us to not pay attention to those other issues. And it's one that must be swatted down. But if left unchecked, it will become a larger problem that will take more resources than what may be prudently available.

After all is said and done, the Captain who was held captive by these thugs is the real hero. At least to the crew of his ship, he is. Volunteering to be taken so that his crew could be left alone is an act of bravery, from an individual that represents what this country used to be all about. Not enough can be said about this man and I doubt that there are many like him left in the world.