Vice Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces in that region, said Monday that it took only three shots for Navy snipers to kill the trio of pirates holding captain Richard Phillips hostage on the lifeboat.
The takedown happened shortly after the hostage-takers were observed by sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge "with their heads and shoulders exposed," he told NBC's "Today" show on Monday in an interview from Bahrain.
Military officials Monday widely praised the snipers for three shots, which they described as remarkable, coming at night, come 25 yards away and from the stern of a ship on a rolling waters to a small lifeboat.
I don't care how bad-ass you think you are, you simply do not take on the Navy Seals. These guys may be the most dedicated highly trained soldiers in the world. For these guys losing is not an option.
In the title of this post I gave credit to President Obama for his handling of this crisis. However I am fully aware that the real heroes here are the Navy Seals, Captain Richard Phillips, and the commanders who made the tactical decisions that resulted in this amazing rescue.
Really the only reason I even mention Obama is because you can bet your ass that if this thing had ended badly the Right Wing blogs and media outlets would have gone insane with attacks on Obama's ability to solve a crisis, or lead the military, or deal with terrorists. It would have been beyond ugly.
So though I have no idea how much Obama had to do with this outcome, if anything at all, I have to give the man credit for playing his cards close to his chest and allowing these amazing warriors do what they do so well. Obama did not make threats to the pirates, or lock himself away as if he was consumed with worry, or allow the situation to ruffle his feathers in any way. The guy played it cool, and cool was the way to play it.
I hear that Obama will be making a comment concerning this rescue in a few minutes. If I have time I will embed when it becomes available.
Thanks Gryphen. I totally agree; if it had gone wrong somehow it would have been a media circus from the right wing nuts that President Obama was not a capable leader. You know what is really sad though, I'll bet not one of the Repugs will be a big enough person to say "good job, Mr. President".
ReplyDeleteSo I believe, IMO, that this answers the question:"Is Barack Obama ruthless enough to lead?" Now to some folks, ruthless means cruel, even condoning and sanctioning something like torture. But in a leader, ruthless means looking at the situation in all of its aspects, looking at the options, and picking the option that will give the optimum result - even if it means killing the declared enemy. In this case, the pirates were a declared enemy - they had a hostage. And using the means at hand - the US NAVY SEALS - the President did not waver nor did he waffle in his decision. In fact, he gave the command TWICE. He did not cowboy, he did not grandstand, he reviewed the situation, he took stock, and then he commanded. That is ruthless - and just the type of LEADER we need.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update, and yes...had it gone the other way we know EXACTLY what we would be hearing.
ReplyDeleteGryphen:
ReplyDeleteThis is OT but wanted to contact you.
Diana Palin Pleads Not Guilty is in ADN as of 12:30 pm Monday.
I posted the following comments and wanted to share with you these thoughts:
If Sarah & Bristol think Levi's such a bad dad, what kind of mother do they think Diana Palin is to bring her 4 yr old along on a burglary?
And if W.A.R. is such a defender of men's custodial rights, why isn't he speaking up for Levi and his rights to share custody and visitation of Trigg with Bristol?
Certainly the Palin's can't claim moral superority ( not less criminal charges ) with Diana Palin's exposure of her 4 yr old to such danger?
Palin's 4-year-old daughter came into the home as her mother was being detained by Turcott, who was armed, police and prosecutors say.
SO WHY isns't Palin being charged with child endangerment?
AND Sarah & Bristol have the nerve to call Levi's family "white trash!"
I notice the TeamSarah and C4P members aren't posting comments to this article.
Kinda hard to defend this isn't it ?
If Sarah & Bristol think Levi's such a bad dad, what kind of mother do they think Diana Palin is to bring her 4 yr old along on a burglary?
And if W.A.R. is such a defender of men's custodial rights, why isn't he speaking up for Levi and his rights to share custody and visitation of Trigg with Bristol?
Certainly the Palin's can't claim moral superority ( not less criminal charges ) with Diana Palin's exposure of her 4 yr old to such danger?
Liz P.
Some rightwing bloggers are complaining about what he did do:
ReplyDeletehttp://unevensteven2.blogspot.com/2009/04/obama-hostage-crisis-carter-in-dress.html
Re: Pirate article
ReplyDeleteSorry, the writer is liberterian. I didn't see that until last minute.
Obama has already been tested many time and he gets an A+ all around. 3 shots 3 kills on the high seas that was remarkable. One of those pirates was shot through the window. I am glad it worked out!
ReplyDeleteGood call Gryphen.
ReplyDelete