Pirates (the word peiraô is Greek for ‘to try’ or ‘make the attempt’) were common in the ancient world. They appear everywhere from Hellenistic novels to stories about Pompey’s clean-up of the Cilician robbers. Some random thoughts.
1) Hit ‘em where they are. If we review how the Romans, Venetians, British, and Americans dealt with piracy, then we arrive at the same conclusion: forces go ashore and destroy docks, ships, and houses of the pirate community—and soon leave. There is no reason to nation-build in Somalia, only to blast apart pirates on the water; and when they strike, tit-for-tat simply to bomb or send a missile at their point of return on land.
2) A larger malady. Pirates are always a symptom of international instability and global inability or unwillingness to stamp them out. At present we are at a dangerous juncture. The US, in the “post-American” world that Obama is trying to articulate abroad through apologetics and promises of mulitpolarity, cannot or won’t exercise unilateral leadership. And under postmodern notions of morality, and in the present climate of “We’re not George Bush’s Guantanamo-renditions-wiretapping-preemptive America,” it makes it hard, if we are to remain saintly, to do much of anything at all, except the occasional heroic efforts that we just witnessed to free hostages.
Moreover, there is a whiff in the air that the pirates have some connection, remote or not, with Islamic terrorism, or maybe it is that they are seen as 1990s-style Somali victims in need of understanding, or bad memories from the Blackhawk Down days. In any case, bombing the crap out of them if they don’t quit is apparently provocatively Neanderthal—while letting the clueless ship or yacht that falls into their clutches is, well, a higher code of moral restaint. The pirates (“We are not afraid of America”), of course, all know this.
3) Pirates are nice guys. In the last thirty years in the academic world, several theses have been published romanticizing pirates, in the manner they are celebrated in popular Disneyland-like culture—misunderstood jolly fellas, prone to a little excess from time to time.
For the deskbound academic who does not work on a ocean-going container ship, history’s pirate can be a Robin-Hood redistributionist who takes from the mercantile class and spreads booty to the poor; or he is anarchist who defies the bourgeoisie norms of an oppressive society; or he is a sexual libertine—a cross-dresser, a sexually ambiguous Steppenwolf, a polymorphously perverse rebel, who has said no to the straightjacket of heterosexual norms; or he is an egalitarian who constructs an alternate “pirate community” that is without racial, gender, and class bias. There are all sorts of noble Jewish, black, and female pirates in academic discourse, far better folk that the British navy that tried to stamp them out.
Well, course we shouldn’t bomb Somalian villages, that would be wrong, right? Nope, but that’s simply my biased opinion.
There are at least two areas of the world where pirates roam, apparently at will. The waters near Somalia and the Malacca Straits connecting the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. Might want to include the South China Sea near Vietnam as a third such pirate infested sea plus the Caribbean too.
While the issue of how pirates are diminished is of important, for me the important issue is getting rid of those bastards. Even if the Somalian pirates never attack another American ship, they need to be wiped out and soon.
It almost seems we’re in an era where Nero fiddles and everything else burns.
Never did like harp music but do like VDH’s essays.
Let’s be honest, another kind of piracy is killing us. The United States is a major producer of “intellectual property,” from computer software to books, music, and movies. China ignores Intellectual Property Rights, steals our greatest exports, while lecturing us on our economy. And we essentially ignore this widespread theft, just as we ignore the Somalian Piracy.
… reminds me of “we are all socialists now” but we are all pirates now… want my free i-tunes, boot leg soft ware, free health care and while your at it pay my rent and cable TV :)
Lawyers: Passive Aggressive fools who run for cover when live bullets come into the game, always seeking others who will offer up his life to protect their sorry asses!
Male versus female thinking: Apply this model to such events by asking the questions. Do men approach problems in certain ways? Do women approach problems in certain ways? Can those ways become dominant for a country, for a period of time?
As to Captain Phillips and his rescue: Obama took a position that was passive, he had nothing to do with the rescue, it was our military who did the work. Will we ever see the actual “Rules for Engagement” for this operation? I doubt it, but we will see how our government deals with the surviving “pirate” that was on the Bainbridge, the kid who is supposed to be a teenager with an injured hand our medics treated…Jack Sparrow is going to be who?
Expect posturing by our government, nothing more in action toward these pirates. When you see bombs and soldiers on the ground entering the harbor to kill and damage, then you will see a decision with a real message.
Much like looking at the dog our dear Kennedy family helped their chosen one get for the girls…now that’s what is really important, along with good pizza! Fools, we may be!
Strange they haven’t blamed Bush for…what are we talking about now?
I’m surprised enterprising travel agents haven’t put together adventure cruises on seedy looking ships with all sorts of weapons and rum. They could install a loudspeaker on the ship that would blare ‘STAY AWAY FROM THE SHIP’ when they saw a suspicious vessel coming their way.
It would be code for everybody on board to get a weapon, scopes, and live ammunition. They could dispatch the pirates and sink the vessel and who would care?
Probably the United Nations Human Rights Commission. And Code Pink.
Dr. Hanson,
Your analysis is insightful–as always. The question of proper response to piracy seems to me to be one of approach–military or law enforcement. Both can be effective. The risks of either require resolve to see them through, even if the outcome is not positive (i.e. the hostage(s) die) in every case. What I think you have to have is consistency in the approach and a willingness to act in a strategically (as opposed to tactically) predictable manner. It is probably too simple to say if pirates know their success is less likely than incarceration (or death) they’ll find some other avenue to pursue; however, I think that is the core of the solution.
Ken
Hey. Those are misunderstood multilateral AK-47s, thank you very much.
A good summary of the dimensions of this problem. I guess since Captain Phillips is a fellow mariner — a shipmate — I’m still feeling a little too happy about his rescue (not to mention proud of my old “outfit”) to focus on the larger issues, which you correctly identify as fundamental. And intransigent, as long as we insist on our BLU-109s and 5-in/54s being “multilateral” too.
Stay the course, professor. Keep us honest.
Thanks God for historians in general and VDH in particular. This is a good time to “rewind the tape” and look back at William Jefferson, Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge and the barbary wars. How can you hope to understand what’s happening today if you don’t have the benefit of historic context?
I agree Victor we should hit them where they live just like the Romans, but perhaps not use the enslaving, crucifixion and feed them to wild animals part of the Roman model.
Pirates are not going to sit around, queueing in the line of some government DMV style welfare office, to receive whatever “crumbs from the upper crust” that saviour 0bhamas can abscond with and fling in the direction of a locale such as Somalia, with no functioning government.
The idea of sending aid to Somalia is worse still because it insults and degrades Somalia people in the first place: It says to them- “you are not able to act on your own behalf, for your own sake…we must help you!”
When the exact opposite is true: they are pretty well capable of acting for themselves already- which explains why they choose the lucrative, multi-million dollar enterprise of piracy in the first place: all it takes is some boats, machine guns and some intimidation; combined with western powers falling all over themselves, preening their fragile self-image(s), in a scrambling, desperate effort to burnish their generous, caring, bona fides and credentials to make all areas of the world come under the “noblesse oblige” and “liberal largesse…” of…
Whom?
No. No, a more accurate explanation is that 0bamas administration is giving them the ol’ ‘nod and a wink’ because he is fully engaged in the same extortion rackets and piracy at home as they are there. Its just more refined here, into more of a fine art. So let’s quit this nonsense and start getting the nomenclature precise, from now on.
Above Post Incomplete: It is not 0bamas administration “fully engaged in the same” protection rackets, it is 0bamas administration, democrat party, congress et alnia, their functionaries in MSLSD media, and their respective ilks who are “fully engaged” in the same “grinding of [the] millstones of high taxation and inflation” (-vlad lenin) piracy protection rackets as their counterparts in Somalia.
If there is anything to romanticise about Somali pirates, as opposed to the Browns, Blairs, Reids, Peloskis, and 0bamas, it would be that Somali (or any other) pirates don’t pretend to be something else: they are highly organised crime (with swiss bank accounts to launder money), that in this case, loves publicity, to further their exploits, just like leftist governments love, crave, in fact, publicity.
That we are treated to the same old, same old of media obfuscation and withering spin, on behalf of the pirates, and on to sympathetic projection with them is nothing new: its force of habit for these copy men and women.
VDH,
Insightful, as always. One aspect of this situation that I found mentioned (only) at Jerry Pournelle’s site:
Apparently these Somali fishermen turned to piracy because the Chinese have taken all the fish in Somalia’s off-shore 200 nautical mile EEZ. With no Navy (or government) to enforce their fishing rights, it was starve or steal for the locals. While I am in no way endorsing the actions of the Somali pirates, the long term solution may require preventing the Chinese from stealing the Somali fisherman’s livelihood.
Pirate folks ? Those are not real good folks.
How to deal with them ? Dead works for me.
Thank you, “Seals”
That certainly takes care of the “short-term” problem.
Anybody else what to pick up an AK-47 ?
VDH:
You’re biting sarcasm makes me laugh. Somewhere I came across one of those post-modern reconsiderations of the pirate Blackbeard. What a quaint fellow he was. With his looks, why, he would have fit right in on any modern university campus. If he wasn’t such a murderous bastard, that is. I’m sure others here in this country view the Somali pirates as some sort of noble savages. They are half right. The Navy showed us how to deal with this very old problem.
William Jefferson?
When I first heard of this Somali pirate incident, as it began to unfold, I knew instinctively that this whole thing was a stroke of luck that has fallen right into U.S. arms: it was (is) a splendid opportunity. For a number of various reasons.
1) 0bama is a fool: He spent far too much time in apologia for a plan that focused exclusively on the Afghan campaign; and in reckless and foolhardy ways he was revealing strategy to an enemy in need of all the media support that Obamas dwelling on it would (un)naturally bring, so:
2) Now the media is playing its usual gossip relayer role, reporting back on all the sensational, but perfunctory, “Vows Of Revenge” ! and now the media is escalating the very thing they (the media) “Feared Might Escalate” while noting the “Praise For (The Messiah) [O], but of course fearing the whole thing might escalate as a result of 0bamas… Yeah, right…
3) Now the media is focusing exclusively on Somali pirates, the actors in their drama, while denying and reneging on all the publicity they were ready to spend lavishly on 0′s bold Afghan strategy, and its poor, oppressed, religiouskly bigotted Muslim extremist Taliban there, [to the exclusion and detriment to all Afghan peoples Muslim or otherwise who want to live and/or survive and prosper in peace, while peacefully practicing their religion, or not] .
Or at least that media blitz is all shelved now until the media has milked the Somali drama for all its worth.
4) its easier to fight and supply our efforts to annihilate the menace there, and could mean a principled stand and victory against barbarism, whereas the media is in the business of politicising everything and everybody for the sake of their agenda, and in favor of their patrons (pirates) elevated to freedom fighters, poor, the oppresssed. We could ignore all that tripe and just get down to the business of smoking some miserable, murderous, dead-ender thugs, and drown them in the sea.
and all in Somali and elsewhere would be better off
What a marvelous opportunity
Thank God for our military and courageous citizens. However, Obama, our “Teenager-in-Chief,” should receive little praise. First, two interventions by the White House during the standoff suggests either micromanagement or confusion. Second, the navy anticipated an early escape attempt by the Captain (SOP for prisoners of war), at which time they could have destroyed the four pirates a day earlier, but could not act because Obama withheld standing orders to take early and decisive action.
In short, Obama is ill-suited to be Commander-in-chief precisely because he lacks military experience and elemental courage.
Well Gentlemen and Ladies, I don’t ordinarily chime in for reasons that need not be stated here but I will this time as I have firsthand experience with pirates. They are not the fine fellows that Hollywood or our lovely lawyers would have the masses believe. They are blood thirsty, self-centered brutes who need to be eliminated as soon as possible. In 1973, I was with a Naval Helicopter gunship outfit in the Late Great Republic of South Vietnam. Yes, it doesn’t even exist anymore. We were working the coast on a mission that is of no import now. We came across a boat that had been an escape boat for Vietnam refugees. The dreaded “boatpeople”. The carnage was …impressive (this form one who is more than used to carnage I assure you) and gratuitous. The hull was stove in and she was taking on water fast. In a few more minutes the pirates work would be in Davey Jones Locker with no trace, but WE saw it. No one was alive, of course. It was only minutes old.
You will never find ANY record of what you are about to read and I will not go into great detail. Our bird cruised at 140kts. We caught the pirate ship, a rather well outfitted, well armed and powerful boat running like hell. The old saying that “no one can out run Motorola” was once again expanded. No one can outrun Mr. 7.62.
They knew what was about to happen and yes, they gave as good as they got. That day, for them, it wasn’t enough. There was no mercy given and none sought. There were four of us on the crew. LOL! In our outfit we were known as “The Old Men”. Email brought me news over the weekend that there is only one left, me.
Have a good day folks and death to the pirates.
Death. It is the only way.
President Obama handled this situation perfectly. Quietly, deliberatively and decisively. No cowboy bluster about “axis of evil”, “dead or alive”, “with us or against” us and so forth. He didn’t cave to pirate demands nor did he issue an apology to the Somoli pirates as did President Bush did when China held a 24 man American Navy EP-3E crew hostage for 11 days on Hainan Island. President Obama and our military command compliment each other well. A refreshing success. Fortunately we will no long hear the hand wringers attempting to make comparison between President Obama and President Carter’s. Some people just don’t seem to understand we elected President Obama precisely because we did not like the Bush Doctrine.
I think the megalomaniac in the WH is trashing the U.S. because he wants and thinks he can be king of the world, and he knows unilateralism will ruin his creds.
Everybody, including VDH, who treats the maniac as just another car with a different engine, is missing the game.
The boy-man is loonie tunes.
Great article Doc.
At least here in Europe the spin is that Obama did a great job. He let the pros handle the matter and didn’t engage in the George Bush cowboy swagger. The Messiah, instead, exercised a quiet firmness and all that rubbish.
I guess we can expect to see more of the same. Another group of Somali teenagers with AK47′s hijack a ship, followed by the FBI, followed by the SEALs, followed by CNN Europe, followed by a fawning US media extolling Obama’s speaking softly.
Everybody wins under this scenario. The pirates continue to pirate, the FBI gets on the front pages and starts up a series of week-end, Holiday Inn seminars for local cops on pirate negotiation. The SEALs get some target practice and the media gets to write heroic articles about how wise Obama is.
What struck me the most was the policy of the ship owners not to arm the crews along with orders not to resist. It reminded me of the ‘surviving a sexual assault’ training that liberals used to peddle back in the 70′s. Let the bad man have his way with you and you won’t get hurt.
I suggest an alternative scenario. We reactivate mothballed ships sufficient to control the seas off Somalia. We use this power projection only for American flagged vessels. All others are eligible for humanitarian assistance only. This allows us to gain a competitive advantage, not appear to be unilterally trying to inflict our will (beyond self defense) on others, grows jobs via the sailors employed, harms no innocent civilians, runs no risk of imperialism………..in general appears to be the answer to a multitude of questions. Funding of the venture would naturally come from a tax rate increase on “the rich.”
Clearly some/much of the $ Trillion newly created for the IMF should be targeted at this area of the world in order to address the “root cause” of the piracy problem. Common sense says that this cause is poverty related that can be cured by creating a corruption feeding frenzy a la most IMF projects in the developing world.
This multi faceted approach could serve as a model for handling all of the world’s problems down the road. Just think of its potential benefits in North Korea, Mindanao, Burma and other potential trouble zones. change we can/must/are obliged to believe in…….requiring only suspension of disbelief.
Very interesting . . . or is it disingenuous for Bill to make the comparison between the Chinese Navy and Somali pirates. Perhaps this is a glimpse of the near future. If Europe pats us on the back while pushing us out the door for bringing up Iran or North Korea, we can deflect consideration of same by action in a remote, unrelated area of the world. Gee, what could go wrong?
On the question of ‘what to do about piracy?’ President Barack Obama votes: Present.
Yes he cannot propose action as we did against the Barabary Pirates or those in Malay, which was done by two Democratic predecessors. Jefferson also tried the ‘diplomatic approach’ but found Europe to be feckle, willing to pay tribute and ransom, and generally not caring about what happened to others. And when a later Democratic President was faced with Piracy endangering our commercial shipping, the first US ship to sail around the world was dispatched and it was a war ship: USS Potomac. Both of these Presidents understood that protecting US shipping and interests did not require a grand coalition, nor approval from anyone as they had learned their history and that we were a Nation under the Law of Nations and would do as was necessary to protect ourselves from the scourge of those waging Private war or depradation at sea and on land.
Of course we are too ‘civilized’ to do that now, and so in our extreme civilization we can no longer see the corrosive forces that piracy is the hallmark of: decadence and decay. It is not Rome to which we need look for ourselves, but the late Bronze Age with its far flung trade network and burgeoning system of a few major Empires and scads of smaller States all working to their own ends until their conflicts allowed the uprooting of peoples to wipe out many of their civilizations. The multi-lateral approach failed then, too… and our Presidents learned the folly of it when all sign up to a treaty that none can enforce.
And that is the heart of civilization: enforcing the rule of law. It isn’t about being ‘nice’. Those who give up on all laws and take it into their own hands have shunned civilization for the Law of Nature, red of tooth and claw. They don’t act civilized, do not adhere to civilized standards and set themselves above all civilizations. It doesn’t matter if their banner is a Jolly Roger or Yellow AK-47 on Green or if it has no flag just names like al Qaeda who has, indeed, attacked vessels at sea or within the reaches of it. Rubber rafts, wooden ships, iron men, or just robe clad kalashnikov bearing people roaming the countryside: they have only the authority of their ferocity and disdain for civilization.
When one votes ‘Present’ to the question of terrorism, they are not making a statement for civilization but, instead, asking for its collapse to continue unabated. Do ask the Old Hittites about them in their ruins and amongst their bones. Visit Pylos and see how that turned out. Look at the hill in Ilios, fair Wilusa, that once had a mighty city called Troy. When their trade network went down, it went down hard… because no one could stop the pirates and corsairs, the brigands, thieves and ravagers from the sea and on land. When you are sending diplomatic notes and acting nicely, the result is devastation and ruin.
And now the clowns at Human Rights Watch are beating the drums to have the one pirate captured alive on the USS Bainbridge tried as a JUVENILE!! I am not kidding. Of course, in his own social group he is a full adult, and has been since he was 13. Sharia law most certainly would treat him as an adult if he is “of age.” Obambi is likely to agree.
Somali pirates make great target practice and can be dealt with efficiently by well trained professionals.
It’s the untouchable pirates in congress, their looting of our coffers and fleecing of generations – their all round contempt for our very way of life that is most worrisome..
As for O, flying his fav. pizza chef to DC in the middle of a hostage taking was a master stroke, almost as brilliant and courageous as his attic dwelling uncle who single handedly freed thousands of holocaust survivors in WWII.
Ahoy, Matey! Methinks that dead men do not “escalate”, arrghh!
Bill:
Obambi didn’t handle it at all, the captain of the Bainbridge did. All Obambi did, law prof that he is, was leave a loophole.
In any case, VDH is right and we forget at our peril one of the most seminal truths on pirates written – “Dead Men Tell No Tales”. These guys are bad guys and don’t always take prisoners.
PS Doc, I’m surprised you didn’t mention Julius Caesar’s experience as a hostage of pirates and the aftermath.
#5 Ron–“I’m surprised enterprising travel agents haven’t put together adventure cruises on seedy looking ships with all sorts of weapons and rum. They could install a loudspeaker on the ship that would blare ‘STAY AWAY FROM THE SHIP’ when they saw a suspicious vessel coming their way.
It would be code for everybody on board to get a weapon, scopes…”.
I was wondering what I was going to do for my vacation and this sounds perrffeecctt. Love the idea!
Bill (#20):
Obama did exactly nothing; if anything he gummed up the works. Standing law permits the Navy to do just what they did with no further orders or permissions from the White House. Obama didn’t give the “order to shoot”, he signed a CYA note allowing the commander on the scene to do as he saw fit – which he was authorized by law to do anyways. (Listen to Mark Levin’s show from last night: 4/13).
The president took no decisive action, he made no announcements, even after the fact he refused to take a stand and do what is obviously necessary. He wants to negotiate and use diplomacy for a situation where it is obviously inappropriate. You complain about the Bush doctrine (and what’s wrong with an apology when it got our aircrew out of a very stick situation? You want to go to war with China?) but note that those pirates hadn’t attacked a U.S. flagged vessel in 8 years.
“it is probably more accurate to say that Somalis are merely returning to their historical norm.”
A nice rebuttal over at The Corner to the view that Somali piracy is the consequence of political anarchy following the loss of a central government in the ’80s. “Somalia” is a geographic term, not a country. The ethnically and linguistically homogenous Somalis resist that whole nation/state idea and prefer their (pre-)historic clan system. They are, or were, only moderately religious, and the Muslim prohibition against stealing never took with these people. Piracy makes sense to them and has proved financially rewarding.
Expect to here more from the Left about how this is a result of Colonialism, Yankee oppression during the Cold War blah blah blah. Quite simply, it’s nothing new for the Somalis to make their living through banditry and piracy. It has always been a factor in that “country”.
Bill – That’s your take. In another, less sycophantic view, Obama after dallying needlessly, did precisely nothing but try to take credit for some quick thinking and some good shooting by those on the spot. What a guy!
#20 Bill:
Oh, did the elegant and cool O’Barry look up from his (800 mile flown in) pizza long enough to mumble, “present…?”
Or did he settle back down to his $100 Wagu beef after a joke session with Leno…
Maybe he is busy counting his $500,000 bonus for yet ANOTHER book from this community organizer…after another laugh session with 60 Minutes…
Please show some mercy…don’t give me a headache so early…
The young, Islam indoctrinated pirates are not the typical pirates of yore but they rape and pillage just the same. Unfortunately, this is yet another example of Islam recruiting young people to do their dirty work akin to Mafia thugs.
We need the sea to get our goods from other lands and indeed it is ‘open’ and dangerous at times and we need to protect America.
The ‘pirates’ and their handlers/makers have declared ‘USA ENEMY NUMBER ONE’ now.
Barack’s pathetic lack of experience with foreign policy is the scorpion biting him in his own behind.
Obama was about to make a Chicago style mess of it, he gets credit for not screwing it up after Capt. Phillips took the initiative American style. That’s all. Now we see a pathetic grab for hero status.
At least Obama had enough sense to move his teleprompter out of the way and let the Navy do what it needed to do. How that translates into great leadership on his part is a stretch to say the least. Not arming the sailors is like asking policeman/women to not be armed and negotiate for criminals to turn themselves in. ARM THE SAILORS! A human being is entitled to the right to defend themselves.
Obama is planning a lot worst fate for the American Conservatives than the pirates will ever get under his administration. He doesn’t know a damned thing about the military, but he knows crooked politics.
Bill:
The day is young. China and pirates are apples and oranges; we’ll see how your man does in the long haul. If he does well then he’ll be my man too.
A refreshing success? Too early for cheerleading don’t you think?
Until private firms begin arming or providing armed guards for their crews, I don’t think the problem is serious; Cato data suggests piracy is about average for the past decade or two: no change. If you’re dumb enough to sail your yacht past Somalia and get captured, that’s your problem. I knew the bad neighborhoods as a kid and avoided them.
Pirate motherships in international (and “Somali,” since it means nothing) waters should be boarded and sunk if guilty. Shelling/bombing/invading coastal villages, however, creates very ugly PR of bloody fly-covered malnourished kids beside dead parents. Sad but true. Perhaps the time is right and it can be done and Somalia is scary enough that no reporters will go document “cowboy capitalism,” but I doubt it; besides, Somalis have cellphones and Internet connections. Moreover, all Somalis are Muslims (not that I care, but plenty of other Muslim “allies” might, though they obviously don’t about the plight of black Muslims in the Sudan).
When shipping firms come begging for the USN to save their fleets, they should be given assurance that the USN will open fire as needed; however, they should also be told (like the EU) to grow up, move out, and start to pay their own way.
This Somali pirate thing is officially out of control. That poor Maersk captain being held hostage in that lifeboat. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I was on a ship once, well not a ship but a big boat out on the ocean. I know exactly what that captain is going through. I only wish that pansy allegedly Hawaiian teleprompter socialist muslim America hater president Ozero had the experience and the courage to do something about it. But I’m not going to hold my brath. (It might make my alabaster skin turn blue *wink wink*) I’m normally a very optimistic person, but I’m not feeling good about this captain’s chances of being . . .
What? . . . They did? . . . He is? . . . When?
Never mind.
# 20 Bill
Did you write here praising the Bamster after N Korea launched it’s nuclear missile? Or while Iran snubs it’s nose at us while they build the bomb? The pirate action was a feel-good moment, but spare us from thinking this was a major military victory.
Come on, Bill. Can’t see through the narrative, can you?
Obama isn’t being dodged by the usual media chorus fretting about the failure to find a negotiated solution which could have avoided so much bloodshed, blah, blah, blah.
And how our ‘aggressive’ response is a ‘recruiting poster’ for young Somali men outraged by the ‘disproportionate response’ of the hyperpower Goliath against appallingly out-gunned third world victims.
And Bill, you KNOW that’s what they’d be doing if Bush was still in the White House.
It’s what allowed Bubba to bomb Iraq, Sudan and Kosovo unilaterally and without ‘UN approval’, much leas a vote from Congress, without a fraction of the partisan editorial opprobrium heaped on Bush.
There really ARE two Americas.
OBAMA USED PIRATES TO ADVANCE DOMESTIC AGENDA
The real pirates are in Washington DC. Obama followed Bush template to curry public favor.
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/pirates-obama-does-bush-thing.html
Thinker@36
Unarmed Police and citizens? Yeah, like the Brits. 1st responders are not defense; they can only bring body bags to a gunfight, after the fact.
Look around the world – all the conflicts are the equivalent of piracy of either your money or your soul.
On 9/11, the complaint most often heard over the cellphones from those trapped in the “guided missiles” of United and AA was all we have for our defense is plastic butter knives. Imagine, just one citizen with CCW on each flight could have saved thousands of lives and a Trillion dollars.
Air marshals do not fix the problem. The air pirates must assume every US flight has armed citizens aboard. Same for shipping. The threat of piracy adds $10s of dollars to every barrel of oil.
It’s about fixing the problems permanently, no excuses, whatever it takes, NOW.
Few people alive in the world today are aware of the destructive force of nuclear weapons. I’ve been paying for their upkeep since 1958 with my tax dollars, and never seen one used.
As we shift defense expenditures to welfare, nuclear strikes become the only hammer remaining in our arsenal. We’d rather not use them; but our financial condition leaves fewer alternatives to appeasement. We need a demonstration of US power for all the world to see.
A) to show we’re willing
B) to solve some problem(s) permanently
C) to send the message round the planet that we’re done screwing around – Any further attacks on US interests will deserve instant reprisal – like, loss of a city for 20 years.
Historically, it’s only ever been the “collateral damage” which persuaded populations to curtail and cull the criminal/jihadi elements from their mist.
I should think that a maximum of two low-yield detonations will suffice, for the next few years. Choose two – NWFP and/or Somalia and/or Iran. Needn’t kill anyone. Drop leaflets. Give the target population(s) 4-weeks to evacuate.
_______ delenda est (insert area name) translates into all the appropriate languages. After our going Roman, just the threat of loss of a city will bring peace to hundreds of millions worldwide, and at least 300 million here at home.
Professor Hanson!
I, as usual, feel much gratitude for an excellent set of thoughts. I have one question, however, did you mean “apologia” or apologetics for what Obama is excreting abroad? Apologia fits what I recall; apologetics is something else. After almost 70 years of living under this sun and witnessing the Cold War first hand and Viet Nam through family members, I am more than a little ill-at-ease with this wet-eared baby occupying the White House. Again and as usual thanks for your mature, thoroughly considered, historical view of the American scene.
The Kalashnikov is a fine weapon’s family, so it should not be denigrated by associating it with such rabble as Muslims.
I am one Bible reading, rifle clinger, conservative lawyer in PA.
Reminds me of the film “Wind and the Lion” (1975) with Sean Connery, Brian Keith, John Huston (good actors all) and loosely describing a 1904 event involving kidnapping, Muslim brigands, and (have to say it) wonderfully jingoistic adventurism by a brash young nation (that would be US). Anyway, when Brian Keith’s Teddy Roosevelt stands up impersonating a grizzly bear and speaks of America’s loneliness and greatness, and when those brash, shotgun totin’ young marines rescue all….I can’t help but smile and cheer. Admittedly, Sean Connery’s brigand chieftain is hyper-romanticized with his Islamic veneer but heart-of-gold contrasted to the cold-blooded psychopaths we currently know. Still, the film gets me off the couch cheering.
A wistful antidote to the metrosexuality of our current anti-hero in charge! And, no, granting the SEALs permission to kill 3 threatening outlaws doesn’t get Obama the Carry A Big Stick award.
Dear Professor Hanson,
To my last entry I send this as an addition. I submit that the hidden fear and dread that I have is probably shared by many here and that is that Obama’s inveterate pacivism will back us into a nuclear holocaust. During the Cold War what apparently tempered the Communists was our policy of MAD as considered in the context of the Russians’ Christian heritage. Now with orthodox Islam propagandizing 1.5 billion nominal Muslims and over 1/2 the US refusing to recognize the connection, all bets are off.
God bless,
TB
one of my own:
Cut the satirical crap. No doubt you would be ranting about how uncaring people here are if they did not express concern for a fellow American held hostage overseas. We’ve seen these situations end badly. Pretty normal to feel concern for the hostage and his family.
There’s always a media frenzy over these events, both over what to do, and when it’s over, who did what. As there were few political considerations in this case, Obama deferred to the professionals on site. Good for him and good takedown by the Navy. It’s the media who are making more out of this affair than is there. Maybe you are a little miffed because the outcome ruined your Easter festivities. If so, you ought to direct your ire at the MSM, not the people on this site.
Piracy begins where government ends. You want to have more pirates? Have less government. Have fewer essential services such as education, police protection, health care, jobs and social stability, and you have a pretty excellent breeding ground for pirates.
Obama did what democrats always do. He weighed the political ramifications of taking action vs taking no action. In this case the politically right thing to do was also the actual right thing to do. That is not always the case.
Charles at LGF thinks Obama did a wonderfull job and loves him so much for his courage in facing these pirates. He demanded that his lizards follow suit and if not they were branded as wack jobs. I think LGF has finally gone down the DAily KOS road to stiffel opinions while claiming to cherish free speech. So sad, power corrupts even with blogs, and i used to be a daily read.
Leaked SNL first draft script for upcoming week.
INT. – WHITE HOUSE – EVENING
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, George Soros, Bill Ayers, and Nihad Awad are sitting around the Oval Office. Pizza boxes are scattered around the room.
Barack: Did I tell you or did I tell you?
Rahm: Only for the tenth time Barry.
Barack gives Rahm his “Joe Biden you are an embarrassing idiot” look.
Rahm: Best pizza ever.
Hillary: (muffled by a mouthful of pizza) Mmmmphmm.
Bill: 800 mile delivery radius. I get charged an extra five bucks ’cause I’m not in the 2 mile radius of my favorite pizza joint.
George: (holding up a piece of pizza) Is this kosher?
The room erupts in laughter. Pieces of partly chewed pizza fly out of Hillary’s mouth. Some of the spewed pizza lands on the arm of Nihad’s jacket. He stands up and quickly brushes it off.
Nihad: This is a two thousand dollar Brooks Brothers. How dare you!
Hillary: (muffled by a mouthful of pizza) Mmmmphmmgrhhmm.
Barack: Let’s settle down kids, I wanna get back to the party, so let’s get this done as quick as possible.
Nihad: (still wiping his jacket sleeve) Yes, Ibrahim and I have some important business with Hamas to attend to.
Nihad lifts a bag off the floor and sets it on the table. Money spills out of the bag. Nihad haphazardly tries to push the money back into the bag.
George: Is that going to be enough?
Nihad: It will suffice.
Barack: Now this pirate thing, does anyone here have a reference?
Bill: I saw Pirates of the Caribbean.
Hillary: (muffled by a mouthful of pizza) Hmmphgrmmph.
Rahm: Pirates of the Caribbean.
George: Pirates of the Caribbean.
Barack: Damn, I knew we shoulda invited Johnny Depp.
Rahm: You wanted Kal, I got you Kal. You should have said Johnny if you wanted Johnny.
Barack: I thought Kal would have really good dope.
Bill: I bet Johnny still has that briefcase from “Fear and Loathing”.
Nihad: What is wrong with you people? They are just actors. How can they help you?
Hillary: (muffled by a mouthful of pizza) Mmmmhrmmph.
Nihad: Woman! I can’t even understand a word you are saying.
Nihad raises his hand to hit Hillary.
Barack: Ahhh. She’s not your wife.
Nihad: Oh, yes, yes, sorry.
Barack: Now where were we?
George: Pizza.
Barack: Yeah, pizza.
Rahm: Actually, we’ve moved on from pizza and (looking at an official-like document), we have now moved on to pirates.
Barack: Yeah, pirates. Should we just talk to them?
Hillary: (muffled by a mouthful of pizza) Mmmmphmmmhrmm.
George: I could just pay them.
Rahm: No, I don’t think the American people would allow that. We got that Hamas money by them, if we start giving money to the pirates, the public might catch on.
Barack: Rahm’s right. We can’t just throw money at this one. Is there any way out of this so we don’t hurt any feelings.
Bill: Head shots.
Barack: Head shots?
Bill: Ya. They won’t feel a thing.
George: One bullet each, shouldn’t effect the stimulus package.
Rahm: I think if we make this pirate thing big, people will forget about the islamic terrorists.
Nihad: Amen to that.
Barack: Do you think you can get the media to run with this?
Hillary: (muffled by a mouthful of pizza) Hmmmphmmh.
Rahm: The media shouldn’t be a problem.
Barack: Then everyone is in agreement.
Nihad: Pirates.
Rahm: Pirates.
George: Pirates.
Bill: Pirates.
Hillary: (muffled by a mouthful of pizza) Mmmmhrphmmm.
Barack: Pirates it is. (pauses) Now if only we can get James to figure out a way to tie this pirate thing into that Global Climate Dimming Weather Change thing, it’ll be smooth sailing.
Music cuts in.
Barack: (starts dancing) Let’s party!
Everyone joins into a conga line and Barack leads it out the door.
Cut to:
INT – LIVING ROOM – EVENING
Johnny Depp is sitting on his couch lighting up a bong. There is a hot girl sitting on the couch with him. The phone rings. Johnny takes a hit off the bong. The phone rings again. The girl answers the phone. Johnny takes another hit off the bong.
Girl: (handing the phone to Johnny) It’s some guy, he says his name is Barry.
Cut.
Good Doc: There is so much being written about the terrorist pirates, our response, our lack of response, the worlds response or lack of and on and on and on that I have only one thing to say about all of this. I just love the irony that the United States Naval ship that was sent to the scene first is the USS Bainbridge, named of course in honor of Commodore William Bainbridge who himself fought the Barbary pirates.
Muppet Man.
Oh I agree completely. Let’s invade and occupy Somolia, and set them up with a democratic government. That sounds like exactly the sort of project that liberals would be supportive of, right?
0 got out of the way (after two excruciating days of micro-management seminars) so that Navy seals could do their job: The job they were trained to do; namely, exterminating the enemies of humanity.
If 0 thinks he got a quick fix from the action of the seals, he is very much mistaken, this will continue. There are already many ships captured, and crews kidnapped for the extortion racket that is piracy, at this moment. And euro-powers have already given him the brush-off as to help of any kind, and, of course, they will naturally expect the U.S. to come to the rescue again, time and time again, as if we owe it to them, because 0 is already such a toady euro-marxist -o-phile. Pathetic.
Pastor of Muppets suggests that with more government services, Somalia might have fewer pirates. No, with more government services, the pirates would simply prey on those until every last program and institution was drained dry and despoiled completely. Then they would resume raiding ships once again. Pirates prey on whatever is risk free and easy to get at, and nothing is easier to take than a free lunch from a stupid, hand-wringing socialist.
Pastor of Muppets:
Most governments in the developing world don’t adequately provide the services you mention, yet piracy is common in few places. Furthermore, many of these same governments often act piratical toward their own people. Concerted action against piracy by governments that rely on maritime trade is what ends piracy.
On another subject — if you’re going to a TEA party tomorrow carry a sign that says: “DHS Please Don’t Shoot. Left Wing Anarchist. Bombs at Home.”
Happenstance…coincidence…or…?
Last few weeks: Left-wing blogosphere labels TEA Party protesters as “right-wing” reactionaries.
Yesterday: DHS issues warning to law enforcement agencies about the potential for “right-wing” extremists causing violence. Veterans may be involved — remember veteran and terrorist Timothy McVeigh.
Today: White House spokesman Nick Shapiro says, “The President is focused not on politics but rather taking the steps necessary to protect all Americans from the threat of violence and terrorism regardless of its origins.”
Gee, do you think there’s a connection here?
Why didn’t you tough Republicans get rid of them, you enjoy blowing stuff up don’t you, you had 8 years, what happened? Just like everything else, we have to call on Obama to fix it. Even though we know he’s got his hands full, now he has to deal with these thugs that Bush was too wimpy to do anything about.
I believe the piracy problem in the Malacca Straits has been reduced considerably by the joint efforts of Indonesia and Malaysia. The latter found the activities of pirates to be costly to their economies. Of course, these states were not concerned with NGOs and international law, and could use the usual methods for dealing with criminal activities.
#58 Class Clown, hilarious. I’d like to see them try.
#53 Metastor of puppets: If your being sarcastic, you make a pretty absurd, but effective point. If you think that bagman, now pirate 0, is any thing different than the pirates in Indian ocean, you are the pluperfect fool the $850,000,000 million dollar 0 campaign was counting on, and was targeted to.
LET’S HIJACK THE PIRATES BUSINESS MODEL
They are doing way better than Wall Street!
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/hijacking-pirates-business-model.html
VDH,
Thanks for your piece on “President of the world” at NRO. Truly frightening. Again. The perspective of a historian is our canary in the coal mine. Are we listening?
What a brilliant article. Now on the verge of Al Franken becoming the newest Senator on the hill, I can only wonder what the future holds. Certainly when the Voting public cannot seem to do better than this, what we need more than anything is clear headed “deep water” logic and thinking as is evident in this article. That fact that the water seem so shallow in the halls of power is of concern to be sure.
GOOD JOB Mr. Hanson,
Essential vdh
OK, OK, why are we still trying to make sense out of actions and discourse coming from idiots. Why bother.
Just vote and take someone with you. Start with family and friends they need leadership give it to them. They should know what is at stake–for them.
America and Americans are now dealing with proven idiots, idiots validated every day by the MSM– Who play at being corresponding idiots within the ongoing “reporting”.
BHO and the MSM reminds one of the two fools having a conversation on the bank of a river. One says to the other “God told me to go take a swim”. The other says “No I didn’t.”
They, the MSM and BHO’s sheep as fools and idiots are in complete harmony with each other—with of course BHO being “God” to their chorus and Hallelujahs and correcting them as needed to continue to show his “power” and “greatness”. Leading his “flock”.
Do they, the MSM with mirrors and teleprompters really listen to what he, BHO this product of affirmative action, is actually saying.— Impossible.
Is the content and context of this blog because we are in a round about way by discussion critiquing what is happening so that any one who reads the discourse will come to the conclusion that idiots are at play?
Maybe even one of the mentioned idiots will read and see the light?
It will never happen. We are only preaching to the choir already in our church.
When has a fool every recognized that he is a fool. Even the obvious ones who infrequently comment a dumb riposte within this blog. They simply make their shell harder.
It is simply beyond their comprehension. And it is no body’s fault but their own ignorance and stupidity.
They will suffer more in the end of days simply because they are really incompetent and “victims”–they have no talent to support themselves in an uncivilized world and the chaos the is always simply a result of letting idiots, academic fools and Utopians lead.
A BHO or a Hillery Clinton by now is set in concrete with their silly reactionary thought process that got them where they are.
They are the winners for now, the left wing Anti American element of the Democratic party.
Unrecognized and not commented on subversion is now the lead element within and for the US. It will take it down unless kicked out. Voted out ASAP.
The world can survive a dumbed down Europe. But only with a productive America to buy their trash. America is now crashing and dumbing down also. Courtesy of BHO and his sheep. No survival for any now.
It, this subversion of American values has got them this far by being totally reactionary and politically motivated.
There is no reason for them to change their “style”. Only getting them the hell out of office will help America now.
World events or America’s slide into oblivion could no more impact their way of doing business or thinking than a flea biting a donkey’s ass.
Obama off to Mexico this morning. A fresh opportunity for groveling to others and preaching to us. Oh goodie!
Jack T @ 64 – you gave me exactly what I needed – a good laugh at the end of a long day’s work. Thanks mate!
Gilbert & Sullivan:
I Am A Pirate King
Oh, better far to live and die
Under the brave black flag I fly,
Than play a sanctimonious part,
With a pirate head and a pirate heart.
Away to the cheating world go you,
Where pirates all are well-to-do;
But I’ll be true to the song I sing,
And live and die a Pirate King.
For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!
When I sally forth to seek my prey
I help myself in a royal way.
I sink a few more ships, it’s true,
Than a well-bred monarch ought to do;
But many a king on a first-class throne,
If he wants to call his crown his own,
Must manage somehow to get through
More dirty work than ever I do,
For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!
Europe (and possibly now America) are now truly committed to a legalistic, constitutional-rights-protected, police response to every attack, from terrorism to piracy to direct military attacks on our soil. We would do well to recall Supreme Court Justice Jackson’s (dissenting) comment in the 1930’s Terminiello case, that “the Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact.” War cannot be waged by policemen armed with Miranda cards; the UN has tried that many times, from watching genocide in Rwanda to watching rocket attacks on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Obama got off to a good start on confronting pirates, using the right kind of diplomatic negotiations (”Saying ‘Nice doggie’, while looking around for a rock.”) Now he needs to step up to the big question: Who polices the seas? In the past, the answer was simple, whether it was piracy or the slave trade: the dominant navy.
We all learned the clever line from the Vietnam War that “we can’t be the cops of the world.” What we haven’t yet learned is the true nature of a world without cops, with only Dutch and Canadian crossing guards.
@65. JackT Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t recall any US flagged ships getting hijacked during W’s time in office.
Pirates are bullies, they see weakness and push to see who will stand up and who will give up their lunch money. Fortunately the Naval commander at the scene had a set and did what was right.
Obama was busy eating his flown-in pizza (carbon footprint on that one anybody?) and did nothing but dither.
A kid downloading free music is the moral equivalent of hijacking a ship by force on the seas? that is moral dumbing down maxed out.
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