Once More from the Top

President Obama:

“I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of (piracy) in that region,” the commander-in-chief said.

“To achieve that goal we’re going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, we have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise, and we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes,” he said.

I’m not sure the President really needs to address piracy head-on, in public. A few forceful acts (maybe even a landing party of Marines to destroy a few “fishing” docks), done as quietly as possible, ought to get the message across. The message being: Don’t (ahem) do this stuff any more.

But you have to wonder if the president sticking his neck out like this doesn’t escalate matters unnecessarily. Or put more of our reputation on the line than is warranted. It was bad enough to see the might of the US Navy being held in check by a 16-year-old pirate/”negotiator.” It would be worse still to see the president himself put in that spot.