President Barack Obama was "crisp and decisive" but also lucky in his handling of the Maersk Alabama hostage crisis, exults Time magazine's Joe Klein [depicted in NewsBusters screen cap/file photo at right] in an April 13 Swampland blog post.
Klein added that had the Navy SEAL snipers failed in hitting their targets, Republicans and second-guessing journalists would probably push the Obama administration to escalate matters to tackle a non-existent pirate "threat":
But it could easily have gone wrong, through no fault of the President and the SEALs--a gust of wind, whatever...and then the Administration would have had to waste all sorts of energy on damage control, fending off the second-guessers--Republicans and, all too often, people like me--and perhaps overreacting to the pirate "threat" as a result. Presidencies are, sadly, built or crippled on such quirks of fate.
As it stands, our socialist, pacifist, crypto-Muslim President has bagged three terrorist in the most dramatic fashion and saved a Captain. Congratulations to all concerned--and let's hope that the good luck continues to roll.
So with a pat on the president's back and crossed fingers Klein goes on to hope that what he dismissively calls the Somali pirate "threat" goes away? It's hard to imagine Klein having the same reaction if the Maersk incident happened in April 2008 under President Bush.
Would Klein really see the hostage situation as an isolated incident or a symptom of a "failed administration" that was inadequately addressing a growing Somali pirate "threat" off the Horn of Africa?
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
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Comments Policy
"But it could easily have
April 13, 2009 - 11:46 ET by Utherpend"But it could easily have gone wrong, through no fault of the President and the SEALs--a gust of wind, whatever...and then the Administration would have had to waste all sorts of energy on damage control, fending off the second-guessers--Republicans and, all too often, people like me--and perhaps overreacting to the pirate "threat" as a result. Presidencies are, sadly, built or crippled on such quirks of fate."
Yeah Joe, that is the luck of the draw when you are president, you don't get to pick and choose what you want to deal with, you deal with what happens and face the consequences of your decisions. Real leaders know how to deal with the consequence of their actions, pretend leaders watch the polls and react to how they think others want them to react, sort of like what your guy Obama does.
"For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security."
Now the damage control starts
April 13, 2009 - 11:47 ET by TheHistorianRemember the history of this area is that we were willing to spend "millions for defense, but not one dollar for tribute" (Jefferson, I believe). We are now likely to have to spend some money to eradicate this group. The question is whether we will have the foresight to do it militarily, or whether we will do, as Senator Clinton suggests, as an international operation. If we do, I will point to Darfur and Bosnia as sterling examples of operations where international has not succeeded, and Iraq as an example where unilateralism has succeeded.
"What experience and history teach is this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it."
G. W. F. Hegel
Joe...
April 13, 2009 - 12:13 ET by AgentAmericanJoe Klein looks like a shaved shihztzu.
2010: A GOP Hill
An important lesson
April 13, 2009 - 12:21 ET by KC MulvilleGive credit where credit is due. The military did its job, as did Obama. But there's an important lesson here, and I hope Obama learns it: this rescue was matter of guts and determination, not cleverness. The media is praising Obama, and rightly so - he did his job. But I hope that when it comes to dealing with crises, Obama learns that guts matter more than brains.
What bothers me is that this same military has been serving heroically in Iraq and Afghanistan, showing the same guts and determination for years under ridiculous conditions ... and the media ignored them. They noticed this story because it served Obama's political purpose. It's a shame that these stories weren't told about our guys when it was politically inconvenient.
Obama got lucky
April 13, 2009 - 16:04 ET by GalvanicThe President's policy was to let negotiations run their course, and if the on-scene commander determined that the hostage was in imminent danger, military action was authorized. The pirates blinked, and the Navy killed them. Any police force would've done the same thing in a hostage situation.
We'll probably never know whether Obama had authorized a pro-active rescue attempt, or whether the Navy was authorized to engage the pirates with deadly force after the hostage's execution.
On the national security scoreboard, this is definitely a win, albeit a small one. But it doesn't give us any insight into Obama's inclination for using military force.
Be prepared
April 13, 2009 - 18:27 ET by KC MulvilleEvery action has an equal and opposite reaction - and that's nowhere more true than in politics and crime.
These pirates aren't going away, and they're going to be prepared for the next time. They might go after other countries, or plant mines, or find stingers, or some other reaction. That's when the political fallout might hurt Obama.
This isn't over yet.
I have to wonder what Cindy
April 13, 2009 - 12:28 ET by dscottI have to wonder what Cindy Sheehan and fat boy think of their anti-war "pacivist" leader who ordered the deaths of 3 people to save one person... Wasn't the whole point of opposing the war in Iraq saying that killing and violence are not the solution???? Interesting inconsistency in Obama's behavior don't you think?
Don't get me wrong, I think Obama did the right thing but for the wrong reason.
Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
Much Different
April 13, 2009 - 16:09 ET by Jen7"I have to wonder what Cindy Sheehan and fat boy think of their anti-war "pacivist" leader who ordered the deaths of 3 people to save one person... Wasn't the whole point of opposing the war in Iraq saying that killing and violence are not the solution???? Interesting inconsistency in Obama's behavior don't you think?"
This hostage situation shouldn't even be compared to the war in Iraq and those who opposed it because 'killing and violence are not the solution'. There weren't Americans who were taken hostage in Iraq. Completely different situation.
And I'd like to reference an article in February of this year that Obama issued an executive order to go after these pirates who threaten ships.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2009/02/us-navy-apprehe.html
"Don't get me wrong, I think Obama did the right thing but for the wrong reason."
What reason is that?
As you may presently yourself be fully made aware of, my grammar sucks.
Family Guy
This hostage situation
April 14, 2009 - 16:33 ET by Dan The Man 2This hostage situation shouldn't even be compared to the war in Iraq and those who opposed it because 'killing and violence are not the solution'. There weren't Americans who were taken hostage in Iraq. Completely different situation
Same idea behind it, protecting freedom and specifically protecting America from tyrany. Americans were involved in Iraq since 1991 and the resumption of the war was needed to protect not only American interests but those of all the worlds. The killing of the pirates also protected American interests, just more directly. They may be different but alike in protection of american interests.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
According to U.S. officials
April 14, 2009 - 16:45 ET by Dan The Man 2According to U.S. officials who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity, last Thursday the Joint Chiefs of Staff last week issued a Counter Piracy Execute Order that charged the military with pursuing and apprehending pirates who threaten commercial ships in the Horn of Africa region off the coast of Somalia.
Now where is the executive order by Obama? If you learned to read it says "last Thursday the Joint Chiefs of Staff last week issued a Counter Piracy Execute Order." If you can come up with something better then do it. What does the order say?
Need a better class of Troll.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
It's hard to imagine
April 13, 2009 - 12:36 ET by bigtimerIt's hard to imagine Klein having the same reaction if the Maersk incident happened in April 2008 under President Bush.
Hypocrisy runs deep with the left.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
It's a distraction, remember?
April 13, 2009 - 13:30 ET by CobraManAccording to Obama, piracy is just a distraction, even when it's Americans who are being held hostage. I guarantee you that this wasn't something the Obama administration PLANNED, it was a "seize the moment' decision by the commander on site. Obama's spin doctors are just using the success as a means to label Obama as a military genius.
Had the situation turned out differently and the hostage died, Obama would be telling everyone that this "operation" wasn't authorized by him or anyone within his administration. He'd place the blame solely on the commander on site! The commander would be dismissed and the who situation quickly buried by the MSM
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
Check out this video of the
April 13, 2009 - 15:53 ET by HatedByLiberalsnm
If I had a tail, I could swing from a tree.
April 13, 2009 - 17:49 ET by JWFWow. Who knew that with all the intense pressure on those snipers, worrying about what would happen with the Republicans and worriers and Joe Klein and all, we are lucky they were able to overcome and hit the target. Huh?
A fine example of reifying. If global warming had not calmed the air in the Indian Ocean, the snipers might have missed and all teh hell would break loose and Joe Klien might have monkeys start flying out of his butt.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars
Joe Klein is nothing more
April 14, 2009 - 21:10 ET by rbosqueJoe Klein is nothing more than a DNC sockpuppet. Everytime he opens his big mouth he parrots their talking points. He doesn't think for himself.