By authorising the use of military force for the first time outside the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan that he inherited, President Obama may hope that he has shut some of his critics up. For the moment, at least.
The sight of four pirates in a lifeboat holding off an $800-million warship and the world’s last superpower was not, after all, the image the White House wishes to project.
Mr Obama’s own silence on the subject last week, ducking questions about whether he would rescue Captain Phillips, suggested a degree of indecision or weakness that stood in marked contrast to the swift — if bloody — action taken by France.
Opponents who have always seen his presidency as a throwback to that of Jimmy Carter rather than John Kennedy, were lining up to compare the scenes in the Gulf of Aden to the Iranian hostage crisis 30 years before.
Yesterday the White House was at last able to explain itself. The President had twice authorised military force but was seeking neither to draw undue attention to the situation with mixed signals nor do anything that might threaten Captain Phillips’s life.
Mr Obama, in a statement issued yesterday afternoon, said that the safety of the hostage had always been “our principal concern”. He went on to talk about how the US “would work with our partners to prevent future attacks” and ensure “those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes”.
These last comments are significant. Mr Obama is determined that the international community recognises its responsibility to share America’s burden on this and a host of other challenges including, most notably, Afghanistan. He is also keen that his own language should not escalate a situation as his predecessor so often did. Mr Obama’s message is that pirates are criminals, not “terrorists”, and that two wars are quite sufficient.
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It wasn't exactly rocket science in dealing with four pirates? It also took a while to eventually free the Captain. Obama will have to do more than this to convince me of his strength as a Leader.
Prudence Eely Bond McGuire BA, LONDON, ENGLAND UK
I think people would be more sympathetic to these pirates if there was a little more swashbuckling and drinking rum out of wooden barrels and a little less hostage taking
Steve, gainesville, usa
Ifticar - I will assure you that Pres. Carter was angry beyond words after the mission failed. I worked for DoD at the time and had WH contacts. After the failed raid, purse strings loosened up. In effect, the "REAGAN BUILDUP" started under Carter, just as the New Deal did under Hoover.
Dr. Shalit, Asbury Park, NJ, USA
Harry Gruber, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
How quickly people forget. Carter authorized the disastrous attempt to free the Iranian hostages. The attempt that ended up up with several American military deaths.
Ifticar, San Jose, CA, USA
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