Hello to all! I know this post is a long time coming, but as some of you know, my wife and I are expecting our first baby, so my time has been consumed by attending to all of her needs. My promise and commitment to you all is that I will be posting as much as time permits me to. Having said all of that, allow me to share my first post with all of you!
Our Vice President; Mr. Joseph Biden, was absolutely right. He told us before Barry was elected that our young president would be tested by a foreign relations challenge before the end of their first six months in office. Well, he was right. Two times over! First, N. Korea and their little cherub like dictator announced to the world that they were planning on launching a rocket to "send a communications satellite into space." In reality, this was to test their first long range rocket and show to the world that N. Korea is more than a dirt poor country where people out in the country eat mud.... and each other because they're so poor. In response to this announcement, the POTUS said, "I am going to send a couple of guided missile cruisers to sit off the coast of the Korean peninsula to shoot this thing down if they can actually get it off the ground." OK, now, I am with the POTUS so far. I actually respect him a little more at this point, unfortunately that respect would be short lived. Then the day comes where the Koreans launch this thing, and our response is....... (insert cricket sounds here...). Ok, thats not "entirely" true. The POTUS was woken at 2am to learn of the news that N. Korea fired the rocket, at which time he assembled his crack foreign relations team (lead by none other than Hillary Clinton herself) to formulate a response. After many, many hours of brainstorming they had a plan! Go to the U.N. security council and let THEM slap Kim Jong Il's little hand. Brilliant! If nothing else, Barry is consistent. He told us that once he was POTUS he would seek world consensus before acting. Kudos Barry! So, what was the U.N.'s decisive edict? (Insert cricket sounds here......) Yep, thats right, nothing... well, "maybe" impose more sanctions on the country where human flesh is the dish de jure.
OK, foreign relations crisis numero dos (I am practicing my Spanish... we are going to need it soon)! Terrorists (a.k.a. Pirates... Yaaaaaaaaaar!) have taken a U.S. flagged cargo ship off the coast of Somalia. Why is this significant? After all, these kids in their lil boats have been doing this for a loooooong time. Well kiddies, if you read and know your history, you would know that this is the FIRST TIME IN OVER 200 YEARS that a ship flying a U.S. flag has been boarded and held. Can anyone tell me what President Jefferson's response was to the piracy the last time one of our ships was taken (Cue my Marine friends here....)? The answer can be found in the second line of the Marine Corps Hymn, "From the shores of Tripoli." Thats right kids, President Jefferson's response was to send in the Marines because he knew that acts such as these could not be allowed to go undeterred (side note, this is also where Marines got the nickname "leathernecks." But thats for another rant.) What has been our valient president's response thus far? Insert cricket sounds here. Ok ok ok.. thats not entirely true. He did dispatch a U.S. Navy destroyer to shadow the ship as well as sent a team of F.B.I. hostage negotiators to talk to the "misguided young Somali men." Huh? Team of negotiators? Come again? What about that whole "The U.S. will NEVER negotiate with terrorists" thing? I want to know why we dont have a Marine Expeditionary Unit parked in some Somali port right now. Well, I know the answer, but it makes me want to vomit, so maybe someone else can give me another answer to make me feel better. Sigh....
If you couple those two incidents with Barry's "Apologetic World Tour '09," the POTUS BOWING to the king of Saudi Arabia, giving the P.M. of England some DVD's that wont play in British players, giving the Queen of England an Ipod and giving the finger to our dead war heroes at Normandy... I am seriously beginning to question this man's ability to lead. Also, look at the fact that he went to Europe "hat in hand" so to speak to beg for more NATO troops to be sent to Afghanistan and was told again to go pound sand. Where is the egalitarian spirit that was going to unite the world behind us? I can think of one quote from the movie "A Few Good Men" that so eloquently sums up what happened to us on November 4th, 2008: "Col. Jessep: You fuckin' people... you have no idea how to defend a nation. All you did was weaken a country today, Kaffee. That's all you did. You put people's lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son."
The New Yellow Star
3 years ago
Posts
9 comments:
Apparently CK, you've been smokin' somethin'.
Your facts are just wrong. In 1968 the USS Pueblo was captured and boarded by North Korea.
This was an intelligence ship, that we surrendered without a fight.
In 1975, the US container ship Mayaguez was boarded and captured by the Khmer Rouge following the end of our involvement in Vietnam.
One incident happened under a Democratic President, the other under a Republican.
The actions of our Navy in the current incident, under the direction of President Obama, so far have resulted in the retaking of the ship, with no loss of life.
How might you have handled the situation better?
As for North Korea and their faulty missile, again, what would you have done?
If they are a sovereign country, do they not have a right to test fire a missile?
I know that Newt Gingrich advocated bombing the missile on the launch pad, but with what authority?
If a country did that to us, would we not see it as an act of war?
There just were not a lot of options on the table on this one, given that apparently China did not want any decisive action taken.
The failing of several Admins. to deal effectively with North Korea has led to this.
To saddle Obama with responsibility for this is akin to blaming Bush for North Korea's and Pakistan's acquisition of nukes.
Yes it happened on their watches, but the problem was a long time coming.
President BO probably frightened North Korea to death when he declared with both passion and his usual level of arrogance, "They broke the rules."
Oh, Mommy, Mommy! They don't play fair. They broke the rules.
Libs are always about this touchy-feely kind of fairness thing.
Joe, do you have any solutions?
CK, a good commentary on the current situation.I am amazed that a President of the most powerful nation on earth prostrates himself before the world, so that they are appeased.
Dave, you may be technically correct about the Pueblo and Mayaquez and I grant you that. There was incorrect reporting by a number of news sources. I do have a solution for the piracy problem, and that is to place an entire Marine division on the beaches in Somalia, and a U.S. Navy battle group off the shores where these ships are being harbored. Pirate speedboats can't win against 5 inch guns.
The problem with North Korea is one of appeasement. During the 1990s, NK would make noise about nuclear power and the Clinton Administration would give them technology to make them stop. A few months later, the same cycle continued, and the information given includes the technology for "super silent" submarine screws - the propellers that drive our boomers that no one has ever tracked longer than a few seconds.
No one is saying that Obama carries the burden for NK nukes. However, the administration had several opportunities the past few weeks to show that it would not stand down in fear of conflict, yet chose to take the quiet road and remain silent. Walk softly and carry a big stick is appropriate foreign policy, but when the world knows that the big stick is a child's plastic baseball bat, there is no deterrence to pirates or rogue nations.
Robert, technically correct? Would not a better term be 100% correct?
Are we not bound by some international law issues here?
If this stuff is happening in international waters, how do we justify what we you are proposing absent any requests from offended parties?
If memory serves me, this is the first incident involving an American flagged ship.
Are you advocating for an invasion of Somalia too?
Absolutely right: O'Bummer has been so busy being Evil America's official apologist that his entire judgment is clouded.
Unfortunately GWB didn't leave his cajones behind when he left so that O'Bummer could have some all for himself.
"Unfortunately GWB didn't leave his cajones behind when he left.."
Yep, he sure did in the N Koreans when they tested several missiles
(and an atomic bomb) under is cajone watch....
CK, you forgot to mention how George W. Bush was tested by an enemy 9 months into his new administration:
The worst attack on American soil was perpetrated by terrorists.
That was some testing of the new president, wasn't it?
By all the accounts I've read, Mr. Obama handled the piracy/hostage crisis quite well. And it didn't turn out to be the failure the Right was hoping for.
Every president is tested; every president has to handle crises.
Remember Ronald Reagan and the Marines in Lebanon? And his promise--PROMISE to not leave, and then he left.
Also, not only did George W. Bush hold hands and walk with King Abdullah when he was the POTUS, he's captured on film kissing the King. On the lips.
Now that is a hell of a lot more intimate than bending down to grasp Abdullah's hand to shake it.
Dave Miller: Yes, I do.
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