Sunday, April 12, 2009

Captain Phillips is a Hero

Well, I'm sure most folks have heard the great news that U.S. Captain Richard Phillips has been rescued from the pirates who hijacked his container ship, the Maersk Alabama. TigerHawk rightly points out that President Barack Obama deserves kudos for "signing off on the mission." I'd add that American naval forces also deserve high praise for playing it cool while the pirated lifeboat drifted off the coast of Somalia. In waiting out Captain Phillips' captors, U.S. forces showed a patient resolve, and then decisive action, that culminated in the best possible outcome.

That said, I checked some of the links at
Memeorandum to get a feel for the blogospheric buzz, and many of those on the left aren't celebrating this event for the triumph of heroism that it is. Readers should check the comments at Think Progress, where some of the visitors there are scourging the United States, and suggesting that piracy is a legitimate response to Eurupe's "nuclear waste off the coast of Somalia." One of the commenters blames the Bush administration:

We are always interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and always trying to stop any progressive movement or any form of good self-government.
Putting aside the sheer stupidy of that comment, note that a couple of the visitors at the post have linked to a piece at Crooks and Liars, "What the International Media Aren't Telling You About Somalia Pirates."

Read the whole post.
Crooks and Liars links to an anti-capitalist essay at London's Independent, and then concludes with this flourish, "I wonder which principled member of our corporate media will point out that, in the big picture, the Somali pirates are acting in self-defense?"

Well, I wonder which principled member of our (leftist) media will point out that this is the exact same kind of logic that we saw after September 11, 2001,
when leftists claimed America deserved the atttacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Indeed, some widely-supported anti-Americans suggested that the "chickens came home to roost" on 9/11.

On this day, Easter Sunday, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a show of national unity upon the safe release of Captain Richard Phillips, who's being hailed as "a hero" by his own crewmates.


Unfortunately, even amid a moment when goodness and human spirit triumphs, those on the radical left continue their endless campaign of anti-Western demonization and destruction. It's a sad commentary on the state of politics in the country today.

12 comments:

The Vegas Art Guy said...

I knew that if Obama had the guts (which he did, good for him) to call in the military, the Seals would be involved and I was right on that account. Of course there was a reason why no US flagged ships where hijacked during the Bush years.

Fear of what would happen if they did.

Funny how only 75+ days of the Obama administration there was a hijacking of a US ship, suddenly the fear is gone. Let's hope Obama follows this up with some serious payback to the pirates...

rbosque said...

The left's twisted logic is breathtaking. According to them we are guilty of just about everything. Who's really an American here? All real Americans rejoiced at the Captain's release. Incredible.

AmPowerBlog said...

Hey Vegas Guy: I'm happy to give Obama credit where credit is due, and I hope he keeps it up...

AmPowerBlog said...

Hi Raul!

It really is unbelievable...

dave in boca said...

"in the big picture, Crooks & Liars are delusional morons and the Somali pirates, who symbolize leftist usurpation of private property are criminals, just like socialists everywhere.

The left's "twisted logic" is ultimately suicidal, resulting in a nihilistic version of seppuku.

Slow, torturous and tortuous self-destruction through a perversion of the will against the self-interest of the individual.

Anonymous said...

Of course there was a reason why no US flagged ships where hijacked during the Bush years.

Fear of what would happen if they did.


What's that? He would have gone after Johnny Depp?

Average American said...

I'm really glad, no, estatic, that the extreme leftards are acting like themselves over this. Most moderates--normal people--agree with conservatives that this is a Great day for America. Moderates are also getting a glimpse into just how extreme these whackjobs are. This won't hurt us and probably will help us, hopefully, immensely!

Anonymous said...

This leftard thinks it's a great day for America as well. It seems that most on the right are, or are going to, try to find a way to attack Obama for it. Hell, they're trying to attack him over the freakin' White House dog.

JSF said...

DLB,

Then surely you can show proof of how you gave President Bush the benefit of the doubt.

I repeat the mantra of the past 8 years for today: I support the Troops but not the President.

Anonymous said...

You don't understand how hard we on the left have it. In the spirit of reaching out and diplomacy, let me try to explain, so you might see things from my point of view.
Look, instinctively I am glad a life was saved, but I have to check myself every time my sentiments seem to mirror those of the general, unthinking populace. If Americans are rejoicing it is only because they haven't reflected enough or are ignorant.
Therefore, to be in the right side of this issue, or at least less guilty of shallow thoughtlessness, I only have a couple honorable options. Either I can try to take the side of the pirates or I can rise above it and point out that all lives are equal and that in the big picture today is a sad one because the world lost 3 lives instead of just 1, due to the interference of trigger-happy amerikans. This is the position I've settled on, but I do not fault my fellows who have tried to take the less lazy approach of providing the proper context from which to understand the pirates' plight.

Anonymous said...

JSF, I supported George Bush until he callously took advantage of the patriotism of millions of Americans to con them into supporting a war in Iraq. And maybe you remember the WH correspondent's dinner where he subsequently made a joke out of looking for WMDs.

Personally, I don't care if you support Obama or not. You can let your bitterness well up just as much as you like. Obama has been in office for 2 and a half months and has done nothing to earn your disdain. He's going to be in office for at least another 3 years 9 and a half months. Deal with it!

Techie said...

"Obama has been in office for 2 and a half months and has done nothing to earn your disdain."

Oh, I can think of plenty. That abomination of a budget for one.