Secretary Gates Gets Weak and Timid on Piracy
The first thing about this article that caught my eye was the dateline. I defy anyone who is between 35-50 years old to read that word and not immediately think of Sesame Street. The rest of the article is no bag of laughs, though. Secretary Gates’ admission is, I think, a real stunner.
I know enough history to know that our intelligence has improved markedly over the time of Thomas Jefferson, which is when sent the US Marines into Tripoli and beat the dogsnot out of the last bunch of pirates that thumbed their noses at us. It’s shameful enough that he felt comfortable admitting in public that we can’t root out a bunch of third-world pirates. The rest of what he said should have shamed his mouth shut.
“With the level of information we have at the moment, we’re not in a position to do that kind of land-based operation,” Gates told a regional security conference in Bahrain. “Our first need is intelligence, (to know) who is behind it.”
Referring to media reports that “two to three clans or extended families” were behind the pirate attacks on ships off the Somali coast, Gates said: “If we can identify who those clans are then we can operate on land under the auspices of the United Nations and seek out ways to minimize collateral damage.”
Yeah, that whole auspice thing is nice, but currently the UN is hiding under its bed peeing itself in fear of these primitives. As for minimizing collateral damage, let’s just say that if we reduced a couple dozen square miles of the Somali coast to rubble, we could consider it urban renewal.
These pirates have been essentially holding world shipping hostage. Nations with fairly strong armies are scared to death to do anything at all about the problem and that, folks, is ridiculous. These guys should be terrified that some very fierce and well-armed soldiers with gun will find them and kill them efficiently and without a hint of emotion. That they’re not is an affront to civilized nations everywhere.
We don’t need to wait for the UN. All we need are a couple other like-minded nations willing to cap some pirate scum. We’ll even let them take the credit for it. This would be a great opportunity for an up and coming African nation to take the lead on their continent. Secretary Gates needs to bag the mushy multi-culti defeatist crap and get this done. The sooner, the better.
Other Posts of Interest:
- UN Peacekeepers Deployed. Women and Children Hardest Hit.
- Sudanese Tyrants Threaten the UN over Arrest Warrant
- Yet Another Reason to Scorn the UN
Category: The World At Large
