Posted by
Mike Silverman on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 8:59:01 AM
The crew and Captain of the Maersk Alabama get's an A++ for actions above and beyond the call of duty and not giving up thier ship to the Somali pirates. The Navy gets an A+ for it's professionalism, focus on objective and completion of the objective. President Obama gets an A for not messing it all up. The Maersk shipping company gets a C for being unwilling to allow arms on board for the crew even though they were aware of the likelihood that their merchant vessel would be attacked.
Quote..."Merchant crews aren't supposed to fight pirates, short of using high-pressure hoses to try to stop them from climbing aboard, said John F. Reinhart, president and CEO of Maersk Line Ltd.
Well, Mr Reinhart, do you perhaps suppose that this is why the pirates are so bold about attacking Merchant vessels? Hmmm? Do you suppose they've figured out that Merchant crews are not armed and are told not to fight the pirates if they board the vessel? Hmmmmm? Do you think the pirates would be so bold if the crews were prepared to repel any Somali pirate attacks with armed force?
We've got to get out of the mentality that laying down and submitting to the demands of terrorists and thugs is the best way to handle them. A mindset of submissiveness is exactly what these pirates and terrorists want. People shouldn't do anything stupid, but if the opportunity presents itself to fight back people have the natural right to defend themselves and fight for their lives and property. One way of making that opportunity to fight back a reality is to prepare for a known probability of a deadly encounter by arming and training the good guys to do exactly that. I will close this for now with a quote from General George Washington as he addressed the Continental Army before leading them into the first major battle of the Revolutionary War...,
"The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them." ..., "Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die." - George Washington.
- Mike Silverman