Thursday, April 9, 2009

Hillary Clinton and the Barbary Pirates


"We (US and Morocco) worked together to end piracy..."
(Please don't send this woman to Germany.)


Don't you just love the way Hillary Clinton shifts her eyes around when she is making things up? The above shot was Hillary's response to the pirate issue off Somalia. Of course, she is talking about international cooperation to end the scourge of piracy. It will be most interesting to see how that plays out since, up to now, these Somali pirates are collecting their ransoms from all those other weak-sister nations.

By the way, wasn't tough-talkin' Hillary spouting off about a "tough" response if North Korea launched that missile? Well, they launched it, and it looks like we're going to the good old feckless UN for another one of those "strong resolutions".

But back to the issue at hand. The reason Hillary started to crack up was because she was referring to the Barbary Wars back in Thomas Jefferson's time, when the US went to war off the North African coast to end the "scourge" of piracy. No wonder her Moroccan counterpart was also cracking up. They were one of the Barbary states.

By all means, NATO should be patrolling those waters and taking care of the Somali pirates in summary fashion the way pirates used to be treated when captured. (And you ACLU types, don't talk to me about bringing them to the US or The Hague for a court trial. They are not entitled.)

The US Navy now has a golden opportunity to set an international example. First, they need to rescue the ship captain who is being held hostage. If they have to make a deal to let the pirates go-fine.

Then they need to kill the pirates.
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9 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 10, 2009 at 12:07 AM

    The Barbary Pirate problem was solved by the maritime bombardment of Algiers in 1815 and finally put to rest with the occupation of Algeria by the French in 1830. The west European nations put up with this for six hundred years.
    I think the answer is in a nutshell and doesn't need to be spelt out. A few well directed bombs should solve the problem

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  2. Gary FouseApril 10, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    Anonymous,

    I'm with you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gary FouseApril 10, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    Anonymous,

    I'm with you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 10, 2009 at 12:30 PM

    Hillary was over her head, as usual. She said that Algeria was the first country to recognize the US. The first country was actually France -- when they protected our ships against the Barbary Pirates. How can a Secretary of STate get before cameras and insult our ally with moronic history?

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  5. Gary FouseApril 10, 2009 at 12:46 PM

    Actually, she said Morocco was the very first country to recognize the US.

    Hillary Clinton, once you remove her from the insider world of Washington politics, doesn't know whether she is on foot or horseback.

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  6. AnonymousApril 10, 2009 at 5:35 PM

    Gary,

    Americans never negotiate in a situation like this. Get a grip, and smack yourself for even thinking of such a thing, much less writing it.

    The Administration has handcuffed the Navy plain and simple. Those guys are seething that some PETA member is now running the show in DC. Welcome Back Carter!

    Sink the life boat swiftly, and I'm betting there's only one guy on board who can swim....Have a SEAL team standing, end of story.

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  7. Gary FouseApril 10, 2009 at 9:02 PM

    Anonymous,

    I assume you are referring to my suggestion about negotiating the release of the captain, promising the pirates they can go free-then killing them.

    What's the matter-can't we lie?

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  8. Craig DApril 11, 2009 at 5:37 AM

    The way it is going, the captain is a dead man. His replacement is already on the Maersk Alabama. If they get him to shore, he'll never be seen again.
    I agree with shooting the lifeboat or the SEALS can do what they are trained to do and blow the propeller shaft and seal on the lifeboat allowing the lifeboat to sink. When performing the following rescue, hopefully the American will be the first to be rescued and not one of the pirates. Should one or more of the pirates die in the process, OH WELL! Too bad, so sad.

    I thought the US did not negotiate with terrorists--that is what pirates are. It is time for someone with the fortitude of Thomas Jefferson to do what needs to be done. It's plain to see that it is not Hillary.

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  9. Gary FouseApril 11, 2009 at 10:51 AM

    CraigD

    That's why they have the FBI hostage negotiators there I guess. Hard to think that any of those yahoos speaks English.

    Anyway, if any of these pirates make it out of there alive/free, shame on us.

    ReplyDelete