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Obama’s silence on pirate negotiations correct

posted at 4:00 pm on April 9, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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I’m getting a lot of e-mail from readers about Barack Obama’s refusal to comment on the piracy crisis and negotiation to free the captain of the Maersk Alabama. Quite a bit of it is derisive, claiming that Obama is voting “present” rather than leading, but is that really what’s happening?

Obama was asked to comment on the situation several times by reporters at a White House event on refinancing for homeowners. Obama, however, stuck closely to the script and replied that he wanted to remain focused on housing.

I’m no fan of Obama, obviously, and I think he has serious deficiencies as an executive. This isn’t one of them. At the moment, we’ve sent FBI negotiators and warships to the location in order to impress upon the few remaining pirates that they aren’t going to go anywhere:

FBI hostage negotiators joined U.S. Navy efforts Thursday to free an American cargo ship captain held captive on a lifeboat by Somali pirates. A U.S. destroyer and a spy plane kept a close watch in the high-seas standoff near the Horn of Africa.

The pirates took Capt. Richard Phillips hostage Wednesday after they hijacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, but the cargo ship’s crew overpowered them and at least four then fled to an enclosed lifeboat. It was the first such attack on American sailors in about 200 years.

My bet is that their primary demand will be to keep breathing for more than the next few hours. The pirates only have one bargaining chip now, and they’re obviously not suicidal fanatics, or they’d all already be dead. The only question is when they’ll realize the futility of their situation, and how they’ll react when they do.

Meanwhile, just as in any hostage situation, external comments won’t help and could make things worse. Military and civilian professionals are on their way to deal with the situation. I don’t blame the media for asking the question, but I don’t blame Obama in this incident for not responding, either. He’s right to wait until the situation is resolved to publicly comment on it.

Update: Joe Biden’s also refusing comment, but John Kerry is publicly calling for hearings on America’s piracy policies. I think that’s a good idea — once this crisis has passed.

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Where did the comments go?

Religious_Zealot on April 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM

Oh, there they are – it was just “stuck” between pages.

Religious_Zealot on April 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM

But here’s the question. Is Obama doing the right thing by coincidence? Did he intuitively grasp the situation on his own? Or is there a grownup somewhere at the White House who said “commenting on this could get people killed”?

hawksruleva on April 10, 2009 at 10:36 AM

I don’t get it, frankly. A comment that he’s concerned but that professionals are handling it or something would be OK.

AnninCA on April 10, 2009 at 11:07 AM

I don’t get it, frankly. A comment that he’s concerned but that professionals are handling it or something would be OK.

AnninCA on April 10, 2009 at 11:07 AM

You can count the possible reasons for his silence on one hand. None of them have anything to do with leadership or projecting strength. Hillary is a walking disaster, and Biden is busy making things up about Bush. What possible reason could our enemies have for not seeing green lights all over the world?

a capella on April 10, 2009 at 11:21 AM

Where did the comments go?

Religious_Zealot on April 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM

Oh, there they are – it was just “stuck” between pages.

Religious_Zealot on April 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM

Hot Air site design has a problem. Sometimes, when a thread page is full, all previous pages disappear, leaving just a blank page without page numbers linked to previous comment pages. This is a glitch that needs fixing. It’s very disorienting.

Loxodonta on April 10, 2009 at 11:24 AM

Obama & Biden may be silent, but Attorney General Eric Holder spoke about the situation:

“It’s a little early to tell at this point,” he told reporters at the Justice Department when asked if the pirates might be brought to the United States to face criminal charges.

So, maybe everyone else is silent because they also don’t know what they’re doing.

Loxodonta on April 10, 2009 at 11:30 AM

Do you have a link? I made a joke about how he’s withholding comment until he decides which side is right, but I was hoping it wasn’t true.

Jim Treacher on April 10, 2009 at 6:52 AM

I saw a couple of posts online the last two days. The NY Daily News article reported the following on April 9th:

“…U.S. special operations forces have drawn up detailed plans to attack piracy groups where they live on land, but are awaiting orders from the Obama national security team.

“Our special operations people have been itching to clean them up. So far, no one has let them,” Oakley told the Daily News.

The veteran diplomat, who also was ambassador to Pakistan, said teams of Army Delta Force or Navy SEALs “could take care of the pirates in 72 hours” if given the order to strike.

“They have plans on the table but are waiting for the green light,” Oakley said.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/04/09/2009-04-09_us_military_prepared_for_battle_with__somalia_pirates.html

The situation has just escalated and taken a turn for the worst. The Pirates have called in other Somalian Pirates who are sailing hijacked ships and bringing more hostages to the confrontation. The US Captain tried to escape by swimming but was recaptured. This could end badly.

sarahpalinfan99 on April 10, 2009 at 11:31 AM

sarahpalinfan99 on April 10, 2009 at 11:31 AM

Looks like it has gone from an embarrassment with one hostage and a half dozen rag tags to a full out effort to exploit and demonstrate our obvious leadership deficiencies to the world. All the FBI negotiators in the world can’t fix that. If the pirates know the worst they would suffer is a trial in our justice system and the best they would get is free passage back home and a payment, what have they got to lose? Bringing more hijacked ships and hostages into the party is upping the ante considerably. Your move, Barry.

a capella on April 10, 2009 at 11:46 AM

Sorry, Ed. A single sentence of comment, along the lines of what you posted, would do wonders to give the impression of competency. Instead, the “no comment” option just makes the President appear uninformed. I don’t think he understands how politically important this incident is.

blueguitarbob on April 10, 2009 at 11:49 AM

hostage or no, get me 10 decent shots with 30.06. Drop us in there and bye bye pirates…

dogsoldier on April 10, 2009 at 11:51 AM

The Latest…

Pirates have been holding Phillips hostage aboard the lifeboat since his crew thwarted the attack Wednesday on the 17,000-ton U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama.

Mohamed Samaw, a Somali resident of the pirate stronghold in central Eyl town, who claims to have a “share” in a British-owned ship hijacked Monday, said four foreign ships previously captured by pirates are heading toward the lifeboat. A total of 54 hostages are on two of the ships, citizens of China, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines, Tuvalu, Indonesia and Taiwan.

“The pirates have summoned assistance – skiffs and motherships are heading towards the area from the coast,” said a Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. “We knew they were gathering yesterday.”

Samaw said two ships left Eyl on Wednesday afternoon. A third sailed from Haradhere, another pirate base in central Somalia, and the fourth one was a Taiwanese fishing vessel seized Monday that was already only 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the lifeboat.

He said the ships include the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized earlier this month. The ship’s crew of 24 is made up of five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians, two Filipinos and 12 Tuvalus.

Another man identified as a pirate by three different residents of Haradhere also said the captured German ship had been sent to the rescue.

“They had asked us for reinforcement and we have already sent a good number of well-equipped colleagues, who were holding a German cargo ship,” said the pirate who asked that only his first name, Badow, be used to protect him from reprisals.

It appears to me the pirates are intending to force a showdown with the US Navy by bringing other captive ships to the immediate area of the Indian Ocean. I suggest they want the US to target these ships and kill hostages. If they think that is a good tactic I’m afraid they are mistaken. We are watching where those ships leave port. I expect a Marine MEF to arrive of the coast of one of those ports shortly. Marine Amphibious ships have AHIW Super Cobras. I expect those port are likely to be lost to the pirates for a long time. I ships at sea will have nowhere to run back to. I also expect USAF bombing missions if this thing escalates. We can destroy a lot of pirate property without putting one boot on the ground in Somalia.

Still one wonders what the pirates are up to confronting the worlds finest Navy. I hope Obama lets it be a military issue. If he does the pirates are as good as dead.

kanda on April 10, 2009 at 12:04 PM

Ed, I usually agree with you on most subjects, but on this one you are just plain wrong.

The comment should have been, ” I expect that the Captain will be released immediately. Failure to do so will subject the outlaw pirates and their ports to whatever action will demonstrate to them that attacking US based ships in unprofitable.”

Just Plain Bill on April 10, 2009 at 4:48 PM

you are way wrong here Ed. Its not some criminals who will have their day in court that the Pres. needs to worry about tainting a jury pool. Some tough blustery guy talks and threats are what need to be aired. Try to scare these guys, not read em their rights.

chasdal on April 10, 2009 at 5:40 PM

Obama’s silence on pirate negotiations correct

ONLY if behind the silence are plans for as massive military strike. Otherwise 4 Somali pirates will have humilated the entire US Navy on Obama’s watch.

MaiDee on April 10, 2009 at 9:57 PM

ONLY if behind the silence are plans for as massive military strike. Otherwise 4 Somali pirates will have humilated the entire US Navy on Obama’s watch.

Correct. This is looking pretty stupid so far.

Why even send a warship if four numbnuts with AK’s are going to show them up?

drjohn on April 11, 2009 at 8:12 AM

Racism.

They don’t want to take a chance on hurting Africans no matter what they do. To them it makes America look like something out of Heart of Darkness and goes against their Leftist ideology that ‘brown people’ are victims of White, Imperialist oppression and that their actions should therefore be excused.

Dr. ZhivBlago on April 11, 2009 at 11:10 AM

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