Five days after Chattanooga shooting, Obama finally orders flags to be flown at half-staff for Marines killed

On the one hand, Boehner didn’t get around to ordering the flags at the Capitol lowered until this morning either.

On the other hand, how do you explain this?

Advertisement

It’s a comfort to know, I guess, that days of grassroots pressure can convince the commander-in-chief to belatedly honor Marines murdered in a terror attack on U.S. soil.

Obama’s proclamation calls for the flags to remain at half-mast through Saturday “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on July 16.”

“Our thoughts and prayers as a Nation are with the service members killed last week in Chattanooga. We honor their service. We offer our gratitude to the police officers and first responders who stopped the rampage and saved lives,” Obama said in a presidential proclamation released Tuesday.

“We draw strength from yet another American community that has come together with an unmistakable message to those who would try to do us harm: We do not give into fear. You cannot divide us. And you will not change our way of life.”

But it did change our way of life. The Pentagon ordering Marine recruiters not to wear their uniforms until further notice is a change, no? If you’re going to be resolute in the face of terror, maybe don’t force your fiercest warriors to hide in plain sight for fear of what another “lone wolf” might try. In fact, that was the main point made last night on Facebook by Marcus “Lone Survivor” Luttrell, whose call to lower the flags may well have shamed Boehner and Obama into finally acting today:

Advertisement

Just heard something about Telling Marines not to wear their uniforms at the recruiting centers for their own safety…?! I have to tell y’all I laughed out loud, if anyone thinks for one second a Marine is gonna take his uniform off because he cares about his safety or is scared of some shitbag walking in off the street and trying this again ( WRONG) that’s not gonna happen, that’s not how we respond in the military when we get hit, we don’t take off our uniforms, drop our weps and run. Also you can outfit every recruiting station w/ firearms, grenades or a F.,?!ing tank, this goes down again and there is a good chance you’ll find the person beaten to death by the water cooler or stapler … The bullets will be the last of you problems. Think on it. RIP brothers, your families will miss you, the country will mourn you, and those still wearing the uniform will never forget you…

Oh one more thing, lower the FLAG!!!!!!!! Sir.

Less than a day later, the flags have been lowered. Here’s Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer on Fox News last night proposing a change of his own: How about letting men who are trained to use guns to defend themselves use guns to defend themselves? If it’s true, as the feds constantly remind us, that the threat of lone-wolf terrorism is rising in the age of ISIS, an armed Marine in uniform is surely safer at a recruiting station than one in civilian dress who’s been disarmed. If anything, thanks to the no-uniform policy, a jihadi bent on killing recruiters now would walk into a station and try to kill every man he sees regardless of dress. That means a greater risk for civilians nearby too, not just the servicemen.

Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement