God Bless the SEALs
Three shots, three kills. One captured. One saved. On Resurrection Sunday, no less!
This is the America that I am proud of, the one I learned about growing up. A ship’s captain who sacrifices himself for the safety of his crew, and then takes the inititative to jump out of a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean to try to free himself. A man like this who has done courageous, heroic things, and then is humble and self-depreciating when it is recognized.
A military that is willing to put their training to good use to protect a citizen against armed aggression. President Obama had the intelligence to authorize the use of force and I congratulate him on that. Way to go, Barry, it was the right call.
But, then, we had to have this caveat: ONLY if the captain’s life was in imminent danger. What this means is that the military’s hands were tied, unable to make a move unless the pirates (read: terrorists) made a move first to try and kill the captain. EVEN if they had a better and safer opportunity to extract the captain, they had to wait until he was almost going to be killed before they could move in…. cause that would make him…. safer?
The commander on the Navy ship that gave the order as well as the snipers who took out the pirates ought to be greatly commended. I am proud, AS ALWAYS, of our military! I thank God for the type of individuals that this country has bred that rise to the occaision and do the right thing.
It used to be common that you could expect American men & women for the most part to live by a code of morals that made us all better. Now we only highlight the dramatic. The Captain’s decisions, made instictively, are a reflection of the heritage we have as Americans. You do what is right, regardless of the cost, because that’s who we are.
I say in 2012 we run Captain Phillips and Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger for President and Vice President on the American ticket. No D, no R, just American. Two guys who just instinctively do the right thing…. and others are saved by their actions. We could have worse candidates piloting/steering our nation….. right?
[Tweet This] Plurk This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Ping This Post Reddit Stumble This Post