Una verdad simulada

We are again reminded of the way crises are handled by India/Pakistan versus the US. Case in point: the rescue of a Captain by the American Navy.

Acting with President Obama’s authorization […] snipers on the fantail of the destroyer Bainbridge opened fire and picked off the three captors.

[…] It took only three remarkable shots — one each by snipers firing from a distance at dusk, using night-vision scopes, the officials said.

First, the remarkable nature of rescue: three shots, one each from the snipers, to get the three pirates. Second, the equipment that allowed snipers to hit bulls-eye during fading dusk-light. But most importantly, the nature in which the government handled the crisis. Yes, there was a lot of frothing and fuming in the media and by the media. All Obama did, however, was to issue the orders and let the navy seals do the rest. The orders were specific and clear: “[T]he president [permitted use of force to rescue Captain Phillips] if it appeared that the captain’s life was in imminent danger.”

Talking about frothing, fuming and extolling, here is a balanced take by John Cole on this issue:

Maybe I am alone, but I hardly view this as a test of the President. Unless I am mistaken, all he had to do was sign off on rules of engagement and stay out of the way, […] because our very entrenched military and national security apparatus can handle little things like this without flinching.

That isn’t to take anything away from what the guys on the scene did, as that appears to have been one helluva shot they took. They also deserve real credit for their prior restraint, and waiting until the right moment to make things happen. They really acted like, well, professionals. But heaping all sorts of praise on Team Obama seems to me to be just as silly as flaming them for this. They acted prudently and cautiously, as anyone who has watched the President for any period of time would have expected him to behave.

Tags: General //