Crimes Against Humanity In the Horn of Africa?

Context :2. The circumstances in which an event occurs; a setting.

Is there additional context to the piracy phenomenon occurring in the Gulf of Aden? The Huffington Post says yes:

"Nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury - you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply."

Grappling with context. This is always perhaps America's most difficult challenge as we weigh our self interest and sense of justice against a world of uncertainties and murky, unpleasant, inconvenient facts and hard truths. Is this a truth implicated in the death of Italian reporter Iliara Alpi? Twenty percent of the world's oil transits this region of the sea. Thats more than enough to motivate the world's great and not so great powers to action. But what about this? If European countries are indeed dumping nuclear waste off the unpoliced coastline of a failed African state, sickening entire populations, thats a crime against humanity.

Sadly, who will investigate? Will the United States naval vessels in the Gulf of Aden conduct tests? Will there be any investigation as to whether there is any truth to this report by the UN, or the EU or anyone? Because the nasty truth is that where chaos and lawlessness reign, there are those who will exploit such conditions. During the fall of Baghdad, amidst the chaos and looting, a sophisticated sacking of the Iraqi National Museum took place. Irreplaceable and priceless historic artifacts of Persia disappeared into the mayhem as silently and unseen as barrels of nuclear waste now slip beneath the waters off the Somali shores.

Could it be that the heightened awareness of piracy crimes in the Gulf of Aden will ultimately shed light on an equally troubling and callous crime against humanity off the Horn of Africa?

National Command Authority

National Command Authority: the ultimate lawful source of military orders. The term refers collectively to the President of the United States (as commander-in-chief) and the United States Secretary of Defense.

As a test of President Obama's decisiveness and leadership in defending the United States and its citizens, the jury is still out for me on the hostage situation off the Horn of Africa to this extent: The on scene commander took action when it appeared the hostage was about to be killed by the pirates, and he was enabled to do so based on authorities to act provided by the President as well as SOP rules of engagement in a hostage situation that would dictate action to prevent the imminent murder of hostages. However, that is not the same as the military taking affirmative action to rescue Capt. Phillips under orders issued by national command authority (the President).

So, my question is, why didn't the President, as National Command Authority, affirmatively order the military to effect a rescue of a US citizen as soon as humanly possible under these circumstances? A destroyer is on station and at the time of this rescue, they were TOWING the boat at a distance of 75-80 feet. What is the point of putting a U.S. destroyer on station in addition to the other military assets and not using the firepower? The Navy Seal sniper team that took down the pirates parachuted onto the scene during the night. Perhaps the assets to effect a rescue were not on scene until they showed up, but that's hard to fathom when a guided missile destroyer with a crew of hundreds is shadowing a 28 ft. lifeboat.

As my governor Mitch Daniels once said to returning Iraq soldiers, "you hit the lottery the day you're born an American". Whats that mean? It means that if you as an American citizen get taken hostage by pirates on a lifeboat off the Horn of Africa, a U.S. destroyer and Navy Seals are coming in to get you.

One interpretation of the course of events is that the military were NOT ordered to rescue the guy, but instead were instructed to secure his release peacefully unless there was no other way. If so, I've got a problem with that.

Update: To be completely clear, the President gets full credit for the positive outcome and his actions in insuring that the military men and women on the scene were fully empowered to do what was necessary to secure the safe return of Capt. Phillips. As details continue to emerge about this incident, that may grow in significance as some of the cable news shows are reporting that the U.S.S Bainbridge actually rammed the boat to prevent it from possibly reaching the Somali shore. This incident went down on Obama's watch and had Capt. Philips perished, he would most certainly have been blamed for that. Conversely, the President gets full credit for the rescue of an American citizen by our military of which he is the Commander in Chief.

Obama & the Pirates: Decisive or Hesitant?

From the blog BlackFive on how the rescue of Capt. Phillips went down,

"One of the pirates was on board the Bainbridge as the talks about obtaining Phillip's release continued. The lifeboat was approx. 25 m behind the Bainbridge when snipers on the fantail observed one of the pirates in the pilot house of the lifeboat pointing an AK-47 at the back of a tied up Phillips and the other two pirates on board were visible (at least shoulders and heads). The standing authority gave them clearance to engage the pirates if the life of the captain was in imminent danger. The on scene commander deemed this to be true and gave the order to fire. All three bad guys were taken out and then a rigid inflatable boat went to the lifeboat to retrieve Phillips. Iti is unknown at this point whether the shooters were SEALs or Marine Scout Snipers as both would have been available. This was not a rescue attempt ordered by National Command Authority i.e. the President. It was a reaction by the on scene commander under standard authority to safeguard the life of a hostage."

Because I'm not a Redstate snark zombie, I'm not going to accuse the President of indecision and cowardice. But I am interested in knowing why the reaction was to enter into negotiations and not to order a rescue attempt from the outset. The President gave authorization for all appropriate force to be used to rescue the Captain if his life was on danger. The military had all the authorization it needed to take action if necessary, but as BlackFive points out, this was not a rescue attempt ordered by National Command Authority i.e. the President. I'd be interested in why not.

Take The Pirates Out Already

I don't entirely understand the tactical situation off the Somali coast. What I've heard is that the pirates have taken Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vermont hostage in a lifeboat currently adrift at sea. There is a destroyer on station.

Since I don't understand it, I would really like somebody to explain to me why you can't simultaneously kill the three or four pirates on the boat with sniper fire, or why a SEAL team can't go in the water, come up underneath that boat and take these guys down. Apparently Capt. Phillips jumped in the water and tried to get away, but was dragged back. How come we don't have some divers in the water just hanging out beneath the boat to be ready for just such an attempt?

I don't know anything about dealing with this sort of thing in real life, so perhaps there are very good reasons why the kind of rescue scenario I've come to expect from a steady diet of action flicks is not currently playing itself out in the Horn of Africa.

I pray that the intrepid Capt. Phillips escapes this situation alive and well and is safely returned to his family.