Exit Thoughts on Obama's Excellent Somali Pirate Adventure

From Global Guerrillas,

"Seal snipers took out three Somali pirates and freed an American hostage held in a lifeboat. What's interesting to me is the decision making process used to resolve this minor problem. Here are some of the aspects. Firstly, there was a timer on the hostage stand-off. Other pirate groups/ships (an open source insurgency with commercial drivers) were en route to surround the lifeboat or take control of the hostages. Secondly, this minor decision involved a highly centralized decision making loop that included the President, the Commander of CENTCOM, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the DoJ, and the White House/NSC -- just to pull the trigger on three kidnappers holding a hostage at gunpoint."

His point here is well taken, voiced succinctly by Indiana based military strategist Thomas PM Barnett,

"I resist reading too much into the new president's international security street cred on the basis of this minuscule operation.

And please, hearing that Obama took 17 briefings ... That worries more than assures me.

If one hostage commands that much POTUS bandwith, this is not a good sign moving forward, and I sure as hell wouldn't advertise it."

I think its a function of Obama's limited experience in an executive role of this nature. Frankly, he's still learning and the jury is still out on this dimension of Obama's leadership as president. I want him to be a triggerman when called for. This episode doesn't have me convinced yet.

Shipping Industry Bears Blame for Pirate Vulnerabilities

While the world is reeling with shock and outrage at the brazen criminality of the pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden off the Horn of Africa, some of the heat should get pointed in another direction: the shipping industry.

In the day following the rescue of Capt. Phillips, pirates in the region have hijacked an additional four ships operating in the Gulf of Aden, which links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Its one of the world's busiest and most vital shipping lanes, crossed by over 20,000 ships each year.

Traditionally, the shipping industry has simply paid ransoms for crews and ships, advising crews not to resist and one can argue that this policy has been the most prudent in the face of piracy. The shipping industry however clearly fails in providing security on a different front and thats coordination. The shipping industry does not appear to be doing anything to proactively reduce the vulnerability of ships in this corridor, such as coordinating ship movement to cross the region where vessels are going in the same direction, or investing in coordinated security escorts for ships.

This region is transited by a huge number of ships and as best I can tell, those ships are transiting the Gulf of Aden today the same way they were before this piracy pandemic grew to its current proportions. The shipping industry needs to become much more proactive about shipping practice in the Gulf of Aden as long as Somalia remains a lawless and failed state.

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.

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.