To the Shores of Tripoli, Anyone?

Remember about two years ago, when the captain of the Maersk Alabama was rescued from pirates by Navy SEALS? According to the White House, Obama was on top of and directing the whole operation. They made it sound like Barry had the Navy SEAL Commander on the speakerphone in the Oval Office, and when the time came, the CinC told them to "take the shot".

There are those, however, who said that Obama's rules of engagement (ROE), in refusing to authorize deployment of the SEAL team for 36 hours, turning down a number of plans to rescue the captain, and then only allowed action if the hostage's life was in "immanent" danger. Are those ROE still in effect?

What has the US done to curtail the piracy of US vessels in international waters? Damned little, apparently. And now, four more Americans are dead. Hundreds of hostages and dozens of ships are currently being held.

And whether these are Muslim Maritime Marauders or simple searat terrorists, a projection of power is in order, particularly for ships flying the American flag. Naval power.

Whether an overt show of force, or a sting designed to lure the pirates in and introduce them to Davy Jones personally, the US should be taking the lead in doing it.

Maybe if the President spoke with the Secretary of the Navy as often as he does the President of the AFL-CIO, something more would have been done by now?