Obama And The Seals

Three days ago, we were forwarded an interesting item from a friend of ours in the MSM whose radio program we’ve visited on a time or two.

It was an email – allegedly from a Navy SEAL – that purported to show the real time line of events related to the US Navy’s showdown with Somali pirates last week in the Gulf of Aden.

Full of military abbreviations, it sure looked official.

In fact, it was allegedly “sent by a good friend in Escondido,” which is the area of San Diego where the SEALS train.

Before we get into all that, here it is:

Subject: Pirate/Seal True Story

I believe this email from “Mickey” Finn, the Past President of DOCA (a military affairs group to which I have belonged for many years), is both important and illuminating. My guess is that you will never read about it in the New York Times or Washington Post, but I will be amazed if does not turn out to be quite accurate.

Pirate/Seal True Story

Having spoken to some SEAL pals here in Virginia Beach yesterday and asking why this thing dragged out for 4 days, I got the
following:

1. BHO (Barack Hussein Obama) wouldn’t authorize the DEVGRU/NSWC SEAL teams to the scene for 36 hours going against OSC (on scene commander) recommendation.

2. Once they arrived, BHO imposed restrictions on their ROE (rules of engagement) that they couldn’t do anything unless the hostage’s life was in “imminent” danger

3. The first time the hostage jumped, the SEALS had the raggies all sighted in, but could not fire due to ROE restriction

4. When the navy RIB (rubberized inflatable boat) came under fire as it approached with supplies, no fire was returned due to ROE restrictions. As the raggies were shooting at the RIB, they were exposed and the SEALS had them all dialed in.

5. BHO specifically denied two rescue plans developed by the Bainbridge CPN and SEAL teams

6. Bainbridge CPN and SEAL team CDR finally decide they have the OpArea and OSC authority to solely determine risk to hostage. 4
hours later, 3 dead raggies

7. BHO immediately claims credit for his “daring and decisive” behaviour. As usual with him, it’s BS.

So per our last email thread, I’m downgrading Oohbaby’s performace to D-. Only reason it’s not an F is that the hostage survived.

Read the following accurate account.

Philips’ first leap into the warm, dark water of the Indian Ocean Bainbridge in range and a rescue by his country’s Navy possible, Philips threw himself off of his lifeboat prison, enabling Navy shooters onboard the destroyer a clear shot at his captors – and none was taken.

The guidance from National Command Authority – the president of the United States, Barack Obama – had been clear: a peaceful solution was the only acceptable outcome to this standoff unless the hostage’s life was in clear, extreme danger.

The next day, a small Navy boat approaching the floating raft was fired on by the Somali pirates – and again no fire was returned and no pirates killed. This was again due to the cautious stance assumed by Navy personnel thanks to the combination of a lack of clear guidance from Washington and a mandate from the commander in chief’s staff not to act until Obama, a man with no background of dealing with such issues and no track record of decisiveness, decided that any outcome other than a “peaceful solution” would be acceptable.

After taking fire from the Somali kidnappers again Saturday night, the onscenecommander decided he’d had enough.

Keeping his authority to act in the case of a clear and present danger to the hostage’s life and having heard nothing from Washington since yet another request to mount a rescue operation had been denied the day before, the Navy
officer – unnamed in all media reports to date – decided the AK47 one captor had leveled at Philips’ back was a threat
to the hostage’s life and ordered the NSWC team to take their shots.

Three rounds downrange later, all three brigands became enemy KIA and Philips was safe.

There is upside, downside, and spinside to the series of events over the last week that culminated in yesterday’s dramatic rescue of an American hostage.

Almost immediately following word of the rescue, the Obama administration and its supporters claimed victory against pirates in the Indian Ocean and [1] declared that the dramatic end to the standoff put paid to questions of the inexperienced president’s toughness and decisiveness.

Despite the Obama administration’s (and its sycophants’) attempt to spin yesterday’s success as a result of bold, decisive
leadership by the inexperienced president, the reality is nothing of the sort. What should have been a standoff lasting only hours – as long as it took the USS Bainbridge and its team of NSWC operators to steam to the location – became an embarrassing four day and counting standoff between a ragtag handful of criminals with rifles and a U.S. Navy warship.

Sensational, right?

Of course, the e-mail has been declared a hoax, and many news outlets that bit on it are scrambling for cover after publishing it as a reliable source document (a la Dan Rather).

We got suspicious of the email as soon as we saw the name “Mickey Finn,” which the last time we checked was slang for a drug-laced drink.

But here’s the real question.

As much as the hoax e-mail seeks to paint Obama’s actions in an unflattering (albeit proper context), how dramatically does the account it provides differ from several published MSM accounts?

Here is the LA Times coverage of the standoff, for example:

Before ending a standoff with pirates by firing three fatally precise shots, U.S. Navy SEAL snipers had passed on multiple opportunities to fire …

… the marksmen had moved into position after the White House expanded the authority it had given the world’s most powerful navy against a ragtag foe holding an American hostage. They kept their scopes trained on their Somali targets as prospects for a peaceful resolution seemed to shrivel …

… Obama was briefed on the crisis at least 18 times, including a National Security Council session on “hostage contingencies” just hours before the snipers fired their shots. But the crisis seems to have crystallized for the administration on Friday, after the White House got word that Capt. Richard Phillips had tried to escape from his captors.

The escape attempt had presented an early rescue opportunity for the military. But the Navy had no warning that Phillips was going to attempt to flee. Although a military special operations team had been mobilized, it had not yet arrived, and the Navy had no way to capitalize on Phillips’ gumption.

Instead, the incident underscored the danger Phillips was in as the pirates fired their AK-47s at him as he tried to swim away, then beat him after dragging him back aboard the boat.

Hours later, senior NSC officials met in the White House Situation Room to draft a series of options to deliver to Obama. Later that night, Obama appears to have issued his first order authorizing the use of lethal force.

But military officials said the White House still hoped for a nonviolent end to the standoff.

Bottom line, we’re glad we sniffed out this hoax – and we feel sorry for those outlets that didn’t.

But in this case, fact and fiction don’t seem to be all that far apart.

Oh, and we stand by our original threat assessment regarding this crisis.

Eff ‘em. Shoot first, ask questions later.

Comments