"Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends."
What irony that the ship's cargo was food aide for Somalia and other African nations where people are hungry and even starving.
Ironic too is our President's silence on the standoff -- for days. I found it confusing and disheartening that he had no public reaction to the captivity of one American. No other President in history has failed in outrage, gut-reaction, heart-felt response of compassion, or threat...not when the situation was public knowledge to the whole world. There must have been confidential communications within the government, but to refuse a reporter's question in a "news conference", to issue no public statement? I do not understand the silence.
There is another one American in captivity under false charges in Iran. I believe she is to go "on trial" tomorrow. It's public knowledge world-wide. I pray she is released. Have we heard anything from the bully pulpit?
Ironic too is our President's silence on the standoff -- for days. I found it confusing and disheartening that he had no public reaction to the captivity of one American. No other President in history has failed in outrage, gut-reaction, heart-felt response of compassion, or threat...not when the situation was public knowledge to the whole world. There must have been confidential communications within the government, but to refuse a reporter's question in a "news conference", to issue no public statement? I do not understand the silence.
There is another one American in captivity under false charges in Iran. I believe she is to go "on trial" tomorrow. It's public knowledge world-wide. I pray she is released. Have we heard anything from the bully pulpit?
2 comments:
I thought President Obama did just fine in this situation. He authorized force without bluster or fanfare while the crisis was going on, and made an appropriate statement when the rescue was done.
You said, "No other President in history has failed in outrage, gut-reaction, heart-felt response of compassion, or threat...not when the situation was public knowledge to the whole world."
Really? So you think President Obama's response regarding this one hostage is worse than Bush's response to Katrina, when he flew back and forth across the country, attending birthday parties and continuing his vacation, during a disaster that needed his full attention and resulted in many lives lost? (You can see the timeline here: http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/ )
I think you're right to commend the brave captain, and we should certainly work hard to address the problem of piracy. According to news reports, there are a dozen or so ships that are currently help by pirates near the Horn of Africa. The life of each and every one of the more than 200 hostage crew members is precious, and we should do what we can to gain their safe release. Let's not let fear and anger make us lose our focus.
I do not think one man's delay was "worse" than the other. They were both confusing and disheartening to me as the events unfolded. I am not writing out of fear or anger. I realize Katrina is not even "fixed" yet, nor is piracy going to be ended because the United States stood up to the demands. I am pleased the President authorized rescue, and very relieved it is accomplished. Actually, I pray for him and his administration. You probably knew that.
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