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Counting Crows - A Long December

How America Does Business
It's been a boring week. On Friday we had a hail and farewell barbecue. We hailed a new lieutenant in our department and said farewell to Tong, a linguist and a pretty cool guy. Goofy, but cool. Tong left on Sunday, so Saturday night I went out for a couple hours for a couple drinks with him and some other people.

Yeah, like I said, my life has been pretty boring this past week. I've mostly been working on training at work and homework for my international relations class at home.

So how many of you have read about the rescue of the captain that was taken hostage by Somalian pirates? "With Hostage in 'Imminent Danger,' Navy Seals Shoot Three Captors, Detain a Fourth." Obama did something right: he "had given standing orders Friday night for the Navy to take action to rescue Capt. Phillips if the danger escalated." I don't think we should have been trying to negotiate to begin with. I think the U.S. Navy should be utilized more for its original purpose. Our country's military is trying to do so much, involving ourselves in things we have no businesses being involved in, that we seem to have forgotten our own history:

The initial challenge to the rapid expansion of U.S. commerce, however, came not from London or Paris but from the corsairs of the Barbary coast. In the 1790s the Algerians again began to prey on U.S. commerce in the Mediterranean. Once again, Congress debated whether the nation ought to buy protection or establish a navy to safeguard shipping. In March 1794 Congress decided to respond with force and passed a naval act that called for the construction of a half-dozen frigates.

It's just so... American, isn't it? As a country, we've never been ones to shy away from a fight. Fighting for what we think is right is perhaps the most inspirational aspect of American history. There have certainly been times when we have fought when we shouldn't but we also have a strong history for fighting when we should. I find it kind of funny that the first U.S. merchant ship taken by pirates since the 19th century is taken back by the Americans using brute force against the pirates. That's how America does business! The Navy Seal snipers rescuing the captain is icing on the cake.

Piracy is an increasing problem and with it disrupting commerce and threatening lives as often as it is at present, I can't believe our navy hasn't done more to help. This is precisely the kind of thing our navy was created for. Now we're too busy playing international politics. Obama could do a lot for his reputation if he takes an aggressive stance against piracy. I hate his economic policies but at least he had enough sense to authorize force against the pirates to rescue the captain. Granted, he tried negotiating first and that only encourages them. Hopefully this comes as a blow to their egos. Next time, let's try a little harder. If there's anything worth using our navy for, it's this. I would gladly go out on a ship to fight piracy. It's certainly a more worthwhile pursuit than anything I'm doing at present.