April 14, 2009--"Good Luck" At Sea
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic disaster. Islamist students took over the American embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian revolution and from November 4, 1979 held 52 U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days.
The episode reached a climax when, after failed attempts to negotiate a release, the United States military, authorized by President Jimmy Carter, attempted a rescue operation, Operation Eagle Claw, on April 24, 1980, which resulted in an aborted mission, the crash of two aircraft and the deaths of eight American service members and one Iranian civilian.
Republicans excoriated Carter for this failure, claiming it symbolized his ineffectiveness and wimpiness. It was the political end of his presidency.
Some years later, in October 1993, nine months into his presidency, suspecting the presence of Islamic terrorists in Somalia, Bill Clinton ordered U.S. troops to battle fighters loyal to al Qaeda protector, warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
The assault force consisted of nineteen aircraft, twelve vehicles and 160 men. During the operation, two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by rocket-propelled grenades, and three others were damaged. Some of the soldiers were able to evacuate wounded comrades back to the compound, but others were trapped at the crash sites and cut off. Throughout the night in Mogadishu an urban battle ensued. Early the next morning, a task force was sent to rescue the surrounded soldiers. They assembled more than 100 vehicles and were supported by additional Little Bird and Black Hawk helicopters. They reached the first crash site and led the trapped soldiers out. The second crash site was overrun and the pilot, the lone surviving American, was taken prisoner.
It was a tragic fiasco. Seventy-three Americans were wounded and 18 were killed. Many of their bodies were dragged through the streets by celebrating Somalis. As with his predecessor, Bill Clinton was castigated by Republicans and right wing talk show hosts as being ineffective and, as the results of this military disaster and his avoidance of the draft during the Vietnam War, he was seen as not fit to be Commander in Chief. This perception haunted his remaining seven years in office.
There was an emerging consensus after the Carter and Clinton presidencies—only Republicans had enough grit and will to protect American interests. After all, Ronald Reagan had successfully invaded the tiny, inconsequential island of Grenada to show off his macho.
Putting aside the military vision and prowess of the Republican Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld administration (and forgetting that they had been in office for eight months when we were attacked on 9/11), it is frankly fun to watch how some ideological Republicans are now squirming to explain away the spectacular rescue Sunday of Captain Richard Phillips from his Somali pirate captors.
Never mind, they are in effect saying, that the FBI and all of our armed forces behaved magnificently, forget that we struck an appropriate and subtle balance between quiet diplomacy and military confrontation, never mind that throughout the crisis Barack Obama was briefed five times a day and was in executive command of the strategy, ignore the fact that he alone as Commander in Chief authorized the use of deadly force—neglect to give him and his team any credit for this.
Leading up to the rescue, they seemed to be saying, “I knew the Gipper, and Barack Hussein Obama is no Gipper.” Some even called him a "panty-waist,” whatever that is.
The explanation for the quick and satisfying results, they are now claiming, is the result of . . . luck.
It’s as simple as that. And can you imagine what his critics would be saying if the mission had been botched. Use your imagination. I’ll give you a hint--the answer is not bad luck.
The episode reached a climax when, after failed attempts to negotiate a release, the United States military, authorized by President Jimmy Carter, attempted a rescue operation, Operation Eagle Claw, on April 24, 1980, which resulted in an aborted mission, the crash of two aircraft and the deaths of eight American service members and one Iranian civilian.
Republicans excoriated Carter for this failure, claiming it symbolized his ineffectiveness and wimpiness. It was the political end of his presidency.
Some years later, in October 1993, nine months into his presidency, suspecting the presence of Islamic terrorists in Somalia, Bill Clinton ordered U.S. troops to battle fighters loyal to al Qaeda protector, warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
The assault force consisted of nineteen aircraft, twelve vehicles and 160 men. During the operation, two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by rocket-propelled grenades, and three others were damaged. Some of the soldiers were able to evacuate wounded comrades back to the compound, but others were trapped at the crash sites and cut off. Throughout the night in Mogadishu an urban battle ensued. Early the next morning, a task force was sent to rescue the surrounded soldiers. They assembled more than 100 vehicles and were supported by additional Little Bird and Black Hawk helicopters. They reached the first crash site and led the trapped soldiers out. The second crash site was overrun and the pilot, the lone surviving American, was taken prisoner.
It was a tragic fiasco. Seventy-three Americans were wounded and 18 were killed. Many of their bodies were dragged through the streets by celebrating Somalis. As with his predecessor, Bill Clinton was castigated by Republicans and right wing talk show hosts as being ineffective and, as the results of this military disaster and his avoidance of the draft during the Vietnam War, he was seen as not fit to be Commander in Chief. This perception haunted his remaining seven years in office.
There was an emerging consensus after the Carter and Clinton presidencies—only Republicans had enough grit and will to protect American interests. After all, Ronald Reagan had successfully invaded the tiny, inconsequential island of Grenada to show off his macho.
Putting aside the military vision and prowess of the Republican Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld administration (and forgetting that they had been in office for eight months when we were attacked on 9/11), it is frankly fun to watch how some ideological Republicans are now squirming to explain away the spectacular rescue Sunday of Captain Richard Phillips from his Somali pirate captors.
Never mind, they are in effect saying, that the FBI and all of our armed forces behaved magnificently, forget that we struck an appropriate and subtle balance between quiet diplomacy and military confrontation, never mind that throughout the crisis Barack Obama was briefed five times a day and was in executive command of the strategy, ignore the fact that he alone as Commander in Chief authorized the use of deadly force—neglect to give him and his team any credit for this.
Leading up to the rescue, they seemed to be saying, “I knew the Gipper, and Barack Hussein Obama is no Gipper.” Some even called him a "panty-waist,” whatever that is.
The explanation for the quick and satisfying results, they are now claiming, is the result of . . . luck.
It’s as simple as that. And can you imagine what his critics would be saying if the mission had been botched. Use your imagination. I’ll give you a hint--the answer is not bad luck.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
6:47 AM
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