Kristol's Next War: Send The US Marines After Somali Pirates

Matthew Yglesias:

In addition to being a booster of the two actual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bill Kristol and/or his publication has, at one time or another, also called for the United States to go to war with North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. And now he's got another war he's like to start:

And while [Bush is] at it, perhaps he could tell various admirals to stop moaning about how difficult it would be to deal with the pirates off the coast of Somalia (isn't keeping the shipping lanes open a core mission of the Navy?) and order the Navy to clobber them. If need be, the Marines would no doubt be glad to recapitulate their origins and join in by going ashore in Africa to destroy the pirates' safe havens.

Read the whole story: Matthew Yglesias

Comments

[CharlesJ]

This is a form of terrorism, or terroristic activities in that the pirates are terrorizing the shipping lanes.
This is a world wide issue, and I do believe that all nations that have naval forces should and would be more than willing to send a ship or two to the region under the command and control of NATO.
NO matter how this is approached this is not the problem of a country but a world wide problem that has to do with extreem poverty and desparation of a country, as well as what has become a way of life for making money. Those that would terrorize the high seas, need to be dealt with internationally in the same way as they would any other terrorist organization, but it must be done by all world powers at equal shared costs.

[lizziekw]

Sorry, we've got too many problems of our own right now and we're broke. We'll have to leave this one to the rest of the world. They have navies, they have troops, they have money - they can handle it.

The World Police gravy train has been derailed.

[chronic]

Miss Kristol is a coward.

[BeauMonde]

Bill Kristol can bring his own behind to the seas and fight the pirates himself. He can even take Palin with him if he wants.

[GrainOSand]

Mr. Kristol is a liberal. He is liberal with other people’s lives and money. He is that kid on the playground that instigates trouble (Psst! -- Johnny said something about your mother -- are you gonna take that?) The first one running when trouble starts -- to get him a safe ringside seat that allows him to view (yet not participate) in the carnage. He likely makes money from the trouble he incites. He emits the aura of the classic oily and slippery charlatan, yellow paint running up his spine. Just another player drunk off that self-interested wine, let us hope that “Now is the time” for the setting of the sun on his kind, his ilk, who seek to bilk, grabbing the udders of public attention on his stool of lies he seeks to milk.

Like Peanuts’ Pigpen, he walks around followed by a cloud -- one of cowardly warmonger filth, which comes from within. He is not made of iron or steel but of flimsy and cheap tin. Let us all hope he is not the stuff upon which America is built. Has he no decency, and for Iraq -- no guilt? Does he know that manufactured war causes eagles to tumble and flowers to wilt; that a moth eaten blanket of lies and schemes is a porous ineffective quilt, to cover the nations exposed gluteus in a windstorm of shifting tides and changing winds? Mr. Kristol, cataclysmic change is coming; it’s just around the bend.

[JadedAggie]

Why on earth would we be the one's to do that? I realize we are likely the most capable, but it is relatively rare they hit a U.S. shipment and the amount of enmity that would stir in Somalia seems counter productive.

[newshawk14]

When it comes to piracy, all nations are aligned in stamping it out. We did it years ago in
Tripoli, and with Obama as president, I think we could recruit a strong supporting cast.

[JadedAggie]

I'm sorry I don't think I made my position very clear. I am against the piracy and would support an international solution, but I don't think it would be in our interest to lead that international coalition.

[TheAlchemist]

There are still some who feel that the US Military's job is to be police to the world.

Let the international community work out a solution to this problem. It's an international problem.