Captain Phillips is a Hero

Well, I'm sure most folks have heard the great news that U.S. Captain Richard Phillips has been rescued from the pirates who hijacked his container ship, the Maersk Alabama. TigerHawk rightly points out that President Barack Obama deserves kudos for "signing off on the mission." I'd add that American naval forces also deserve high praise for playing it cool while the pirated lifeboat drifted off the coast of Somalia. In waiting out Captain Phillips' captors, U.S. forces showed a patient resolve, and then decisive action, that culminated in the best possible outcome.

That said, I checked some of the links at Memeorandum to get a feel for the blogospheric buzz, and many of those on the left aren't celebrating this event for the triumph of heroism that it is. Readers should check the comments at Think Progress, where some of the visitors there are scourging the United States, and suggesting that piracy is a legitimate response to Eurupe's "nuclear waste off the coast of Somalia." One of the commenters blames the Bush administration:

We are always interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and always trying to stop any progressive movement or any form of good self-government.

Putting aside the sheer stupidy of that comment, note that a couple of the visitors at the post have linked to a piece at Crooks and Liars, "What the International Media Aren't Telling You About Somalia Pirates."

Read the whole post. Crooks and Liars links to an anti-capitalist essay at London's Independent, and then concludes with this flourish, "I wonder which principled member of our corporate media will point out that, in the big picture, the Somali pirates are acting in self-defense?"

Well, I wonder which principled member of our (leftist) media will point out that this is the exact same kind of logic that we saw after September 11, 2001, when leftists claimed America deserved the atttacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Indeed, some widely-supported anti-Americans suggested that the "chickens came home to roost" on 9/11.

On this day, Easter Sunday, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a show of national unity upon the safe release of Captain Richard Phillips, who's being hailed as "a hero" by his own crewmates.

Unfortunately, even amid a moment when goodness and human spirit triumphs, those on the radical left continue their endless campaign of anti-Western demonization and destruction. It's a sad commentary on the state of politics in the country today.