Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution declares that “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States.” Let’s take a quick look at how Barrack Obama has handled his role as Supreme Commander of all U.S. military forces since coming into office three months ago.

Recently, four Somali pirates toting automatic weapons boarded the U.S. flagged Mearsk Alabama in International Waters far off the coast of Somalia, mounting the deck of the cargo ship from their small skiff using grappling hooks and ropes. Though the crew had no guns, they outnumbered the pirates five to one. One brave crewman managed to separate the pirate leader from the rest of the brigands, and thrust an ice pick into the hand of the pirate leader, who the crew then overwhelmed and bound. Despite the weapons brandished by the pirates while the crew had none, a standoff ensued. Because the pirates had scuttled their small boat, they demanded an escape boat, fuel and food. To break the deadlock, Captain Richard Phillips, volunteered to make himself a hostage and board the 18 foot lifeboat with the three departing pirates on condition that the pirates leave as a counter-hostage their injured, bound leader with the remaining crew. The crew and the pirates agreed that once the three pirates boarded the lifeboat with Phillips, they would release Phillips and the crew would untie their injured leader. The deal was struck and Captain Phillips boarded the escape boat. As soon as the three pirates and Captain Phillips boarded their lifeboat, the crew held up their end of the bargain and freed the injured pirate leader, who remained aboard the Mearsk Alabama. But the three pirates broke their end of the bargain and refused to free Captain Phillips, instead demanding that the Mearsk Alabama follow the lifeboat to Somalia, where they would have imprisoned the crew and its Captain, while the pirates negotiated a hefty ransom. The two vessels then began their slow trip toward Somalia.

Dawn the next day, the U.S. Bainbridge, a Navy Destroyer, arrived on the scene. The injured pirate leader was taken into custody aboard the Destroyer and began to negotiate for the release of his fellow pirates, who remained aboard the small lifeboat with Captain Phillips. Navy snipers, who were not aboard the Bainbridge when it was assigned the mission of saving Phillips, were secretly flown to the Bainbridge and parachuted onto the fantail deck of the Destroyer outside of the pirates’ line of sight. The Navy Seal snipers took their hidden positions on the fantail deck of the Bainbridge, and the pirates eventually agreed to be towed behind the Destroyer in its large wake in order to get into smoother waters and out of the heavy open seas.

The small lifeboat had an indoor pilothouse so that at any given time one or more pirates were indoors and not in plain sight. Phillips had made one escape attempt (I believe before the lifeboat was being towed) by jumping overboard and swimming for the Bainbridge, but the pirates shot at him with their automatic weapons and managed to get Phillips back on board the lifeboat, after which he was bound. 

Barrack Obama, in his capacity as Commander in Chief, issued an order to shoot to kill the three pirates but only if and when Captain Phillips’ life was in “imminent danger.” After many tense hours during which the Navy Snipers had the three pirates in their crosshairs, there came a point, while the lifeboat was being towed, at which one of the three pirates pointed an AK-47 automatic rifle at the back of the head of a bound Captain Phillips. At this moment one of the three pirates was indoors—in the pilothouse. It is a well known medical phenomenon that a man holding a gun with his hand on the trigger can experience “involuntary trigger squeeze” when shot unless the single kill shot is a perfect head shot, instantly immobilizing the victim’s autonomic nervous system. 

Thus, in addition to heavy seas, darkness, moving targets including one indoor target, and a moving shooting platform, the Navy Snipers had to deliver three perfect shots—each had one shot to make one kill. The sniper assigned the pirate holding the gun on Phillip’s head, had to pass a bullet directly into the center of the pirate’s brain, in order to avoid “involuntary trigger squeeze” and “mission failure”—Phillips’ death.

Due to the conditional nature of the Supreme Commander’s order, the snipers’ commander could only give the shoot order once Captain Phillips’ life was in “imminent danger.” It is well known, and has been reported by various respected news media, that the snipers passed up several opportunities, during the many tense hours they waited on the Destroyer’s fantail deck with the pirates in the crosshairs of their scopes. During these many passed over opportunities, no automatic weapon was aimed at Captain Phillips’ head and therefore at those times there was no the risk of “involuntary trigger squeeze” and Captain Phillips’ death as a result. Eventually, after waiting many hours and passing up many low risk opportunities, Captain Phillips’ life was placed in “imminent danger” when one of the pirates—with his hand on the trigger—pointed an AK-47 at the back of Phillips’ head—and at just at that ultra-high risk moment, exactly as our Commander in Chief had ordered—the shoot order was given, our Navy Seals each made their perfect single kill shots, and Phillips was saved.

Mr. Obama could have simply issued a clean, clear and unconditional order—“kill the pirates and rescue the Captain.” And that’s exactly what a true leader—any man who is willing to undertake the responsibility of being Commander in Chief—would have done. But Obama did no such thing. Instead, he, as usual, placed his own political career ahead of the life and safety of the brave Captain Phillips, who had volunteered to place his own life in “imminent danger” in a heroic attempt to save the lives of his crew. By giving the weasel order he gave—“shoot if and only if the Captain’s life is in ‘imminent danger’”—Obama made sure he avoided being labeled “Bush-like” or hawkish in his reaction, but managed simultaneously to take credit for a successful outcome. Obama thus made the jobs of our Navy Snipers exponentially more difficult and exposed Captain Phillips to enormously more risk of being shot and killed, all in a calculated and intentional effort to hedge against political damage to himself. Can you think of a more selfish unleaderlike decision?

This innocent life-risking conditional order came from the same man who in his first three months of office, ran a “Spring Apology Tour” among NATO nations, wherein he openly apologized for what he himself characterized as “U.S. arrogance,” bowed deeply to Saudi King Abdullah, shut down Guantanamo Bay, eliminated the term “enemy combatant,” renamed the “Global War on Terror” the “Overseas Contingency Operations,” released previously top secret memos detailing U.S. interrogation techniques as part of his continuing assault on President Bush, issued a statement “strongly condemning” Kim Jong Ill’s illegal test firing of a missile over Japan, and has done nothing to halt Iran’s imminent acquisition of nuclear weapons, despite Israel’s openly stated intention to act if the U.S. fails to act. After the pirate standoff was all over, Obama said the U.S is “resolved to halt the spread of piracy.” Wow, what a threat. Is he going to condemn piracy next? Defriend the pirates on Facebook? 

As the Joe who “no one messes” with himself observed in one of his many campaign trail gaffes, Obama will quickly be tested. Well Joe was right—Obama was tested—and he has failed miserably. The Somali pirates are now testing him further naming the U.S. their number one enemy even while they continue to hold hundreds of other hostages. Israel is going to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities any day. As it turns out, Obama’s sniveling order to the Navy did not result in Phillips’ death, but not due to Obama’s courage and conviction—he has none of either—but rather due solely to the courage and skill of our Navy snipers. The bad guys the world over now know that Obama is a sniveling, weak, chicken livered politician—not a Commander in Chief—and there will be hell to pay as a result—in the Middle East, on the High Seas and maybe in the Far East. 

Stephen Meister