Three pirates were shot by Navy SEALs snipers, freeing American freighter Captain, Richard Phillips, from captivity. The naval commander who ordered the SEALs snipers to shoot was acting on his own initiative to save the hostage. He took this initiative in the absence of any orders from Washington or higher military channels. This is what leadership is all about. That and fast, lethal action by US servicemen will continue being a genuine solution to piracy of US ships.
However, this incident helps the US government and military create a precedent and gives us a cautionary note against the “slave mentality.”
By reacting with fast and lethal action the Navy SEALs sent out a message to pirates about how the US will respond to future piracy. Now Obama’s administration must recognize this and make sure they empower the military to enact a similar policy towards pirates in the future. That way pirates know they will be doing something very futile and dangerous to themselves every time they try to pirate US ships. The pirates were reported, by Todd Pitman and Lara Jakes in their article “Kidnapped US captain freed; snipers kill 3 pirates”, as saying that next time they will murder US hostages. The US response should be “Then that will make it easier for us to kill you.” But Obama was not tough enough to send that message out.
Meanwhile the above-mentioned article’s authors wrote that the Navy SEALs’ response to this particular piracy incident will have “risked provoking retaliatory attacks.” However, anyone using this as a reason to suggest that the US government and military should relax its fierce response towards piracy is wrong and suffering from the “slave mentality”. Why is this a wrong attitude? In ancient Rome, many slaves refrained from rebelling against their oppressive masters because of fear that already-brutal masters would become more brutal towards them. Hence, the slaves remained slaves. The masters continued their brutality unchecked. Hence, the slave mentality only perpetuated evil and negated the responsibility of freedom. Likewise, piracy will continue unchecked if the US adopts a similar “slave mentality”.
Saying that we ought not to respond to piracy with lethal force because the pirates will respond with more attacks is sheer stupidity. This cowardly approach will only weaken our defense against pirates by making us appease them. Pirates will see a “slave mentality” approach as being a reason to continue their piracy. Appeasement will only lead to the injustice of rewarding evil-doers.
We must not be phased by pirates threatening future retaliation against America for its recent aggressiveness. That is because the recent piracy incident shows that pirates are already seizing our ships. So America has nothing to lose by continuing it’s lethal response towards future piracy.
An aggressive approach is better than the “slave” approach because the former helps us protect or avenge hostages’ lives without rewarding evil. Consistently using proactive aggressiveness will also weaken the will of pirates to increase their piracy. This would reduce the frequency of hostage-taking and casualties. Saving or avenging innocent lives is our primary moral responsibility. It is based on the sanctity of life and the recognition that compromising with evil is an injustice.
We must continue substituting the proactive, aggressive mindset of warriors for the “slave mentality” when dealing with pirates. The US navy and other military branches must remember what Abraham Lincoln once said, “We must have faith that right makes right. And in that understanding dare to do our duty.”
