Forget the Saudi Bow, "We are talking about housing"

Nearly a week after it occurred, it is time that the media and critics of President Obama stop the debate and endless rant over whether or not President Obama bowed to royalty in Saudi Arabia and instead discuss what can easily be referred to as the least compassionate and least presidential moment of the the 44th President to date. This week, our nation received a rude awakening about the reality of Oceanic Terrorism, as for the first time in 200 years a commercial US flagship operating in a non-combat zone fell victim to piracy.

This is not the first time that a US flagship has fell victim to piracy, within combat operational areas such as the 1960's Cambodian incident the US has combated piracy and an unknown number of personal vessels have fallen victim to piracy throughout the years. However, the events that have unfolded this week should not be taken lightly be the White House, as the handling of this event could very well open up future hijackings of American ships.

The White House has made repeated attempts to inform the public that they are "on top of" the situation and to convey the "concern" of President Obama, but during a news conference on housing this week the President, who should have been prepared, showed a complete disregard for the victims of these Somali pirates and the American whose life is still in jeopardy. During the news conference, President Obama when asked about the unfolding situation off the Somali coast responded with only 7 words..."We are talking about housing right now..."

Let's make clear that the President's first and foremost duty to this nation is to protect U.S. Citizens and US interests abroad. The United States Navy primary objective is to secure the safety of US waterways and US interests on the high sea. There is nothing more important than the sovereignty of this nation and security of it's citizens and it is time that someone remind the President of this duty. The President's reaction should have been simple and direct, alluding to the fact that his thoughts and concerns were with the families affected by this act of Oceanic Terrorism and then he should have made clear to the world that the United States Government will not tolerate any act of Oceanic Terrorism perpetrated against American citizens, American flagships or those of our allies and that these acts will stop immediately or any nation or parties responsible will have to deal with the United States military.

Since 1993, the U.S. and the media have ignored the increasing acts of piracy occurring off the horn of Africa. For the most part in the two years since Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck first focused on international piracy, the mainstream media has turned a blind eye. Only now that a US flagship has been attacked has the media or this government openly discussed the threat presented by these Oceanic Terrorists and if the administration does not deal with this situation in a direct and powerful manner, then we may as well accept the fact that there will be future attacks upon US citizens and ships upon the high sea.

For nearly 2 decades, the Clinton, Bush and now the Obama administration has largely ignored the increase in Oceanic Terrorism. The media has dulled public perception of these events by referring to them as acts of piracy, which inevitably drum up images of a peg legged hairball with a parrot sitting on his shoulder. International piracy is brutal and is an act of terrorism; and once again our governments' failure to openly address the issue has imperilled the lives of innocent Americans. Somalia is rogue state, abandoned by the civilized world and an operational safe-haven for Islamic Terrorists including Al-Quaeda. The weapons being used by these Oceanic Terrorists are being purchased through Yemen (the site of the USS Cole attack) and the chief black marketeer of Yemen is Al-Quaeda.

The events that have unfolded this week off the horn of Africa are not an isolated incident and deserve the full attention of the US media and more importantly the sitting President. Housing issues are important in this nation, but for a President to ignore a question concerning an attack upon US citizens because he is discussing "housing" is a full-blown Presidential failure and should raise serious questions this administrations priorities. I fully understand President Obama's attempt to control the media message and stay on track with his prepared remarks, but this event was beyond ridiculous. Perhaps someone in the administration should prepare remarks for President Obama after he decides to drop a few dozen bombs on Somalia ports being used by these Oceanic Terrorists (unfortunately, I doubt that will happen).