RUSH: You know what we have learned about the Somali pirates, the merchant marine organizers that were wiped out at the order of Barack Obama, you know what we learned about them? They were teenagers. The Somali pirates, the merchant marine organizers who took a US merchant captain hostage for five days were inexperienced youths, the defense secretary, Roberts Gates, said yesterday, adding that the hijackers were between 17 and 19 years old. Now, just imagine the hue and cry had a Republican president ordered the shooting of black teenagers on the high seas. Greetings and welcome back, Rush Limbaugh, the Excellence in Broadcasting Network and the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies.
They were kids. The story is out, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but apparently the hijackers, these kids, the merchant marine organizers, Muslim kids, were upset, they wanted to just give the captain back and head home because they were running out of food, they were running out of fuel, they were surrounded by all these US Navy ships, big ships, and they just wanted out of there. That’s the story, but then when one of them put a gun to the back of the captain, Mr. Phillips, then bam, bam, bam. There you have it, and three teenagers shot on the high seas at the order of President Obama. David ‘Rodham’ Gergen was discussing the ramifications of this last night. Let’s go to sound bite eight. We’ll use number eight. He was on Anderson Cooper 360 last night. Cooper said, ‘Does Obama need to move forward in this –‘ by the way, the Somali merchant marine organizers have hijacked four more ships today, four more ships have been hijacked.
It was three earlier today. They’ve hijacked an additional one now for a total of four today. And, of course, we predicted this yesterday. While bestowing upon Obama all the brilliance and credit he deserved for a brilliant operation, we were very much concerned here that this kind of action against three young teenagers, black Muslim teenagers on the high seas could anger the pirates, merchant marine organizers even more and heighten and increase hijack activity. The left itself warned us of this in Iraq, they said all we’re doing is creating more terrorists. So apparently we’ve created more hijackings on the high seas, in the Gulf of Aden by teenaged black Muslims, the merchant marine organizers. Here’s David ‘Rodham’ Gergen responding to Anderson Cooper’s question. ‘Does he need to move forward in this situation? Does he need to resolve the question of these other pirates, their hideouts along the coast there in Somalia, or does he just kind of move on and hope it doesn’t happen again?’
GERGEN: The natural temptation is to want to go in with military force and clean out those nests of pirates and just demolish them for even touching an American in the way they did, but there are some complications. Anderson, in his case this is complicated by his diplomatic outreach to Muslims. He’s done a good job laying the groundwork, reaching out in Turkey as we saw a few days ago. If he over-responds to this, if he uses force against Muslims in what seems an excessive way, it could totally undercut his own efforts.
RUSH: It was a risk that he took, no question. But of course until David ‘Rodham’ Gergen mentioned it last night, nowhere else in the Drive-Bys was the fact that they were Muslims mentioned. That’s why the use of the word pirates continues. The defense secretary, Robert Gates, said there is no purely military solution to merchant marine organizing in the region. ‘As long as you’ve got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small there’s really no way, in my view, to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids.’ A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Gates’ quotes which were first reported in the American Forces Press Service. There’s nothing really we can do until we go in there and nation build is what he’s saying. We gotta go in there and take care of the situation on land and build up their economy such that these kids don’t feel the need to become merchant marine organizers. (interruption) What, Mr. Snerdley, you have a question here for your host? Hm-hm. Hm-hm. Hm-hm. That was then, and this is now.
Mr. Snerdley is incredulous over the comments of the defense secretary that we can’t stop piracy in a military way, there’s no military solution. He pointed out that we have done it before, 200 years ago, and for the longest time there wasn’t any piracy. Well, it’s different now, Mr. Snerdley. There is no pure military solution to this, just like there’s no military solution to terrorism. There’s no military solution to anything is what you must take from this. The Obama administration, no military solution to anything, which is, of course, one of the foundational building blocks of liberalism, the military only screws things up. Al Sharpton, the head honcho of the National Action Network, on his syndicated radio show yesterday.
SHARPTON: The so-called pirates, they call themselves voluntary Coast Guard in Somalia, which may be more apt.
RUSH: Well, there you have it, from one of America’s true leaders of the civil rights movement, the black community, they’re not even pirates. They are voluntary coast guards. So in fact what we have here, according to the Reverend Sharpton, these young kids, black Muslim kids, three of which were ordered shot by President Obama on Sunday afternoon, they’re just a voluntary Coast Guard trying to protect Somalia, they’re just patrolling off the coast of Somalia as sort of a voluntary National Guard, so-called pirates, they’re not really pirates, according to reverend Sharpton. He’s confirming me, Mr. Snerdley. Don’t look so incredulous. They’re just community organizers and they have decided to organize out on the high seas as a means of protecting their beloved country, is all this is about.
A story from the Xinhua News Agency in Beijing, and there’s a picture of it here: ‘Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, said China Radio International.’ I guess the ChiComs here are unaware of the Somali pirates’ brilliant business plan, and the Chinese are very happy. ‘The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China’s fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the Chinese ships. The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness before the vast number of dolphins.’ This is a China news story, as it’s written. The pirates lament their littleness compared to the dolphins, but they apparently see no such littleness compared to the US Navy. It’s true, got a picture here, unless it’s been Photoshopped, lots and lots of dolphins just surfacing between the giant Chinese ship and the Somali merchant marine organizers. We always knew, we’ve always been told the dolphins are smarter than the rest of us, and apparently the dolphins in the Gulf of Aden are tired of all the piracy, or tired of something, and so they wanted to stop it. Mort Kondracke last night on Fox’s Special Report with Bret Baier, had a discussion here about Obama and the Somali merchant marine organizers.
KONDRACKE: I think Obama did the right thing. I was in church with him on — same church as — on — on Sunday, and he looked like very preoccupied and now it’s — it’s — it’s apparent why because he was thinking what was going on in the — in the — off Somalia.
RUSH: I was in church with him on Sunday, he looked very preoccupied. He may have looked preoccupied in church on Sunday. Now we know why. He was worried about the order he had given to wipe out three teenagers on the high seas, black Muslim teenagers. I think the way he looked in church, Mort, probably confused that nobody was screaming about how evil America is. That’s what he’s used to hearing in church, and he obviously didn’t hear that.
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RUSH: West Hempstead, New York. This is Carl. Thank you for waiting, sir. You’re next on the Rush Limbaugh program.
CALLER: Good to talk to you again, Rush. It’s been years. Listen, as I understand it and as I’m reading here on the Internet, this ship that was attacked by the Somali pirates was carrying food aid to Somalia. Well, you know, how about treating Somalia, much of sub-Saharan Africa, like one would treat a strangler vine. If it becomes a problem, simply stop watering it.
RUSH: It is true that the ship was delivering food. It was on a mercy mission to some Muslims. You might be right it was to Somalia, and much of sub-Saharan Africa.
CALLER: Yeah, it was Kenya and Somalia.
RUSH: Kenya!
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: Well… Kenya?
CALLER: Yeah, apparently. Yeah, that’s what the news is reporting.
RUSH: And?
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Kenya?
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Kenya? You’re serious about this?
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: Well, you know, Kenya, there’s a bunch of Obama relatives that live there. He’s got his brother, George Onyango who lives in the hut, and we learned last week, and I did not mention this. But we learned last week that he’s got another half-brother who’s been charged with sexual assault or something.
CALLER: In England.
RUSH: Can you imagine if a family member of George W. Bush had been charged with sexual assault.
CALLER: (laughing)
RUSH: Well, it was on a mercy mission, but the Somali merchant marine organizers are out for ransom money.
CALLER: Well, it appears to me to be anti-Darwinian to be feeding our enemy. Simply cut ’em off and let evolution take its course.
RUSH: No, you don’t understand. You don’t understand. I’m glad you called and said this to give me the opportunity to explain. We don’t have enemies. Well, we have enemies, but we have enemies because of us. We have made them our enemies by being a superpower, by having such a big military, by having such a big economy, by having so much prosperity, by having so much freedom, by feeding the world, by outperforming every other civilization in the history of human existence. We are the problem. We have only been able to do this, you see, by stealing from the Somalis and stealing from the Kenyans. We have stolen all of the resources of the world to use ourselves in a selfish effort to make ourselves bigger than anybody else. And so it is guilt that forces us to send food and good wishes to our enemies like this. This is the way the left thinks. Remember, the United States is the problem in the world.
The US military is the problem in the world. The United States has created all this strife, and since we’re ones… It’s just like domestically, the rich are only rich because they’ve taken what’s not theirs from the poor — who never had anything in the first place, but still, they say that the poor is poor because everything that was theirs was taken from them. Same thing exists in the world. Kenya is poor and Somalia is poor because we, the United States, for over 200 years have raped the world of its resources. This is what liberals think. We’re guilty! To be an American is to be guilty, and so of course we’re going to send ships and the military around the world on Meals on Wheels programs. And we have to understand. That’s why I’m stunned that President Obama did this. If he knew that it was just three black Muslim teenagers in that pirate ship that were gunned down… Again, you let George Bush’s Navy gun down three black teenagers out there in the open seas, and I guarantee there would be hell to pay and war crimes trials.
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RUSH: I stand corrected. I’m using the guidance provided for me by Victor from Boca Raton, Florida, the Russian caller. If only President Obama had known that the three Somali community organizers are actually young black Muslim teenagers, I’m sure he wouldn’t have given the order to shoot. That’s the correct way to look at it: If only Obama had known. Okay. So it’s no big deal.
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RUSH: I’m just sitting here reading an AP story out of Nairobi, which is in Kenya. I swear, reading this story you would think that the Somali merchant marine organizers actually have a spokesman. I don’t know where AP gets this information about them. Let me give you an example: ‘US and French naval attacks on Somali pirates raised fears Monday for the safety of scores of foreign sailors still held hostage and sparked a debate on safeguarding shipping. The most likely outcome, though, is business as usual for,’ the merchant marine organizers. ‘Pirate leaders in Somalia have vowed to retaliate for the killing of three [young teenage] pirates by [the Obama administration] sharpshooters in the daring rescue of American captain Richard Phillips–‘ No, it doesn’t really say that. I put it in there myself. ‘The International Maritime Bureau said it supported the US and French action, but also cautioned it may spark retaliation by pirates,’ which it has. Four more ships were hijacked today.
‘Vilma de Guzman, the wife of Filipino seafarer Ruel de Guzman, held since Nov. 10, said, ‘Those released are lucky, but what about those who remain captive?” Now, without any quote, without any attribution to anybody in the pirate community, comes this next sentence. ‘The pirates’ primary concerns, however, are economic, and they have no interest in escalating violence.’ Who wrote this piece? Tom Maliti of the Associated Press. I guess the Associated Press is the spokesman for the pirate community because this is a PR job for the pirates, but there is no quote. How does this guy know the pirates’ primary concerns are economic and they have no interest in escalating violence? No, they just hijacked four more ships today. ‘Pirates armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades typically speed toward a ship in skiffs and use ropes and hooks to get aboard without shooting. Within days, a ransom of $1 million to $2 million is delivered, by sea or air, and the ship and crew are released.’ No big deal!
‘No shot is fired. No one is harmed. Hostages have even told of being fed ‘sumptuously,’ with pirates billing the shipping companies for the food.’ (laughing) The pirates are billing the shipping companies! (laughing) There’s gotta be a return address. If you are the pirates and you’re billing the shipping companies for the food, the shipping companies have to have some address to send the money back, if they’re stupid enough. This is absurd! It is an AP story that’s a puff piece, PR piece press release for the pirates. It gets even better. ‘That, and the ransom, are paid by insurance companies.’ The food’s paid for by the shipping fleet, the ransom’s paid by insurance companies. Big deal. Nobody’s hurt here. There’s no harm. ‘Last year, premiums for passage all along the East African coast shot up –‘ Premiums! Premiums for passage. It’s like the fee you pay to go through the Panama Canal, yes. ‘Premiums for passage all along the East African coast shot up in August and September when there was an increase in hijackings, then fell in January when bad weather saw little pirate activity.’
President Obama vowed on Monday the resolve to halt the rise of piracy. ‘That could herald ‘a new chapter in the piracy saga,’ said Crispian Cuss of London’s risk mitigation Olive Group. The pirates had ‘a really good year last year, they took a lot of ships, made a lot of money and almost all hijackings were resolved peacefully.” Had a great year. That’s right, they have a great business model. This is being written about as though it’s a tourist attraction. For those of you with giant yachts, go out there and watch all this, watch the hijackings, watch the brilliant business model in action, watch the captain and the crew be taken hostage, watch the ransom air dropped, watch the crew released. Imagine, because you won’t see the crew eating sumptuous meals paid for by the shipping companies who are billed for this by the pirate community. I think the cruise lines ought to start selling cruises over to this area, Gulf of Aden, just to watch this. ‘Join us on a five-day hostage cruise, get fed sumptuous food, enjoy a high seas adventure. We, too, might be hijacked but don’t worry, the cruise line will feed us well because the pirates will bill them for it. The pirates will get a ransom, and we’ll watch this brilliant business model unfold.’
Noel Choong of the piracy watchdog — oh, did you know there was a piracy watchdog? I didn’t until just now. The piracy watchdog International Maritime Bureau, another bureaucracy that does nothing but watch. And here’s the quote from Noel Choong of the piracy watchdog International Maritime Bureau: ‘We do not approve or support that crews be armed. Once you start arming the crew, then the pirates will start shooting the crew, even an unarmed crew.’ No, no. If the crew is armed they can’t be unarmed at the same time. Oh, well, let me start again. ‘Once you start arming the crew,’ said Noel Choong, ‘then the pirates will start shooting the crew, even an unarmed crew. Once that is done you will have more problems because the crew will start shooting at other (non-pirate) ships.’ So the International Maritime Bureau theorizes that if you arm the crew of the peaceful cargo ships trying to deliver their mercy mission food to starving Africans and others, if you arm the crew, they will start shooting other ships. Meanwhile, the pirates, all they want to do is hijack you, take you there, feed you well, bill the shipping company for it, get the ransom, and let you go.