Nashiri Cole Bombing Trial

Abd al Rahim al Nashiri faces a military trial accused of bombing the U.S.S. Cole back in 2008. This case illustrates the difficulty inherent in trying to use normal legal rules -- even military court -- to deal with foreign terrorist enemies. Nashiri was waterboarded, held in a secret prison, and subjected to other harsh interrogation techniques, so naturally his lawyers say the case is "tainted." They know he isn't going free, but they argue to spare him the death penalty. Under normal legal rules the case is definitely tainted, as long as you forget that this man isn't an American citizen or a legal resident, but a foreign enemy that attacked a U.S. warship that wasn't even engaging in any warfare at the time. I give him credit for striking a military target instead of the usual preferred soft targets, but summary execution was still warranted for what he did.

Ideally Nashiri should have been quietly executed years ago, after we extracted all useful information, preferably by using rendition to send him someplace that would do it for us. But now, years later, putting him on trial is a farce.. After three years we are going to charge him with crimes and ask for the death penalty? There's no purpose to this trial. He's been sitting in jail since we captured him, and should continue to sit until he dies. The trial gives a veneer of legalism to our continued confinement of a dangerous Al Qaeda member. But it fools no one. People like me see it as unnecessary, and people who think Nashiri has rights are going to view it as a kangaroo court rubber-stamping a preordained outcome.

U.S. to Base Warships in Singapore

Once a great British naval base, Singapore will soon be home to "one or two" of the U.S. Navy's new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

Defence Secretary Robert Gates announced plans for the base during his visit to Singapore last week. ... According to the Singaporean Defence Ministry, those steps include deploying to Singapore ‘one or two’ of the new Littoral Combat Ships current under construction in the United States. The 400-foot-long, high-speed warships, optimized for shallow-water operations, would be the first US military vessels permanently stationed in the tiny Southeast Asian country, although the Navy for many years has maintained a support facility there.

The linked article speculates that this might be a response to Chinese naval expansion

The Price of Tolerating Piracy

If you haven't heard, Somalia pirates murdered four U.S. captives today in a reminder that there is a price to be paid for the legalistic stupidity preventing the eradication of Somali piracy. Despite having the world's most powerful navy, the U.S. is unwilling to take the basic measures necessary to eliminate a piracy threat that has now claimed American lives. I've written about the piracy issue numerous times, so I'll just quote myself.

The way to eliminate piracy is well known, and has been for a couple thousand years. You kill the pirates, and you destroy their bases. It really isn't much more complicated than that. Yet international naval forces vastly more powerful than historical counterparts can do little more than catch and release the occasional pirate stupid enough to get caught. ... we are just too civilized to use such effective methods against piracy. We are too worried about someone calling our actions illegal, or about possibly killing innocent people -- as if people who permit a pirate operation to take place in their midst shouldn't have to accept the risk of retaliation. Instead we'd rather put merchant seamen at risk of being taken hostage or killed.

According to the NYT link we captured thirteen pirates involved in this killing. If we were serious about combating piracy, we'd summarily execute twelve of them as an example of what happens when pirates kill Americans. We would save the most cooperative pirate to obtain information regarding where this particular group was based, and then use that knowledge to raid and destroy that location. Will we do those things? Of course not. Instead we'll give the pirates lawyers, pretend they have rights, waste time trying them in civilian court, and house them in our prison system. Somalia pirates will continue to expand their range, secure in the knowledge that all the awesome naval power in the world isn't that scary when it's crippled by legalism. There's always a chance that a warship might be in the right place at the right time, but as long as you aren't stupid enough to put up a fight, the worst that could probably happen if you encounter a U.S. warship is that you'll find yourself arrested, put on trial and sent to jail. Given conditions in Somalia, and the huge ransoms available from piracy, most Somali pirates are probably going to view that as an acceptable risk to reward ratio.

World's Dumbest Pirate Confesses

A Somali pirate captured by the U.S. Navy confessed yesterday to attacking an American warship back in April. He and six of his dumb pirate friends actually chased and fired on the U.S.S. Ashland, one of the more amusing incidents of the not so amusing Somali pirate problem. Here's a picture of the Ashland.  It has a crew of over 400, can carry 400+ marines, and has an array of surface to surface weaponry, including two 25mm auto-cannons, and six .50 cal machine guns. It's an ideal target for seven guys in a small boat.

If you are going to make your living as a pirate, knowing the difference between major warships and merchant shipping is a key job skill.

In Honor of Memorial Day

Last Memorial Day I noted the truly amazing Medal of Honor citation of First Lieutenant John J. Tominac.  Today I thought I'd highlight a different citation from a different conflict: the often-overlooked Korean War. I've read many accounts of tremendous heroism from medics and corpsmen, people risking their lives to help the wounded while not even being able to fight back against the enemy. The Medal of Honor citation below is for Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class (HC3c) William Charette, serving with the Marines. Charette not only shielded a wounded comrade with his own body when a grenade fell nearby, but he got up, ignored his wounds, kept treating the wounded, and went so far as to remove his own flak vest and give it to someone he thought needed it more, all while continuously remaining exposed to enemy fire. As the citation notes, "Charette was directly responsible for saving many lives."

I looked up his Wikipedia page. If it is correct, William Charette is a still-living hero, unlike many Medal of Honor winners. He survived his wounds and served 26 years in the navy.

Rank and organization: Hospital Corpsman Third Class, U.S. Navy Medical Corpsman serving with a marine rifle company. Place and date: Korea, 27 March 1953. Entered service at: Ludington, Michigan. Birth: Ludington, Mich. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in action against enemy aggressor forces during the early morning hours. Participating in a fierce encounter with a cleverly concealed and well-entrenched enemy force occupying positions on a vital and bitterly contested outpost far in advance of the main line of resistance, HC3c. Charette repeatedly and unhesitatingly moved about through a murderous barrage of hostile small-arms and mortar fire to render assistance to his wounded comrades. When an enemy grenade landed within a few feet of a marine he was attending, he immediately threw himself upon the stricken man and absorbed the entire concussion of the deadly missile with his body. Although sustaining painful facial wounds, and undergoing shock from the intensity of the blast which ripped the helmet and medical aid kit from his person, HC3c. Charette resourcefully improvised emergency bandages by tearing off part of his clothing, and gallantly continued to administer medical aid to the wounded in his own unit and to those in adjacent platoon areas as well. Observing a seriously wounded comrade whose armored vest had been torn from his body by the blast from an exploding shell, he selflessly removed his own battle vest and placed it upon the helpless man although fully aware of the added jeopardy to himself. Moving to the side of another casualty who was suffering excruciating pain from a serious leg wound, HC3c. Charette stood upright in the trench line and exposed himself to a deadly hail of enemy fire in order to lend more effective aid to the victim and to alleviate his anguish while being removed to a position of safety. By his indomitable courage and inspiring efforts in behalf of his wounded comrades, HC3c. Charette was directly responsible for saving many lives. His great personal valor reflects the highest credit upon himself and enhances the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

HOT5 Daily will return tomorrow. Have a good Memorial Day.

War on Terror Not Over Quite Yet

I often criticize Obama for projecting weakness abroad. But sometimes he gets things right. Yesterday's commando raid was one of those times. According to reports, the president personally authorized the kill order for Al Qaeda leader Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. Regardless of my opposition to most of Obama's policies, I have to commend him for green-lighting an operation which successfully eliminated a known enemy of the U.S. 

As I wrote yesterday, it is best to conduct these types of operations deniably and without any confirmation. But the most important thing is that the president believes in deploying special forces to assassinate our enemies. It demonstrates that Afghanistan-Pakistan isn't the only area where he is willing to kill Al Qaeda members.

One other thing to note about yesterday's operation. This action illustrates why I support the use of assassin teams to hunt our enemies. Notice the difference between this raid and a drone strike. Drone strikes because of their nature often kill significant numbers of bystanders, including women and children. It is also extremely difficult to confirm whether or not the designated target was even present, let alone eliminated. In contrast, the use of a team rather than aerial attack allows for clear identification, and far greater precision. Killing the enemy is good. Getting the wrong person, or getting a bunch of innocent people is counterproductive. Wherever possible the use of assassination teams, whether from the CIA or military/naval special forces, should be the preferred method.

Effective Action Against Pirates

It was good to hear that the U.S. took strong and decisive action against the pirates holding Richard Phillips hostage, killing three, taking one prisoner, and releasing Phillips unharmed. Congratulations to the SEAL team involved, and to the administration. I may be wrong, but I'm assuming that such a rescue operation needed high-level authorization. If so, President Obama should be commended for having the leadership to make a difficult life & death decision, and for not paying the ransom.

The New York Times article linked above notes that pirates are still holding over 200 hostages. They also have a statement from a pirate saying that this action won't discourage them, and that they'll "take revenge" if they capture another American. This would be a great time for the U.S. to send some American-flagged Q-ships -- merchant-type vessels with concealed weapons and military crews -- into the area, in the hopes of enticing pirate attacks.  That way we could kill them as they attack, and avoid the legalistic problems that are otherwise crippling anti-piracy operations. The Q-ship approach is probably the best option to counter these pirates, given that we & other nations are unwilling to carry out the type of punitive measures that might neutralize piracy in the region.