Pirate Episode Hurts Obama's Negotiating Cred

J

Joe Contrarian

2
Pirate Episode Hurts Obama’s Negotiating Cred

posted at 11:49 am on April 13, 2009 by Legal Insurrection
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I’m thrilled that the Somali pirates were killed, and the Maersk ship captain is safe. The Obama administration is claiming credit for giving the go-ahead for military action. But this presents Obama with a problem.

There are two choices when negotiating with hostage takers/pirates.

One is the Israeli model of no negotiation. The only thing to be negotiated is the life of the hostage taker. Money, free passage, and other benefits are not on the table. The purpose of this approach is to deter further hostage takers, even if it means the death of the hostage. :thumbsup

The other model is the model of negotiating over almost any benefit, as long as the hostage is freed safely. This is the model Obama initially appeared to follow with the pirates. But if one believes the spin coming out of the White House, then negotiation was a ruse to buy time. 2938u4ji23

The problem is not in this case, which ended successfully, but in the next hostage taking situation. If one is going to follow a negotiation approach, the trust of the hostage takers in the negotiation process is key. If hostage takers believe negotiation is a ruse, then the hostage is in more danger.

Words cannot be just words in a negotiation.

So negotiating as a ruse is the worst of all alternatives. It does not have the deterrent effect of the Israeli approach, or the hostage-safety effect of the negotiation approach. :doh1 2938u4ji23 :hangt :shoot:

Cross-posted at Legal Insurrection Blog
 
KTBKRUSHER

KTBKRUSHER

2
Re: Pirate Episode Hurts Obama's Negotiating Cred

i dont care if it hurts that.
he did the right thing if he in fact gave the order.
 
Doc Mercer

Doc Mercer

EOG Master
Re: Pirate Episode Hurts Obama's Negotiating Cred

I guess dropping a nuke on Somalia most likely would have been the most
logical course of action
 
T

tank

EOG Dedicated
Re: Pirate Episode Hurts Obama's Negotiating Cred

Joe Contrarian said:
Pirate Episode Hurts Obama?s Negotiating Cred

posted at 11:49 am on April 13, 2009 by Legal Insurrection
<small> Send to a Friend | printer-friendly </small>

I?m thrilled that the Somali pirates were killed, and the Maersk ship captain is safe. The Obama administration is claiming credit for giving the go-ahead for military action. But this presents Obama with a problem.

There are two choices when negotiating with hostage takers/pirates.

One is the Israeli model of no negotiation. The only thing to be negotiated is the life of the hostage taker. Money, free passage, and other benefits are not on the table. The purpose of this approach is to deter further hostage takers, even if it means the death of the hostage. :thumbsup

The other model is the model of negotiating over almost any benefit, as long as the hostage is freed safely. This is the model Obama initially appeared to follow with the pirates. But if one believes the spin coming out of the White House, then negotiation was a ruse to buy time. 2938u4ji23

The problem is not in this case, which ended successfully, but in the next hostage taking situation. If one is going to follow a negotiation approach, the trust of the hostage takers in the negotiation process is key. If hostage takers believe negotiation is a ruse, then the hostage is in more danger.

Words cannot be just words in a negotiation.

So negotiating as a ruse is the worst of all alternatives. It does not have the deterrent effect of the Israeli approach, or the hostage-safety effect of the negotiation approach. :doh1 2938u4ji23 :hangt :shoot:

Cross-posted at Legal Insurrection Blog
Click to expand...
Wow. I bet this guy always knows what horse is going to win AFTER the race is over too.Just another sheep trying to keep the crowd scared and wanting you to think we are weak.
 
Doc Mercer

Doc Mercer

EOG Master
Re: Pirate Episode Hurts Obama's Negotiating Cred

Joey and Sarah Palin in a room talking about World Events would be
priceless to record ...
 
Doc Mercer

Doc Mercer

EOG Master
Re: Pirate Episode Hurts Obama's Negotiating Cred

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm...


We Lost

Robert Kagan, William Kristol

CARNEGIE

WASHINGTON POST, APRIL 13, 2001
Reprinted from the Washington Post, April 13, 2001

In the United States today, Americans are celebrating the return of the aircrew from China. President Bush is being widely praised for his deft handling of the hostage crisis. In China today, the government-run media are celebrating a great "victory" over the American superpower. Chinese leaders are being praised for extracting an apology from the United States for its aggressive invasion of Chinese territory. Who is right to celebrate? Comforting as it would be to believe otherwise, the Chinese see more clearly than we do that -- so far -- they have won and we have lost.

First, make no mistake: The United States has apologized. And the fact of our apology is all the more humiliating because the United States was in no way to blame for the incident. ...

Confronted by this direct and deliberate challenge, the United States has apologized. We have not only expressed regret and sorrow for the loss of the Chinese pilot and plane. We have publicly declared that we are "very sorry" for violating Chinese airspace by landing our crippled plane in Chinese territory. And let us not forgot why we apologized. The letter that our ambassador delivered to the Chinese government this week was not the product of high diplomacy. It was not the product of Sino-American "cooperation" -- a welcome harbinger of future "crisis management" between the two powers. It was the product of Chinese extortion. They held our troops hostage until we said, "Uncle." When we finally said something that in Chinese sounds a lot like "uncle," they let them go.

We can kid ourselves all we want, but we have suffered a blow to our prestige and reputation, a loss that will reverberate throughout the world if we do not begin immediately to repair the damage. The problem is not merely that we have lost face -- though the Chinese are right to believe that great powers should place a high value on their reputation. The bigger problem is that our reliability as defender of the peace and protector of friends and allies, especially in East Asia, has been thrown into doubt. If we do not have the will to stand up to the Chinese when they hold 24 Americans for 10 days, who can believe we will stand up to China when it threatens Taiwan and dares us to risk thousands more troops to defend that democratic ally?
 
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