Pirate Aggression Provides Obama Camp with Unique Opportunity

On the heels of a highly polarizing president who trumpeted tough words and strong actions against terrorist and enemy forces around the world, President Obama's administration is wasting little time in taking defiant, public stances against those who would do United States citizens harm.

Now, that includes pirates. But these aren't the yo-ho-ho or wooden peg variety, but a set of mean customers looking to earn some scratch from ransom situations. And their appearance on the global scene and in the collective minds of the American public greatly shakes up the complexion of the first 100 days of Obama's presidency, providing the new Leader of the Free World with both opportunity and ample room to fail.

"These pirates are criminals. They are armed gangs on the sea. And those plotting attacks must be stopped, and those who have carried them out must be brought to justice," Hillary Clinton told reporters following a meeting with the Haitian Prime Minister.

As comical as the idea may sound to some, these modern, Somalia-based pirates present a real problem for the U.S., which has suffered attacks on vessels off of a 1.2 million square mile area of ocean off the vast Somalia coast.

President Obama has already authorized deadly force against these pirates, and his strong response must, intriguingly enough, sit well with right wing elements in the U.S. who believed Obama would be soft on defense and foreign affairs.

The sentiments suggested by Secretary of State Clinton echo the confident and hawkish tone of the President.

"The United States does not make concessions or ransom payments to pirates," said Clinton.

Military force has not been specifically mentioned by Clinton - instead, the Secretary of State only suggested freezing pirate assets. However, the demeanor of Clinton, combined with her pledge of "stopping" the terrorists and Obama's own words, seem to dictate military force may be incoming. Pirate land bases in Somalia may soon be top U.S. targets.

If nothing else, this should serve as one of the first major foreign affairs challenges for the Obama administration, and it could help define the initial 100 days of the presidency. Up until now, this 100 days has been dominated by the most pressing of domestic concerns - the economy. Now, this administration is tasked with handling domestic affairs while dealing with a developing crisis abroad.

As a result, it's a sink or swim opportunity for the Obama camp. This administration can either fail on all accounts, or prove their mettle to Democrats and Republicans alike in two very disparate crises.

Meilhan, Theodorou, Cook, et al.,French capture 11 suspected pirates; Greek ship freed, CNN