For example, Emanuel asserts the following in the quoted excerpt:
"With the Bainbridge in range and a rescue by his country's Navy possible, Phillips threw himself off of his lifeboat prison, enabling Navy shooters onboard the destroyer a clear shot at his captors — and none was taken. The guidance from National Command Authority — the President of the United States, Barack Obama — had been clear: a peaceful solution was the only acceptable outcome to this standoff unless the hostage’s life was in clear, extreme danger."
According to an account published in the Los Angeles Times, however, the operative factor was the timing of Phillips' escape. "[T]he Navy had no warning that Phillips was going to attempt to flee," the article states. "Although a military special operations team had been mobilized, it had not yet arrived, and the Navy had no way to capitalize on Phillips' gumption" (emphasis added).
Lethal force was authorized
Emanuel further asserts that when the hostage takers fired on a U.S. vessel as it approached their lifeboat early the next day (Saturday), Navy marksmen failed to return fire "thanks to the combination of a lack of clear guidance from Washington and a mandate from the commander-in-chief’s staff not to act until Obama, a man with no background of dealing with such issues and no track record of decisiveness, decided that any outcome other than a 'peaceful solution' would be acceptable."
In point of fact, however, Obama had authorized the use of lethal force as of the night before, according to more than one published account. Every mainstream source agrees that by the time Navy SEAL sharpshooters did arrive on the scene full authorization had been granted.
So, contrary to what Emanuel and the anonymous email in which he is quoted imply — namely that when the on-scene commander finally ordered Navy sharpshooters to bring down the hostage takers he had to do so on his own recognizance due to Obama's reluctance — the fact is, he had already been authorized to do so.
None of which is to take sides on the question of whether the President acquitted himself admirably in his handling of the hostage crisis or not, or whether the standoff might have been ended more quickly under different leadership, or who ultimately deserves credit for the operation's success. Opinions are bound to differ.
At issue is whether and to what extent the substantive statements in the email comport with the known facts. There are discrepancies worth noting.
Update: In an April 22, 2009 article in the Washington Times, National Security Adviser James. L. Jones and other military officials confirmed the accuracy of mainstream press accounts of the hostage crisis and dismissed online allegations to the contrary as false.
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Sources and further reading:
Obama OK'd 2 SEAL Teams for Pirates
Washington Times, 22 April 2009
Ret. Admiral Denies Anti-Obama Email
Virginian-Pilot, 21 April 2009
SEAL Email Criticizing Obama Is Bogus
NBC News, 21 April 2009
Obama Twice Approved Force to Rescue Hostage
Associated Press, 12 April 2009
Moment to Shoot Somali Pirates Had Come
Los Angeles Times, 14 April 2009
The Story of a Successful Rescue (and the Obama Administration's Attempt to Claim Credit)
By Jeff Emanuel, PajamasMedia.com, 13 April 2009
U.S. Navy Resues American Sea Captain and Kills Three Pirates
Daily Telegraph, 13 April 2009
Last updated: 04/24/09
