by CDR (R), USN
American Sailors being held at gun point by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) on their knees and with their hands behind their heads. Captain James Lawrence’s dying words during the War of 1812 – “Don’t give up the ship” – have been lost in America’s failed foreign policy and our decline on the world stage. Our mighty fighting force is no longer respected, not because we lack capability but because our nation’s leaders lack the backbone to stand and if necessary fight. We no longer fight on principal nor stand our ground on the battlefield or on the vessels flying our nation’s colors. Our nation’s leaders thank our adversary for the safe treatment of our fighting force instead of being outraged and demanding the global community hold Iran accountable for their actions of capturing our sailors instead of rendering aid, and humiliating them by parading their pictures on public media, clearly a violation of the Geneva Convention and of course a complete propaganda play. They succeeded. We failed.
Although I think there should be accountability for the officer’s actions as it led to giving up the two Riverine Command Boats (RCB’s), the much larger problem is that we are perceived as a weak and capitulating nation. We are not respected. We are no longer feared. Our leaders try to appease our adversaries; they should take a few minutes to see how that worked out with the rise of Nazi Germany. They should read a history book. They should apply common sense. They should google Iran – 1979. They should figure out that peace is achieved through strength, not weakness. The US SEVENTH FLEET motto sums it up the best – A Ready Power for Peace.
We need to change the direction of our country to ensure the USA remains a superpower and doesn’t collapse like the former Soviet Union. One only needs to refer to the words of our national anthem to determine how we do this. We Americans are free people, we are brave people; but we need to use our wits and our intellect to ensure we elect the right leaders that will keep our nation strong. At the end of the day, the accountability rests with populace empowered to put in place our democratically elected leaders.
=328 
=484