President Obama should learn from President Myung-bak

**Posted by Phineas

Yes, Obama used deadly force against Somali pirates, too, but it’s the attitude of the South Korean president he needs to emulate:

In a daring high-seas rescue, South Korean navy commandos today stormed a freighter that’s been held hostage for a week in the Arabian Sea, killing eight Somali pirates and freeing 21 crew members.

Five other pirates were captured. The ship’s captain was shot in the stomach by the pirates, but he’s expected to survive, South Korea said.

“Our special forces stormed the hijacked Samho Jewelry earlier today and freed all hostages,” Colonel Lee Bung-woo, a spokesman for South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, told The Guardian and other reporters in Seoul. “During the operation, our forces killed some Somali pirates, and all of the hostages were confirmed alive.”

South Korea’s president went on national TV to laud the commandos’ success and warn any pirates against trying to hijack ships in the future.

“We will not tolerate any behavior that threatens the lives and safety of our people in the future,” President Lee Myung-bak said.

And that is how a national leader stands up for his country. Barack Obama’s diffidence is all too palpable, even when he does the right thing.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)