Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Appropriate Rescue Du Jour

There is a lot to like about the rescue of the two individuals from the Somali pirates, but I find it especially cool that the SEALs rescued a Dane along with an American.  The Danes have been one of the most supportive allies of the US in Afghanistan and then in Libya.  In Afghanistan, the Danes have been willing to fight in the very hardest parts of the country--the green zone of Helmand (where the poppies grow best)--taking more casualties per troop deployed than any other country.  In Libya, the Danes dedicated a huge hunk of their air force to the bombing campaign.

Of course, the fact that Denmark's former Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is the Secretary-General of NATO might have something to do with it.*  Anyway, anything the US can do to help out the Danes is a good thing--rescuing one of their citizens is even better than rescuing a boat full of Iranian sailors.
* The fact that I got heaps of help from the Danish government and scholars during my research on NATO and Afghanistan has almost nothing to do with my positive attitude towards the Danes.  Ok, maybe it does.  Then again, I got heaps of help and great access in every country I visited [I didn't visit Italy since the help was not forthcoming].

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