Former Navy SEALs are speaking out after President Barack Obama referred to recent events in the Middle East, including the deaths of two former Navy SEALs, as “bumps in the road.”
Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty were providing security at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya when it was attacked on 9/11. They were both hailed in the aftermath of the attacks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Both had gone into private security after retiring from the Navy after distinguished careers.
Former SEAL and current Montana State Senator Ryan Zinke issued the following statement:
The President refuses to admit that his policy of appeasement and apology has failed. The murder of our Ambassador and two former Navy SEALs is more than a “bump in the road,” it is a global catastrophe where America is seen as being weak and vulnerable by our enemies. This President has failed to establish a red line for Iran’s nuclear ambitions and has failed to recognize the scale and implications of the attacks against us. Reagan had it right: don’t negotiate with terrorists and recognize the clear and present danger of not being willing to act or lead from the front.
Zinke has been a frequent critic of President Obama’s foreign policy, and started a super PAC, Special Operations for America, that has released ads to that effect, including an ad highlighting Obama’s bows to foreign monarchs.
Beyond the political debate, however, Navy SEALs are also a close-knit brotherhood, and do not take kindly to disrespect when lives are lost. President Obama’s “bumps in the road” comment is particularly chafing because of the credit he has taken for the success of the SEALs in the raid against Osama bin Laden.
They are heroes when they return, and heroes when they fall–not just when it is politically convenient for those in power.