I don’t put a whole lot of stock in the theorizing of a guy who thinks the Republican party should shrink (kick out the conservatives) to grow.  That said, Frum didn’t write this; and if the following is even partially true, the White House deserves to get burned at the political stake for this.

Sean Linnane writes on the FrumForum.com:

Earlier this week, news broke that three Navy SEALs were charged and may be court-martialed for allegedly punching a prisoner.  The prisoner, a high-value target (HVT) was turned over to authorities with a bloody lip.

According to a source of mine — a retired SEAL who like myself still serves in other capacities — the feeling going around the Special Operations community at Fort Bragg is that this latest development is a kneejerk reaction to the situation a couple months ago when SEAL operators rescued Captain Phillips – Captain of the Maersk Alabama – off the coast of Somalia.

[snip]

So the word on the street is that this latest development is payback for the SEALs violating the ROE in rescuing the captain of the Maersk Alabama. The Chain of Command is asserting itself, letting everybody know what’s going to happen to you if you don’t follow orders.

Holy crap on a stick.

That has got to be the most craptacular reason for a court-martial ever created; and if it’s even slightly true, I hope it nukes Rahm Emanuel’s career.

Have you ever gotten so bleeding angry at reading something that you get tunnel vision?

First, the White House didn’t want to shoot the pirates?  What in God’s name could possibly be the rationale for that — it’s not like we can do anything other than feed them if we capture them alive, and we weren’t going to let them go.  So what’s the end, if not by shooting the flippin’ PIRATES?!  That was the only action Obama had taken that I completely agreed with, and now I find out that he tried to screw that up too…

Second, You do NOT court-martial enlisted men for violating the Rules of Engagement and not have the resignation of the officer responsible on the Resolute Desk first.  The military has a chain of command for a lot of reasons, but a HUGE reason is ease of assigning blame for screwed-up missions.  That’s why you have a wet-behind-the-ears 22-year-old Second Lieutenant commanding a squad containing a 35-year-old Master Sergeant — the MSgt keeps the Lieutenant from killing his men with inexperience, and the Lieutenant keeps the civilian leadership from punishing the MSgt for doing so.

(Yes, I know there’s a lot more to that relationship, but that’s what’s applicable to this situation.)

Third, why in blazes do you punish the entire SpecOps community for one officer’s bucking of the ROE?  That’s a nuclear response from an anti-nuclear White House, and one that’s reputed to be headed by Mr. Spock.  That’s not how you respond, that’s how a four-year-old child responds — or Rahm Emanuel.

Fourth, if this is is actually punishment for the SEALs, is President Photo-Op really getting cheesed at the SEALs for allowing him the opportunity to boost his hawk credentials?  If memory serves, his poll numbers bumped up slightly, following the awesome show of deadly force against those Somalian pirates.  You’d think he’d throw them a parade, rather than punish the entire SpecOps community.

Amateur Hour just hit an all-time high.