Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Did The HMS Edinburgh Just Try To Murder The First Lady?

The Secret Service recently stopped a threat to First Lady Michele Obama during her trip to Cape Town, South Africa while sitting in her five-star hotel. They promptly called authorities to confront the culprit: the HMS Edinburgh. The agents were alarmed that the British war ships had its Sea Dart missiles turned toward the hotel . . . and the First Lady. The Secret Service is infamous for overreacting but this really takes the cake. Of course, no one will be disciplined for such an insulting and moronic objection.

The British responded by turning the missiles away from the First Lady’s direction.

Former Royal Navy officer Mike Critchley objected that “I would have thought that they could trust their British allies to not put a missile through the bedroom window of the First Lady.” Well that would be true if our Secret Service was trained to think as opposed to react.

Of course, our Secret Service may have been considered it was the HMS Edinburgh and feared it was full of Jacobites still bitter over their defeat at the Battle of Culloden and loss of the city of Edinburgh in 1745. After all the Jacobites threatened the House of Hanover and took to violent rebellion against their King.

What makes this all the more insulting is that the ship was in the midst of a ceremonial routine to remember Lieutenant Sara Hellawell, a 26-year-old who died on the ship a few days before. It was interrupted by the Americans demanding that they stop threatening the First Lady in her hotel suite. The agents are quoted as “raging” and saying “You can’t point those guns at the First Lady.”

It is times like this that Americans tell people they are Canadians will traveling abroad.

Since there was no immediate apology from the Obama Administration, allow me to use the prerogative of the Turley blog (often accepted as a substitute in diplomatic circles for official American policy statements) to apologize to our English allies. We are morons, we just try to hide it better when traveling abroad.

Source: Daily Mail

16 thoughts on “Did The HMS Edinburgh Just Try To Murder The First Lady?”

  3. While highly unlikely to be a major threat, I think that the concern was not too overblown since the agent may have remembered the fact that FDR was almost torpedoed by our own destroyer in WWII. Only the quick action of the officer on deck avoided the torpedo. that almost hit the battleship FDR was on.

  5. I join the Professor in his apology. (Planning a trip to Italy and going by Cunard … so it seems prudent …)

  6. Are American DVDs even playable on British players? I used to have a machine that would play British DVDs, but others haven’t. I think they use different formats.

  8. What’s the big deal? They turned their ship in a different direction. Such an inconvenience.

    No doubt, there was very little, if any, danger. But you know, you’re not supposed to point even an empty gun at someone else.

    Besides, what with the bust of Churchill being returned, who knows what the British response to such “appalling” behavior might be? Walk into any pub and you will see that the British are a ‘bitter’ people. I’m here all night.

  10. London newspapers are howling over a string of alleged snubs by Obama to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown during his visit to Washington last week – including a squabble over presidential gift-giving.

    “President Obama has been rudeness personified towards Britain,” sniffed The Daily Telegraph Friday. “His handling of the visit of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to Washington was appalling.”

    The list of complaints is longer than the Magna Carta: Obama canceled a planned, podium-to-podium news conference with Brown (actually, none was ever scheduled); he recently removed a bust of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office; and he gave gifts to the Brown family that were “about as exciting as a pair of socks,” one Fleet Street wag whined.

    http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-03-06/news/17918273_1_mr-obama-prime-minister-brown-michelle-obama

  11. To my special friend Gordon, 25 DVDs: Obama gives Brown a set of classic movies. Let’s hope he likes the Wizard of Oz

    As he headed back home from Washington, Gordon Brown must have rummaged through his party bag with disappointment.

    Because all he got was a set of DVDs. Barack Obama, the leader of the world’s richest country, gave the Prime Minister a box set of 25 classic American films – a gift about as exciting as a pair of socks.

    Mr Brown is not thought to be a film buff, and his reaction to the box set is unknown. But it didn’t really compare to the thoughtful presents he had brought along with him.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1159627/To-special-friend-Gordon-25-DVDs-Obama-gives-Brown-set-classic-movies-Lets-hope-likes-Wizard-Oz.html#ixzz1b8UY9X7t

  12. Barack Obama has sent Sir Winston Churchill packing and pulse rates soaring among anxious British diplomats.

    A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government’s art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back.

    The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush’s tenure.

    But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  15. With the current political climate I understand this completely. Threats against the president and the first lady are numerous.

    You can never be to cautious.

    With this administrations past treatment of our allie it’s easy to understand why.

  16. Memo to Secret Service agents: When you leave your present job, you have demonstrated you are highly qualified to be an NYPD supervisor in charge of bullhorns and pepper spray. Or perhaps a TSA screener.

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