While all the "conservatives" were tea bagging the White House this week for paying the same taxes they did last year, we actually witnessed the range of diplomatic options used by our fresh President. Until quite recently, we had no idea pirates still existed in any sort of real numbers. Until quite recently, we regarded Cuba, Venezuela & Iran with non-negotiable disdain. But the times, they are a-changing.

Let's start with the pirates. Not the Johnny-Depp-devil-may-care-Disney-Pirates, but the Somalian Horn of Africa skiff boat pirates. First off, I had no idea that boats sailed around the world without any guns or weapons on board. After reading Moby Dick, I would want a few harpoons and hand guns to fend off any mighty whales or sharks that might be lurking. And yes, maybe to deter a few local pirates as well.

While diplomacy might be a good talking to, it might also be the threat of getting blown away by bigger and better guns than yours. As with the case of our US captain hostage situation, our president gave the military the "by any means necessary" option to get the captain back. Sure enough, Navy SEALS did what they do best: shoot people. Strangely enough, this made as much sense to me as drawn out negotiations talk. I really wish our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would have been much more like this. Couldn't special forces have hunted down and shot Osama bin Laden and his boys instead unleashing the bulk of our evil empire forces?

FYI, we still haven't caught that guy.

Yes, there is a backlash of pirates capturing more boats, but I think the short-term solution has presented itself. There's nothing wrong with hiring a couple security guards to keep pirates off your boats, and I'm not talking your local Wackenhut security guys and gals. We pay people to guard empty buildings, so why not pay a couple professionals to protect a boat full of cargo in third world pirate infested waters? Make sense to you? Me too.

Of course, not all diplomacy has to come at the end of a gun barrel. This seemed to be the only diplomatic tactic of the old regime. Sometimes, you have to bite the bullet (I love puns!) and actually talk to the brown man. This means Castro in Cuba, Chavez in Venezuela, and the sweater guy in Iran.

A funny thing happens when you start talking nice to these countries: they talk back nice. More than anything else, these countries have an inferiority complex. They want to be considered important players in the world. They want to be listened to and their egos massaged. Obviously, you can't really save them from themselves, but you can through out an olive branch every now and again.

The best example so far is with Cuba. Yes, they are a Communist country, but so is China, and we don't seem to have issues with dealing economically with them. Really, is anyone scared of a communist anymore? That's so 1950s & 80s. Let's live in the now for a change. What started off as a simple allowance of Cuban-Americans permission to visit Cuba has sparked a whole series of possibilities of unity between the U.S. and Cuba. Havana was thought of as the new Vegas in the 1950s before the revolution. It just might become that way again. Just by a little nice talking.

I remember while Clinton was president, there was a fearful buzz about if Bill would actually shake hands with Fidel Castro during a UN appearance. They settled for being in the same room and not speaking to each other. The old way of diplomacy loomed large. Yesterday, Obama shook hands and accepted a book from socialist leader Hugo Chavez. The picture made them look like old chums. This is the difference between the current prez and all other presidents in my lifetime. I must say I like the new approach. It comes across as, dare I say, rational.

So there it is. If you point your guns at the U.S., we will point them back and probably pull the trigger. If you extend your hand in friendship, we respond in kind and probably make you a sweet deal. This makes diplomatic sense to me.

Can this continue? Rumor has it that even Muslims like our new Prez. Let's hope wonders never cease.

Chris Jungle wonders if he should apply to be a pirate.