Somali pirates strike again
posted at 12:04 pm on April 11, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
This time, they aimed a little lower. Instead of hijacking a container ship full of relief-aid food destined for their own country, Somali pirates reportedly took a tugboat in the Gulf of Aden:
U.S. warships are trying to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain is being held hostage as the high-seas standoff off Africa’s eastern coast entered a fourth day Saturday.
A Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to reporters, said the pirates have summoned assistance but at least two American ships and U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft are deterring pirate ships and skiffs from contact with the lifeboat.
Underscoring the high stakes involved, France’s navy on Friday freed a sailboat seized off Somalia last week by other pirates, but one of the hostages was killed.
Somali pirates have hijacked an American-owned tugboat with 16 crew in the Gulf of Aden, the head of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Program said Saturday.
The tugboat was towing two barges when pirates attacked it, according to the EASAP spokesman. Neither American nor Italian sources would confirm the capture, but that and the call for reinforcements from the pirates underscores their increasingly bold nature. If we thought a show of force from the US Navy would send the pirates scurrying for cover, we may have underestimated their determination to hold their ground.
This emphasizes the need to react swiftly, using the full might of our power, when piracy arises. In a real sense, this is asymmetrical warfare, only with a profit motive rather than theological extremism pushing it. If we scale down our response to the same level as theirs, or incrementally rather than overwhelmingly higher, then we play on their ground and not ours. If we expect to have a realistic deterrent in our navy, then we have to allow them to unleash their full fury on the pirates — all of the pirates — when they dare to attack American shipping, and Western shipping in general.
The pirates have not heeded our power because thus far we have shown an unwillingness to wield it. Just as with religious-extremist terrorists, they will feast on American targets as long as they sense that reluctance to seriously deal with the problem.
Blowback
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Joe Biden will no doubt have much to say about all this in the future. Of things that happened and of things that never did. As the years pass and he looses even more of his facilties he will only be able to recall the things that never happened.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 9:16 PM
*citation needed*
The US military has performed Noncombatant Evacuation Operations several time before; it’s part of a MEU’s SOC certification IIRC. We pick up civilians all the time.
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 9:18 PM
As I, and maybe others, have said before, although the nobel Captains life should have a high priority, it can not be the highest priority. Whatever it takes, even risking the Captain’s life, the pirates, including all their friends that can be found, should all be eliminated with “extreme prejudiced” and soon. The monkeys of the world are watching and if the chicken is allowed to keep peaking Uncle Sam on the nose rather than Uncle Sam dispatching the chicken they will notice as will “fair weather friends”. Obama is making the U.S. Navy look like an impotent peacock.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 9:23 PM
Puerto Rican prisoners do that to murderers of old folks, innocent women and kids. That’s why when one of these “treasures” kill, they have to be isolated when charged. If thrown with the rest of the population, they are cut like shish kebobs and flushed down the toilet.
Of course, with the KGB they needed to send over the choice cuts for a successful retrieval of their comrade.
ProudPalinFan on April 11, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Nice screen name. I think the poster believes that the Posse Comitatus Act applies outside the US. The original poster is a tad confused, that’s all.
Game theory notes that the most stable negotiating style is Tit for Tat. We can use this, as we have some leverage with prisoners aboard Boxer. Also, if we know the home port of the 4 pirates, we could send a raid ashore and bargain with the Pirate’s relatives in our hands. This would, however, require some good intel and a will to win in the Obama administration that has lacking up to now.
This is in addition to what our ships and helos could do in the meantime.
MB4, I’m not ready to let Captain Phillips life go to priority 2, yet. He is a brave American who deserves our best efforts.
For those interested in what President Bush did;
He used Ethiopia to keep the Somalis in check, without comment by the flummoxed left.
NaCly dog on April 11, 2009 at 9:37 PM
I’ve seen French schoolgirls shoot better…
BL@KBIRD on April 11, 2009 at 9:38 PM
Right now, the neophyte Obama is beginning to realize that sitting in the Oval Office means making real decisions, decisions that may well end up with one, a dozen or more, or beyond that number, being killed.
Five days into this Somali piracy event…and silence from the White House save for some mumblings about negotiations and such or trying to get international support for a decision.
Listen up, Mr. Obama…and listen well.
YOU are the president of the United States and in return for the perks of the Office, such as having a White House chef flown 800 miles to make your favorite California pizza, there comes a bit of something called responsibility.
If you fail to make a tough decision, and a wise decision, people will die.
If you make a wise decision, people will die.
As to who dies and who lives…it is in YOUR hands…
So, Mr. Community Organizer…
The clock is ticking, the time-bomb is fuzed…and we await your first real decision of your Presidency.
Ya got the stones or not?
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 9:40 PM
This is not a good situation, and any response short of a clean kill will drag us further down the rathole.
So, if you were calling the shots, you’d make some sort of raid on the boat.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 9:43 PM
That is an awesome line of thinking that will in all likelihood never even appear on the radar of most of this administration’s “best and brightest”.
Also, the Captain’s life is whole reason we have not acted; to act in a manner that would cause harm to the Captain just to punish the pirates would be counterproductive given the amount of time that has lapsed. It will paint us as indecisive at best, incompetent at worst.
A clean kill is the best and most difficult option.
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 9:46 PM
Well, since your asking?
I would… in hearbeat…
These guys are PIRATES, in it for the money… not Suicidal Jihadists…
Simple… tell them they have an hour to surrender. If they don’t wait for night, put SEALS in the water, hit the covered craft with Tear Gas…. at the same time you blow a little hole in the bottom…
As they are NOT suicidal… they will surender if they think you are serious…
These guys don’t think we’re serious… and Bambi, living up to his name, is telling them they are correct.
Romeo13 on April 11, 2009 at 9:50 PM
Tom,
Yes I would. The pirates have acted as the aggressors, initiating hostile action against an American flagged ship in international waters. Given the opportunity, I would kill them if possible, immobilize them if neccesary. I don’t want to get dragged down in to the hoo-ha of what do we do with these pirates after a capture.
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 9:50 PM
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 9:50 PM
So the captain’s life is not your first concern.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 9:52 PM
Frack “game theory”. At this point, with the emboldened “pirates” having gone even further, which should be no surprise, I want a BIG Hammer for tat.
If his life is priority 1, then America is priority 2, at best, it is as simple as that. And that would just be for before. They now have taken more captives – 16 more. Most are Italian, the rest I don’t know but Italy is an ally so we have to count them in, so America’s priority is now down to 18th, at best. This does not even count the hostages they already held. And, of course, why shouldn’t they take hostages? It works real well for them. Saving the Captain, who ironically did not put himself first, can be a high priority withing the highest priority, but it can not be the highest priority in and of itself.
If Obama makes the U.S. Navy act like impotent peacocks, while the “pirates” are emboldened even further, we might as well disband the U.S. Navy and use the resultant savings to set up a ransom fund.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 9:53 PM
Instead of teabags, we need to send some Rocky Mountain oysters to Obama.
To remind him what’s missing from his equation.
He needs two eyepatches on his girded loins.
profitsbeard on April 11, 2009 at 9:55 PM
Deterence is only effective if they think you are serious.
Romeo13 on April 11, 2009 at 9:55 PM
Be a good time to lean on King Abdulla (Americas most magnificent Muslim Allies) and have him rein in
histhe Pirates.Would Abdulla bow to the request of a
vassalfriend?BL@KBIRD on April 11, 2009 at 9:58 PM
Oh… and remind them that the US, where they would be prosecuted, has the DEATH PENALTY… for murder… just incase they missed that.
Surrender? you live…
Kill the Captain, we have no need to keep you alive…
And have the death penalty incase we do take you alive…
Romeo13 on April 11, 2009 at 9:58 PM
If one makes the decision that the life of the hostage is the only priority…then one has already lost the advantage.
Yes, all steps should nbe taken to attempt to extricate the Captian, but this cannot be the sole goal.
An old friend of mine, a former FBI official said once that if one assumes that the hostage is already dead, then the rest of the plan can be placed into effect with a lot less hand wringing and indecision and second guessing.
Trying to formulate a plan, frought with second guessing leads to failure…and often big failure. Desert One in early 1980 was caused by Presidential-level second guessing and Presidential micro-management, and time wasted due to constant primitive SatPhone contacts with the raid team commander from the White House asking all sorts of unnecessary details and trying to micro-manage the entire event. Lives were lost…US military members, warriors, died in a tragic accident brought to bare because of a Presidential decision to abandon the mission at the last minute because the raid commander could not guarantee with 100% certainty that NO hostages would be killed or injured if the raid were allowed to proceed.
Now, we have Carter II…it seems.
Piracy on the High Seas has been addressed by Admiralty Law for centuries…and in recent times has been upheld consistently.
Kill the pirates…kill them…destroy their safe harbors, prevent their ability to reconstitute themselves.
Over 250 ships’ crew members are currently being held hostage by Somali pirates.
Are their lives worth less than one US Merchant Marine Captain?
So long as the Somali pirates know for certain that they can earn money by plying their trade with impunity that number of hostages will increase…and there will be deaths along the way…innocent crew members.
Find them fix them, destroy them.
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 10:01 PM
There are ways to kill or capture the pirates without killing the Captain. I have repeatedly stated that. Simply saying “wait them out” doesn’t make the Captain’s life your first priority, either. It is highly likely that the pirates will not kill the captain, but only so long as they view him as a valuable bargaining chip. They are used to negotiating with insurance companies, not Navies of sovereign nations. As time drags on, the pirates will likely view the captain’s worth diminishing, and it’s possible that they will use force against him, and the US will be cast in the light of standing by while 4 somalis executed an American and we did nothing to save him.
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Well now, since the Captain was taken hostage, who “ironically” did not put his own life first, is apparently your “firts concern”, as I guess “life is scared” why then I would think that you should call for a ban of cars, or at least call for making the maximum speed limit 10mph as since his abduction about 500 Americans have been killed by cars and their drivers.
This whole “life is sacred” pontification is hollow anyway as no one really believes it.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 10:06 PM
The bottom line here is that piracy has been on the rise all over the world. For some reason the Somali pirates get all the press, but it happens all over, like Southeast Asia, even northern European ports.
It is a perfect example of how ineffective international bodies like the UN are at resolving problems.
The have had years and years to come up with a solution to piracy, but everyone sits on their hands doing nothing while maing inquiries and studying the problem, and holding hearings, blah, blah, blah…
These pirates are making some serious money. How long before some Mexican drug gangs decide to get into the business, for example.
What could they get for a cruise ship full of Americans? They are already kidnapping Americans in our own country.
reaganaut on April 11, 2009 at 12:46 PM
There was a cruiseship involved once in this situation, but the captain thought quick and with loud “bangs”, scared the pirates away. It was all over the news because it was one neat bluff he pulled.
ProudPalinFan on April 11, 2009 at 10:06 PM
The Captain is an American. He is part and parcel of the “America” priority. Those 16 Italians are not, so they really don’t factor in here at all, unless we have a treaty obligation to them, which we don’t.
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 10:07 PM
But what does killing the captain at ANY point gain them? They are surrounded by Navy vessels. Their buddies won’t be able to come and rescue them. They have no gas. They cannot escape. They can’t stay on the boat forever.
If they kill the captain, the odds of them dying greatly increase. And, as you (or someone) pointed out, these are not suicidal jihadists. They are after money. If they have no escape, no cause to die for, don’t you think they’ll come to the conclusion that they have to surrender at some point. And if they surrender, wouldn’t they be better off not killing the captain?
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Once they release the Captain…sink the boat the pirates are on.
Then go after the several pirate enclaves along the coast.
Since the US Navy [and NATO] are no longer permitted to utilize Vieques Island, off Puerto Rico, for target practice and registration…perhaps these coastal Somali pirate enclaves can have some long term positive use for the navy, and our NATO and anti-piracy coalition members.
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 10:12 PM
I just think staging a rescue attempt is an unnecessary risk at this point.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 10:12 PM
They have food and water for another 20 days…and the coastal currents are drawing the lifeboat closer to shore. Advantage – pirates.
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Tom,
For god’s sake man, you’re thinking about this while sitting on your computer. You have not been in an enclosed fiberglass hull bobbing out on the water for several days with dwindling supplies of water and food while being under the gun of a US warship within visual range.
In other words, to you and me in our current state of mind, what you are saying makes sense. HOWEVER, when the people in the aforementioned scenario begin acting increasingly irrationally, ascribing your thought process to them is asking for disaster. They threw away a radio that the Navy dropped to contact them because they thought that it was allowing us to tell the Captain to jump out of the boat. They have eliminated a line of communication based on what… rationality? It could be that they could not understand all of the traffic, but…
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 10:16 PM
North Korea holds two Al Gore journalists, Iran has 1 and Somalis have 1. Didn’t Obama say he would side with the muslims in a crisis? Looks like Presidente Pinnochio keeps his word to Muslims.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/greenwald/61902
dhunter on April 11, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Where do you get the 20 days from?
This is all I’ve seen on the amount of food they may have:
And I have to believe our ships can stop them from drifting to land.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 10:18 PM
I understand your frustration. Country first, yes. Stopping the almost inevitable escalation of pirate activity is a worthy goal.
Given the length of time the situation has lasted, and the lack of interest of the President, I surmise that BHO will want to change the topic, and let this fade off the media screen. It appears that the Obama administration does not care. This limits our responses. We are not going to summon up the will to solve the problem anytime soon. We won’t have a RIB carrying the pirate’s relatives under this administration.
FWIW I think that wholesale and indiscriminate destruction of every port in Somalia would fix the pirate situation. The few survivors could die of hunger. We could unload a lot of unguided, cheap bombs with B-52s and kill hundreds of thousands of people. Not going to happen.
Let’s focus instead on something achievable.
The pirates on the lifeboat, I believe, are out of communication with land or the Navy ships. The 1MC and a 5″ shell with a 25 mil offset can be a means to communicate. Show them the firepower available. Note that the only way to live is surrender the hostage NOW. Have a helo nearby with the swim recovery team. Put some WP into the mix. Move the FFG up to the lifeboat, and grapple the boat. Use big ears to listen for a shot. Shoot a pirate showing themselves. Storm and board. None of this swim to them. Coup de Main all the way.
NaCly dog on April 11, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Imagine how slow this was in 1799?
BL@KBIRD on April 11, 2009 at 10:19 PM
This crap better be over with before the Tea Parties. This just adds another one to the list.
ProudPalinFan on April 11, 2009 at 10:22 PM
The type of lifeboat being used has a pre-placed set of rations of food and water for up to ten days for a crew of 20-30. There are five or six persons on the boat presently.
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Look, I’m a Merchant Marine Captain, although nowhere where the expertise, rating, tonnage or experience of Captain Phillips. Let me make that clear.
But I’ve thought about this a lot over the past few days. If I knew my crew and/or passengers were free and safe, I think I’d enjoy the time spitting in my captors eyes, pissing them off and in general, making their life miserable.
As much as I respect him and his family and offer them my condolences, I think I’d prefer a quick SEAL op rather than this drawn out bullshit.
FWIW
wccawa on April 11, 2009 at 10:23 PM
So that is your weakness. You really don’t see it, do you. Or do you? Hard to tell.
In international waters, where there is no sovereign jurisdiction, ships of a given flag are considered sovereign territory of that flag. An act of piracy on a ship of U.S. flag is can be classified as a hostile act against which the United States is obligated to respond, and carries ramifications that don’t attend ships registered in the Bahamas, Liberia, Panama or other tax havens popular with shipping companies.
So you think that when a pirate is choosing which country’s sovereign territory to take over, which territory from which to kidnap citizens, and which international incidents to provoke, he/she doesn’t care a whit how the country’s head of state is liable to react? For any pirate with the most basic desire for self-preservation, that’s almost all he or she cares about, besides whether or not the ship is armed.
At least there’s one bit of good news from all your bleating: we know you’ll never make it as a pirate. :)
False. (Yes, I’m conflating who the president is with how he/she is liable to react. I hope you agree that’s reasonable under the circumstances!)
True. An a-s-kicking community organizer beats a waffling brush clearer, and vice versa. If the pirate cares about the immediate consequences to them and theirs, or plans to live to see another day, don’t you imagine they’d better care how the president is likely to react?
RD on April 11, 2009 at 10:25 PM
And your not???? It’s great to speculate on GI action sequences from behind a keyboard, but you don’t have this man’s life in your hands.
These guys are in a covered boat. I just think that staging a rescue attempt will greatly increase the odds of the captain dying.
I’m not ruling one out… as you and I both know, neither of us have all the facts of what is going on. But, I think as you realize, this is a very tricky situation. The main reason I started posting is because people were calling out Obama as a “paintywaste” and all this BS. You know and I know that if Bush were president, he’d most likely be doing the same exact thing right now.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 10:28 PM
In that case, if the 4 pirates ration carefully, they could hold out another month.
Loxodonta on April 11, 2009 at 10:29 PM
No disrespect meant towards those nations or their maritime industries. And I realize obligations can be ignored. Nevertheless…
RD on April 11, 2009 at 10:31 PM
The pirates know that Hussein the Clown thinks the way you do. Hence the dilemma at hand.
Our enemies on all seven continents are taking notes. And laughing.
fogw on April 11, 2009 at 10:32 PM
Well now, Italy is a member of NATO and a traditional friend, so if we declare “so they really don’t factor in here at all” then why would they, or anyone, ever “factor” us in at all? I can’t think of any reason off hand. Do you work things that way with your neighbors, even the friendly ones?
Besides, there are more American lives at play here, now and in the future, than just the Captain’s, whom, as I have noted repeatedly before, did not put his own life first. Are we so much less than him?
BTW, of the 16, mostly Italian, there may be some Americans, maybe, don’t know.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 10:34 PM
Given the currents, they’d have been ashore for a couple weeks at least by that time.
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 10:34 PM
Grenada
Libya
Achille Lauro
What would Ronnie do?
I sure do miss him………
SPIFF1669 on April 11, 2009 at 10:39 PM
Well don’t participate in one then. I am not going to either. I am too old now and never could swim more than pretty good and the SEALS would just laugh at me now anyway.
I can give you high odds on one thing though – I’ll wager that the SEALS are biting at the bit to not just sit there like potted plants.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 10:39 PM
I don’t doubt that they are. Doesn’t mean it’s the right call to make at this moment though.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 10:43 PM
I don’t see why, nor ever have seen why, I could not go with something along those lines, give or take depending on what tactics make the most sense, but then as you yourself said -
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 10:46 PM
Cruising under a foreign flag. Why did you fail to mention that?
Cruising under a Bahamian flag. Again, you fail to mention the relevant distinctions. Why is that, Tom?
And the so-called attack on U.S. military ships you raised, which is discussed here, points out that the U.S. fired at the Somalis (with good reason ostensibly) and the Somalis returned fire. Which you then inflate into an “attack”.
Yeah, whatever Tom.
Just a heads-up that the article you quoted could be misleading as it is abridged and doesn’t explain fully what happened. Personally I think you are being jaw-jacked by a second-rate troll into conceding a point that hasn’t fully been made.
Amen. Thanks for the flash override!
RD on April 11, 2009 at 10:46 PM
Try reading the links to which you post to. The Somalis fired first.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Please don’t ever negotiate on my behalf…
doriangrey on April 11, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Thanks. I thought the prevailing currents off Somalia were clockwise. Am I wrong? At 400 miles out from Mogadishu, what land will they reach?
Loxodonta on April 11, 2009 at 10:53 PM
really don’t think you have to worry about that, dude.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 10:55 PM
I laughed so hard just last night that I spit Vodka all over myself and dropped the bottle on the floor. I called up Mahmoud and Kimy and they were both laughing so hard we all had to hang up.
PootyPoot on April 11, 2009 at 10:56 PM
Just one Somali pirate group, been around for over three years, calls itself Central Regional Coast Guard, has 350 men in its ranks and about 100 speedboats and an assorted variety of weapons in its arsenal.
There are a few dozen competing pirate organizations all along the Somali coast from
The Navy (and Joint Special Operations Command) already have contingency plans drawn up to deal with a number of Somali pirate exigencies.
The Somali town of Eyl, about 550 miles north of Mogadishu is the center of pirate activity, and is located in a fairly lawless no-mans land at the former Brtitish-Italian Somaliland boder region…has had no real government in know history.
There are other towns…all along the coast, that harbor pirates. And the number of ships, pleasure craft and other seagoing vessels in that region is large…oine of the navigational choke points, not as tight as the Mallacca Straits or the eastern approaches to Singapore, but its is a target rich environment for the taking…and they have, do, and will.
A few years ago when this stuff hit our screens, there was an outcrfy and then disinterest. Japan, even China, have naval ships in the region to protect their vessels. As do a lot of other nations. The UN is still debating from time to time some sort of comprehensive anti-piracy resolution…but Admiralty Law is already on the books…and precedent has been set many times in dealing with this.
Why the dithering and hand-wringing and all sorets of talk about building a consensus among UN members before we act and that sort of garbage.
These pirates are not the Soviet Third Shock Army centered within Group of Soviet Forces Germany…they are pirates…high-end speedboats to ramshackle pasteboard other watercraft…and RPG’s and AK-47′s…
So long as they know they can earn a lot more than the Somali per capita income of about $300 a year with one or two successful ship seizures, they will go where the money is…
Either stop all ships from getting closer than 200 miles from the Somali coast…or kill the pirates.
Why is this such a difficult problem to address?
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 10:56 PM
Even if you grant that the U.S. didn’t fire first, they were still in the process of boarding the Somali ships, and one way or another the men aboard were going to be “processed”. The fire that came from the Somalis was in response to the boarding attempt; and in response to their response, the U.S. killed or wounded/captured the men. How you compare this so-called “attack” with what is going on today is quite curious indeed, but I’m sure you’ll offer some kind of explanation. An ad hominem perhaps, or a tu quoque? Hopefully that’s not your style.
RD on April 11, 2009 at 10:59 PM
better not see “Support”, “Feed”, “Help”, “Adopt”… Africa on my TV. Our ship was gonna deliver food, for them?
No comprendo…llamenme racista si quieren, eso que hicieron en mi libro se llama traicion. No, take that back. That is called BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU.
ProudPalinFan on April 11, 2009 at 9:06 PM
Africa is a continent. Somalia’s only one country.
baldilocks on April 11, 2009 at 9:09 PM
Regardless…no me importa. What is good for these dweebs is to hold as much as that continent hostage (I include here all the issues going on each country).
ProudPalinFan on April 11, 2009 at 10:59 PM
This time of year, the offshore currents are toward the west and northwest. Landfall would be somewhere along the northern Indian Ocean Somali coast…I’d hazard a guess between Eyl and Ras Khaffuun.
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 11:00 PM
I’m quite sure I dont, never the less I still do not ever want you or anyone who thinks like to coming up with any strategy to be used should I ever find myself in a hostage situation.
doriangrey on April 11, 2009 at 11:00 PM
If not now, when? Not right now usually means never.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Because Obama is the most intelligent president we’ve ever had, has a nuanced and global world view, and has great respect for the contributions of Islam?
Just a guess.
Loxodonta on April 11, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Yeah, you are most probably correct on this one.
Guess I’ll head over to the South Park website…nothing more of interest to see here. /s
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 11:03 PM
Like I have stated before…this better end b4 the Tea Parties, because I can imagine the signs that folks will prepare for this occasion.
Off to pray my daily rosary, please keep him in your prayers and >I know it is hard to believe< a prompt rescue of our captain.
Karl Rove said this is not an issue like on dvd movies, but I am all for sending several DVD’s to O about military engagements. Of course, in a totally different country code/sarc
ProudPalinFan on April 11, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Standards of conduct by governments seem to be slipping. The center will not hold. Our Reprimitivized Future by Mark Steyn is getting closer by the day.
coldwarrior, flashoverride, and MB4, thanks for your posts. Good night. Fair winds and following seas.
NaCly dog on April 11, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Never President Peter Pantywaist has this all under control. He is forming a commission to study why the pirates, er ah uh I mean the Undocumented Maritime Workers hate us so much and what can be done, with breakout groups to consider whether the UMWs should be read their Miranda rights and whether it would be a hate crime to punish these freedom fighters.
Dhuka on April 11, 2009 at 11:10 PM
“It’s great to speculate on GI action sequences from behind a keyboard”
You got it, Tom. I have no idea what I’m talking about. You’re right, the peaceful little pirates will obviously give us back our Capatain and then make their way back to their homeland and be good little boys from now on.
In short, you have no answers except second-guessing buffoonery. One of the first lessons you learn leading armed men is that a bad plan executed now is always better than a perfect plan you don’t live to execute.
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 11:10 PM
Dude, say what you will about me, but I ain’t the one second guessing here.
Tom_Shipley on April 11, 2009 at 11:12 PM
Let’s not forget Obama’s incompetence. And then there’s his submissive approach to everyone except American capitalists. And finally, his need for adoration.
This is an interesting test for Obama.
My heart and prayers are with the Captain and his loved ones.
Loxodonta on April 11, 2009 at 11:16 PM
There, fixed it. Desperate situations provoke desperate measures, not all of them logical.
In constrast, the Maersk incident was initiated ostensibly on the whim of the pirates and not in response to some desperate situation. (Unless you count the poverty and hunger-stricken communities they are reported to come from as “desperate measures”, thereby conflating the two acts as “attacks” and rationalizing their behavior all in one gesture.)
RD on April 11, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Likewise, my early morning Easter sunrise prayers will be directed that way [and to our young men and women out there doing the tough slogging]…and for those 250+ hostages sitting unnoticed by most in various Somali coastal towns whose only mistake was to sign aboard a merchant ship in the Indian Ocean, sitting around while the best and the brightest try to come up with new and innovative ways to placate these high seas scum.
As for Obama…he has never, ever, in his entire life had to make a personal decision that decided that fate of even one individual other than himself. He hasn’t the stones. Guess he didn’t read the fine print on the job description before he submitted his name.
coldwarrior on April 11, 2009 at 11:22 PM
As with all good satire there is enough truth there, with some to spare in this case, to make it work.
And, as Mark Twain said, “The source of most humor is not joy, but sorrow”.
MB4 on April 11, 2009 at 11:22 PM
That attitude is like hating Mexico for the Iraq War.
If you don’t want to give money for African causes then don’t for legitimate reasons. (Actually I think that’s what’s holding most African countries back.) But lumping the entire continent in with the Somalians is…well…stupid. Sorry if that’s insulting.
baldilocks on April 11, 2009 at 11:24 PM
No disrespect intended, but why should anyone send any aid to Africa at all? Are the Africans so ignorant and incompetent that they cant create their own economies?
doriangrey on April 11, 2009 at 11:28 PM
Lack of a self-perpetuating strong central government with a legitimate rule and monopoly of force.
You can debate why that has occured, but that’s what all these failed states are. Most of them were colonies of European countries; prior to that there were many migratory tribes and some smaller agrarian cultures. Way back in the day you had the Zulu empire and Mali empire, among others, but those wore down or were conquered…
In short, a person can be displaced and raised in a technical society and function just fine. An entire society, however, cannot.
flashoverride on April 11, 2009 at 11:37 PM
Let the Mafia handle it. I am sure that they would not hesitate.
Johan Klaus on April 11, 2009 at 11:40 PM
The American people voted for a gelded, unqualified clown act and this is what we get for it.
Elections have consequences.
An actual President would nip this in the bud by killing all of the pirates and if that harms some hostages, well that’s how the game is played.
By potentially sacrificing a few hostages and by killing the pirates, you ensure that no more hostages are taken.
Obama has no balls and no real direction, so he’ll kick the can down the road and this will be an ongoing issue.
NoDonkey on April 11, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Heres a good website on the piracy situation.
http://www.cargolaw.com
Scroll down till you hit yellow,
MV Maersk-Alabama 206 year Deja-Vu.
Also has the History of Infamous Chicago Politics!!
canopfor on April 11, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Thanks for your thoughts, and my best wishes to you.
I can imagine President Obama speaking the words of Lincoln, under a spotlight focused on his sparkling cover-boy persona, with a teleprompter helping to portray him as a great orator, and with a smirk and a jab added to detract from his opponents. But I cannot imagine Obama speaking so simply, so humbly as Lincoln did. Nor can I imagine him comprehending the simple, yet profound meaning of Lincoln’s words:
We need a rebirth of such simple common sense – a rebirth of the American spirit – a rebirth of freedom – a rebirth of honor, devotion, resolve and patriotism.
And so, for this, I also pray for our country.
Loxodonta on April 12, 2009 at 12:02 AM
我們為什麼要使用漢字？
Kjeil on April 12, 2009 at 12:04 AM
Special ops!
Johan Klaus on April 12, 2009 at 12:06 AM
Obama will never ever authorize that.
doriangrey on April 12, 2009 at 12:13 AM
Apparently, as just about everything else, it is above his pay grade.
coldwarrior on April 12, 2009 at 12:14 AM
Not to mention his testosterone level.
doriangrey on April 12, 2009 at 12:18 AM
Excellent find…good info on the website. Not a high tech site with whistles and bells and fluff, but solid info…the way it should be.
coldwarrior on April 12, 2009 at 12:20 AM
My read of all the news stories is that the pirates have some kind of R/T unit. They have been talking to their “bosses,” and to reporters.
I suspect that if Osama Obama had the guts, decency and brains to turn this over to the SEALs, they could mount an operation without undue risk to the American captain, who is, after all, in danger already.
The fact that it might turn a few Somali pirates into fish food is, I believe, what really worries the child-president and The Hildebeest.
We should not care anything about them except that they are committing unlawful acts and endangering American citizens.
Oh, wait, that has never bothered Obama before, has it?
MrScribbler on April 12, 2009 at 12:26 AM
I think you missed a part of my comment.
baldilocks on April 12, 2009 at 12:41 AM
Don’t you love it! $30,000 in high tech fails but a 100 AK lets ‘em get close. Give the crew a scoped M1a or a Barrett light 50, then we will see who will do the running.
GunRunner on April 12, 2009 at 12:52 AM
Time to revive the old Q-ship concept.
coldwarrior on April 12, 2009 at 12:55 AM
Shipley is an idiot. He takes the sissy-Mary Oslime-a way to deal with crisis. Neither he nor Oslime-a has the balls to make a decision that might be a little bit risky to his personal image. Oslime-a would rather sit on his hands and let the captain die of dehydration or some other reason that can’t be dropped on his door, rather than take a chance on rescuing him for the sake of his family or this country.
Neither Shipley nor Oslime-a have the moral fortitude to command respect or rational consideration from any of us. They both should be ridiculed mercilessly.
csdeven on April 12, 2009 at 12:58 AM
Good evening csdeven… ;)
doriangrey on April 12, 2009 at 1:10 AM
You know what? I don’t think he is. I honestly think he couldn’t care less. One, a dozen, a million–it never matters to Statists. All that matters is the establishment of supremacy of The State. Anything else is, as Mark Steyn pointed out in his NRO article, a mere distraction.
Blacklake on April 12, 2009 at 1:14 AM
Have any of these shipping companies tested our so-called Active Denial Systems technologies (microwave based pain fields) e.g. Raytheon’s design ? One would think that a ship’s substantial power generating capacity would make such a system feasible.
viking01 on April 12, 2009 at 1:17 AM
Don’t know about commercial ships, but the new DD(X) is supposed to have this sort of system installed for in-port protection.
coldwarrior on April 12, 2009 at 1:26 AM
The eternal optimist in me may have to bow to your comment…
I’d like to believe that Obama is actually giving this the sort of thought any President, any general officer, any platoon sergeant, would give before executing a high-risk mission…but, based on Obama’s vast executive experience, I concede that you are probably correct.
coldwarrior on April 12, 2009 at 1:31 AM
coldwarrior on April 12, 2009 at 1:26 AM
Thanks. I’ve been wondering if we could use ADS sufficiently and intensely to, shall we say, distract the pirates from an ability to cause harm to Captain Phillips.
I’m fearful that Obama is indifferent to Phillips and our chain of command while those officers and men remain steadfast and true. Thankfully we never had John Kerry as CINC yet I sometimes question if Zero’s strategy is like Kerry’s on a swift boat of “hey let’s go catch us some shrapnel.”
viking01 on April 12, 2009 at 1:43 AM
Hmmm…looks like Obama’s “correct” no-response to this issue is beginning to wear thin. Is this his Carter hostage moment? President Porchmonkey had better pull something out of his a*se soon, I sense that people are getting tense….
Fortunata on April 12, 2009 at 1:52 AM
The apparent focus of the Obama Administration is to arrest these pirates and bring them to trial in federal court.
The FBI is “gathering evidence” prior to prosecution. Great. Just ducky.
coldwarrior on April 12, 2009 at 1:53 AM
We bring all the Somali pirates to the US and give them court appointed lawyers.
What could go wrong?
Loxodonta on April 12, 2009 at 2:38 AM
Hillary Clinton will serve the pirates their subpoenas by paddling up in pink waterwings, embossed with the Obama “presidential” seal, and braying:
“We’d like to apologize, but you must report to a court of your chosing within a reasonable time period, Messers Buccaneers!”
Obama is looking more and more like Captain Jack
SparrowTitmouse.profitsbeard on April 12, 2009 at 2:41 AM
Good News……!!!
Mr. Teleprompter/Pantywaist has sent in the troops………
…….. he hired some out of work school crossing guards on “Spring” break with their “STOP” traffic signs to the Indian Ocean.
Whew………
………… for a moment there, I was getting worried.
Anyone up for some pizza…….?
Seven Percent Solution on April 12, 2009 at 2:44 AM
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