Very interesting story on the details of the the rescue of Captain Phillips carried out by Navy Seals. Apparently the SEALs set up shop on the USS Bainbridge and communicated with the pirates via radio. The seas had grown rough and the pirates agreed to be towed out to calmer waters by a towing cable attached to the Bainbridge. One pirate then gave himself up due to a knife injury he sustained when they hijacked the US ship earlier and also communicated with the three remaining pirates on the lifeboat:
The three other pirates, however, showed signs of growing irritation, as the Bainbridge, 18 miles from shore, towed the lifeboat further out to sea, the senior military official said. “They had no promise of money, clearly no passage. The one ticket they had was the captain,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record.
“In the last discussion, they said, ‘If we don’t get what we want, we will kill the captain,’ ” the official said.
Soon afterward, two pirates moved to one of the hatches of the lifeboat and stuck their heads out. The third pirate advanced toward the captain and pointed his AK-47 straight at Phillips’s back, the rifle touching it or inches away, the official said.
U.S. military observers thought that Phillips was about to be shot. SEAL snipers, who were positioned on a deck at the stern of the Bainbridge, an area known as the fantail, had the three pirates in their sights. The on-scene commander gave the snipers authority to fire.
“As soon as the snipers had a clear shot at the guy who had the rifle, they shot him and the other two in the hatches,” the senior military official said.
A member of the Special Operations team slid down the tow line into the water and climbed aboard the lifeboat. Phillips was then put in a small craft and taken to the Bainbridge.
See author page
Good shooting guys. The military will resolve the problem if you let them.
I give O credit for letting the Navy do it’s job. Other Dem presidents have not.
I hope he continues to do so.
This isn’t over yet. Murtha will claim that the Navy SEAL’s committed murder because there is now the claim the pirates were out of ammo. But no one said they were also armed with knives.
I wouldn’t be surprise if Holder places the crew and the SEAL’s under arrest for resisting the take-over and killing the pirates.
I hope that the Captain of the USS Bainbridge holds court, convicts the remaining pirate and hangs him from a yard-arm for all to see. Nothing like High Seas Justice.
Hard Right you are correct in saying Obama made the right call.
They Navy did a great job.
Obama’s first international incident is over. Score 1 American safe. 3 pirates not so lucky.
Would you like to compare Bushes first international incident outcome to Obama’s?
Do you recall the spy plane over China? We got our airman back but not our spy plane and Bush ended up apologizing to the Chinese.
@Real American Patriot:
Not that facts really matter to you, but, yes we did.
He didn’t apologize either RAP.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june01/china_plane.html
there is now the claim the pirates were out of ammo
Legally irrelevant, since they were still able to make it *look* like the were threatening deadly force. If I pull a convincing fake gun on someone and get myself shot, the fact that I couldn’t have hurt anyone with it is irrelevant to the question of whether shooting me is lawful.
Anyway, those who are speculating that anyone is going to get in legal difficulties over this is underestimating the sensitivity of politicians to public opinion. Both captains are seen as heroes, no politician is going to touch them.
Does anyone else wonder whether the USS Bainbridge was chosen for this mission because the guy she was named after delivered our tribute to the Barbary pirates, long ago? Seems almost like trying to redress a very old account, but maybe it’s mere coincidence.
bbartlog
I’m just glad no one sent in the HMS Neville Chamberlain.
Great job USN!
I stand corrected.. we got it back in bits and pieces. not exactly a plane anymore… and after china had gone through it…
after Bush apologized to China…
ohh and check this OUT Right wingers
http://www.politicalbase.com/forums/topic/friday-the-13th-is-really-ugly-for-the-republicans/22290/&page=1
Maybe it’s time to send in the USS Decatur 🙂
@Real American Patriot:
Bruce,
Please explain your point.
You reference a post from another blog that is a MONTH old and expect it to be of what value exactly?
What’s your point?
By the way, President Bush did not apologize to China. He expressed remorse for the loss of their pilot and extended his condolences to the family of the pilot.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Shall I link it so that everyone here can see, once again, what a fact challenged mental midget you are?
Do we have a USS Patton?
I am astonished this morning that the US took unilateral action in this matter. No consultation with our allies, NATO, the UN, Iran …. nothin’! BHO just went in and shot up the place like a wild cowboy. I thought those days were over on Jan. 20, 2009?
Ladies and gentlemen, this reporter is speechless.
bbart, I had read about the claims the lifeboat terrorists-aka-pirates were out (or low) on ammo in the Idaho Stateman yesterday. The source of this info tidbit is from the relatives in touch with the lifeboat scum.
Could or should that have been believed? Heck no. But of course, I was wondering when some anti-war type might pick up on that, and decide our guys may be shooting at unarmed, innocent pirates.
Naturally, it’s McClatchys with the first blaring headline out of the major MSM. Now I’m waiting for the whining that is likely to ensue, beating up the US for refusing to give these poor pirates – out of fuel, out of food, out of ammo – a free pass in exchange for Phillips’ life.
How long before the America haters start calling this incident unnecessary bloodshed?
Aye… are you new here?? Like at what point in time did you believe CRAP *ever* had a point?
Well Marta it may actually look worse than you might expect when it turns out that tehy were all teenagers some not old enough to drive.
Somehow, John Ryan, I don’t think Somalia has a minimal age for driving vehicles. And obviously they don’t have a minimal age for wielding an AK-47 and threatening the life of hostages.
Someone comes after me or mine with an auto assault weapon, or anything else, and I’ll mow ’em down no matter what their age.
It will be interesting to see which way public opinion sways now that the captain is out of harm’s way, will it be sympathy for the exploited poor who turn to piracy, or a hardline for barbarous criminals of the sea. There is a great video that weighs the merits of possible solutions to the problem here:http://www.newsy.com/videos/solving_the_pirate_problem/
@MataHarley:
Sheesh, appears those Somali boys have a bigger playground than most “children.” How did they ever manage to cram those AK 47’s into their Spongebob backpacks.
will it be sympathy for the exploited poor who turn to piracy, or a hardline for barbarous criminals of the sea.
It’s possible to have sympathy for someone while simultaneously acknowledging the necessity of shooting them in the head. I have a lot less sympathy for petty criminals in America, who live in a land of opportunity and choose to waste their lives despite that. The Somali pirates live in much grimmer circumstances; their choice is more understandable, and they at least have the virtue of courage. But so what? We still have to stop them (and deter others), and often as here that will involve killing them.
@John ryan:
If they’re not old enough to drive, and they still get into a car to run you down – will you still have sympathy for them?
If they point a gun at you and demand your money, will you ask them to open the chamber so that you can see the bullets before you respond?
If they’re about to kill you, will you ask for their ID to find out if they’re old enough for you to defend yourself?
Your ideas would make a great Monty Python sketch!
Aye:
Do you feel a need to use name calling?? Does it make you feel more manly??
Is it because you just can’t quite come to grips with the fact that I was correct that Obama would be elected President?
what is it with you??
Strange that your dear leader Obama isn’t grovelling to the Somali pirates and apologising for american arrogance and giving them bailout money.
He needs to affirm them, acknowledge their contributions to america and the world, and say that america is one with them, america feels their pain.
This incident may soon morph into more kidnappings and retaliation, and Obama will have to let the USN shoot more and more pirates, and how will he explain this american aggression and arrogance???? Shooting pirates???? Horrors—isn’t that just like GWB would have done???? The go-it-alone GWB, the warmonger??? The murderer???? Obama the shoot-to-kill warmonger???
But if he doesn’t allow the USN to kill the pirates, the pirates may take more americans hostage and start killing them on the media and this will make Obama look like a weak, hapless ass, which is actually what he is.
So these pirates don’t just take seamen hostage, they also may have Obama’s gonads in their hands eventually.
Did some lefty talk about GWB and the airmen incident????
I thought Bush handled it with restraint and dignity.
Totally different from this clownshow with these dumbass pirates, and a weak POTUS trying to configure his response to his polls.
First of all last time, there was a midair collision, whose fault depending on which side is telling the story, then our pilot got killed and the US plane had to forceland on chinese land.
You expect us to give them a free stay in a luxury hotel and apologise after that????
Don’t forget the USAF bombed our embassy by mistake last time also and killed off some of our people inside.
Come on man, cockups occurred(probably due to Clinton underfunding your armed forces), but the GWB admin handled these screwups with dignity and restraint.
I give GWB fullmarks for handling a difficult situation with dignity and honor. And I give Obama zero for not even knowing what to do with these pirates. The man is an embarassment to all americans and totally clueless about the rest of the world.
@Real American Patriot,
Calling us “right wingers” is name calling. This is nothing short of complete and utter hypocrisy. Your pen name doesn’t reflect your behavior, only your stupidity. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Hey “Real something Patriot”.
Look up “strawman argument”, then clean the Cheeto-dust off your underware and go upstairs…I think I hear your mommy calling.
I fully realize that you miss Bush so bad, that obsessing about him makes the pain of the blisters on your little-willy tolerable, but around here, we can actually read calenders, and are fully aware Obama’s the prez now.
Obama will be found to have restricted the ROE to “shoot only if the captured captain was in immediate danger”, which is why when he jumped out of the boat the other day, the SeALs didn’t turn their heads into red spray right then and there.
But ROE’s usually have an out…
Which is why every military spokesman today emphasized that he was in danger over, and over and over again on the piss-stream media.
The military is covering the Community Organizer In-Chief’s ass for him, and daring him to say anything different. The captain of the Bainbridge gave the order to kill many hours before it happened, and all the SeALs needed was an opening, and the knowledge that the man in the bridge would provide them cover from the machinations of weak leftists like you.
This way the puppet of Soros could play with his new puppy, and not have to worry about little things like why Hillary actually thinks Morocco “helped” Jefferson kill the Pisslamic Pirates back in the day, AND THEN FREAKIN LAUGHED ABOUT IT!!!!
Ya know…those days when Democrats actually WERE patriots.
(Run along now, mommy needs the basement for her customers.)
@bbartlog #18 and @Cary #19: Excellent comments!
“The wise man does immediately what the fool does finally.”
-Macchiavelli
There was no need For Obama to “authorize” anything. The Navy was in the Gulf of Aden on anti piracy patrol. Their mandate had already been given. It’s WHY THEY WERE THERE!
It seems that the ROE given at the beginning of this incident was limited by Obama and only after either Friday night or Saturday, (depending on which report is accurate) were those ROE’s modified to allow use of force, and then only in the event that the Captain’s life was in “imminent danger”. That in itself is an unusual limitation. Why? Why not the standard of “if an opportunity presents itself without risk to the hostage”?
I give Obama credit where it is due…he didn’t screw it up. That’s it. He did what he is legally mandated to do, protect a US citizen in danger, and that’s also it.
To hail him as some sort of hero and shift credit from the actual people responsible for the success of this mission just out and out galls me and the truth is his handling of this incident could very well be a problem if and when it happens again.
William A. Jacobson at Legal Insurrection points out what that is:
http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.co…gotiating.html
“…There are two choices when negotiating with hostage takers/pirates/terrorists. One is the Israeli model of no negotiation. The only thing to be negotiated is the life of the hostage taker. Money, free passage, and other benefits are not on the table. The purpose of this approach is to deter further hostage takers, even if it means the death of the hostage.
The other model is the model of negotiating over almost any benefit, as long as the hostage is freed safely. This is the model Obama initially appeared to follow with the pirates. But now, the spin coming out of the White House is that the negotiations were all just a ruse to buy time.
The problem is that even though in this case, which ended successfully, in the next hostage taking situation if one is going to follow a negotiation approach, the trust of the hostage takers in the negotiation process is key.
If hostage takers believe negotiation is a ruse, then the hostage is in more danger. Words cannot be just words in a negotiation. So negotiating as a ruse is the worst of all alternatives. It does not have the deterrent effect of the Israeli approach, or the hostage-safety effect of the negotiation approach…”
To Obama, words mean nothing. They are a means to an end, nothing more. We have seen this all through his campaign, through the first months of his presidency and now very clearly in this instance.
Words DO have meaning.
wardogs
@Real American Patriot:
So it bothers you when someone tells you that you are a fact challenged mental midget?
The truth hurts?
Glad to hear that. Perhaps it will inspire you to improve yourself because you certainly need it.
You come here with your lies, half-truths, and twisted version of how things are, or should be, and then expect to walk away unchallenged.
Sorry Bruce, that won’t happen here.
Quick target for those who think we can’t just hit who we want. So terrorist out there can’t even see it coming or hide if we want you easy and, the neighbor’s house not even touched.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpFGonYaF14&mode=related&search=
So all this crap about we don’t know who in somila is building big houses we have eyes in the sky this is weak pollies who are getting what in return for doing nothing?
For those who think this is not state sponsored who are you fooling just yourself.
Then I have to ask why would you want this to go on?
If the passage is closed who gets the bennies lets look?
Russia, Turkey, Iran Norway and all oil coming from the north of Europe?
Who loses if the passage stays closed Sunnis.
Ask why because if the passage is closed then they pump oil from the Caspian sea. Russia should know better with their history with the persians and the turks shame on you for selling out your people.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/5/11/93043.shtml?s=ic
Friday, May 11, 2007 9:28 a.m. EDT
Cheney Warns Iran: Keep Sea Lanes Open
We know they use pasties to get what they want and to divert attention [h &h]
Some thing that can throw the whole thing into a loop is to run the arab oil directly into the med shorter too, and piped less work because most is not so fringed but the arabs hate Jews so getting the oil through pipes the arabs must make a deal which they can’t seam to do.
Do you really think we can’t take out these Africa punk terrorist who kidnapping ships for money?
No it is because the polies don’t have the will to do what needs to be done.
Now we know that there is a so called sunni, shia war going on.
But to those out there siding with one or the other don’t be surprised when they join together and turn on you. This is what their book tells them to do. But in the end they will join and you will be left as the dimmi.
Qur’an 49:9 “If two parties among the Believers fall into fighting, make peace: but if one becomes aggressive, then fight against the one that transgresses until it complies.”
Or the west and east could tell their élites to just shut up and do what needs to be done then get back to fussing at each other when the job is done like they did for WW2
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=15201
A must read
John Quincy Adams Knew Jihad
By Andrew G. Bostom
FrontPageMagazine.com | 9/29/2004
Catherine
CRAP is one of the usual leftists. Intolerant and seething with hatred towards Conservatives while having no understanding of what’s behind it.
In other words, a psychiatrist’s wet dream.
Notice he/she posts almost nothing but Bush/Conservative bashing responses regardless of the issue?
I would also argue the Navy saying they fearded for the captain’s life is also to cover their own asses
since we know how much the MSM loves the military.