("Dammit, he moved just as I fired, I couldn't help it!" Supposed quote from SEAL), so this mess is finally ended. For now.
Three of the pirates holding him were killed in the US Navy rescue operation. The fourth was injured in the firefight and is in US custody.
Mr Phillips was not hurt in the rescue, and was taken to the USS Bainbridge, one of three US Navy warships that had been involved in the tense stand-off.
He was then flown to the nearby USS Boxer for a medical examination, and is now "resting comfortably", a US Navy spokesman said.
Reports said Captain Phillips dived over board, and then US Navy Seals moved in.
Officials said he was in "imminent danger" of being killed before the rescue took place.
First, Ooorah SEALS! And Go Navy!
Second, why do I say 'for now'? Because, after some of the idiot comments from our Attorney General("We should ban guns, but I don't know if we could or would prosecute captured pirates who attack U.S.-flagged ships", to paraphrase), what happens with the captured one? And
Sky News US political analyst Jon-Christopher Bua said President Obama gave the order to use the US military in the rescue - but the gamble paid off.
He added: "This is good news for Obama for sure. He is in command, and a tragic outcome for the captain and crew could have been disastrous politically.
First thought here: how long did it take for him to decide to give the order? And if he wasn't getting so much heat for looking like a patsy, would he ever have? That 'could have been disastrous politically' line tells you all you need to know about the basis for the decision.
"The question is will these pirates become emboldened from all of this international publicity?
"Also, how will there ever be a reconciliation and resolution to the problem when such failed states as Somalia and Sudan continue to produce desperate individuals with little hope and opportunity for a real life?"
Answer to the first, yes. It took days for this to be ended, and they'll see that as weakness. I know, the four are dead or captured, but to the others "They had the unbelievers running in circles! It took days before their President would give orders!", etc.
To the second, there's the lead-in to "We need to give lots and lots of aid to those countries." I'll bet you. Talk about encouragement...
Anti-piracy expert Nick Davis told Sky News: "They (the pirates) will learn from this. They're not going to stop piracy in any way, shape or form. They will up the ante, they will get better organised.
"The only people that would have been shot here are the foot soldiers. They're not the people that make the decisions and have the controlling interest.
"It's now going to fall back to the chain of command in the Somalian network of piracy, both ashore and in different countries, as to how they want to up the ante."
Which means we either start blasting pirates- screw the international law weenies and the socialist morons- and go after their bases, or it'll just get worse.
I'll give credit to Obama for giving the order; I'll take credit away for it taking days to do it.
5 comments:
B-52 and/or AC-130 strike on coastal pirate village, continued strikes on other pirate villages until ships are released or we run out of pirate villages. In such a case of continued defiance, we could erase Mogadishu just on principle if the pirates hadn't screamed "UNCLE" yet. Many of them likely have family there. We could make that "had family".
Some ship's crew may be killed by pirates but they'd run out of pirate volunteers before we ran out of ordnance. Like the US is ever going to run out of ordnance...
Burping noises from Spectres and whistling rain from above the clouds have significant influence on the livability villages, pirate or otherwise.
International law doesn't matter. The US IS INTERNATIONAL LAW so long as we keep being put in the position of being policemen to the world and we have the aircraft stationed close enough to The Horn of Africa to do the job day and night. Sorta like what we did with the Japs and the targets won't take as long to raze to the ground. Cruise missiles aren't needed and are less damaging against opponents with no air defense ability.
Let It Rain!
Of course, to some of my friends, I've been accused of too pacifist in planning, but I think it'd do the job.
If the pirates keep going, Kenya could be next. Lots of potential targets. Lots of ordnance sitting in warehouses. Perfect match, aye?
I agree with Tom... the entire coastline should be turned into a kill zone. That is the only language they understand.
I agree with Tom and RobC. So that's three...and I'm sure Firehand can go for some of this action too. I'd say it's pretty much unanimous. When do we start?
Hell, with most of the immediate targets within a short distance of the coast, a couple of destroyers could probably do a lot of it; five-inch guns(doesn't the Navy call them 38 caliber?) would do wonders for the situation.
I'm on it!
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