OT: captain's rescue

[Climb01742]

what the navy seal marksmen did, on a ship that was rolling and bobbing, firing on a lifeboat that was rolling and bobbing, at dusk, at a distance of over 100 feet, with nightvision scopes, with just three bullets is, well, beyond amazing. what our trained service people are capable of is truly mindboggling. bravo to them. from the nytimes:

"Two of the captors had poked their heads out of a rear hatch of the lifeboat, exposing themselves to clear shots, and the third could be seen through a window in the bow, pointing an automatic rifle at the captain, who was tied up inside the 18-foot lifeboat, senior Navy officials said.

It took only three remarkable shots — one each by snipers firing from a distance at dusk, using night-vision scopes, the officials said."

[Bruce K]

Still some of the best in the world.

I am also glad to see they were allowed to do their jobs.

It is time to send a clear message to the pirates and this is the first step.

The world's merchant marine fleet needs to give some serious thought as to whether it is time to re-arm itself in the face of a growing world problem.

If we don't stop them now, how much longer will it be before they turn their attention to a cruise ship?

Still, kudos to the SEALS.

BK

[Skrawny]

Wow.

-s

[Ray]

Pretty amazing. ONE guy misses his target by just a little bit, maybe wounding one of the pirates instead of killing him, and the captain is probably dead now and the whole strategy of waiting them out unless the captain appeared to be in imminent danger, would be questioned and criticized (as with the failed Iranian hostage rescue attempt). Had to be perfect, and they were. WOW indeed!

-Ray

[alancw3]

piracy has been an ongoing problem in that part of the world for 30 + years now. when i owned a saliboat back in the early 80's several sailing magizines had articles about not sailing in that part of the world because of piracy. they would attack private boats, kill the people, then strip the boat of anything of value and schuttle it. i guess the pirates are going after bigger commercial boats now and holding them for ransom. unbelievable in the 21st century.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Don't negotiate and make them know that they will be shot on sight. I'm also at a loss to understand why these merchant companies have not armed their ships before now. This crap off East Africa has been going on for several years now. I think a little "Q Ship" action by them would go a long way to solve the problem . . .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-ship

Also agree with Ray and I hope those Seals each get a personal phone call from the President.

BBD

[Tom]

Actually, all the pirates are going to do is pick their target just a little more carefully next time. Given that practically every merchant ship out there is registered to Liberia or any other place with extremely lax safety and security requirements and they're practically all crewed by Filipinos, these had to be the stupidest or most unlucky pirates in the history of the world. That these guys brought the US military down on their heads was probably the very last thing they expected.

[Onno]

It amazing what the navy snipers did. I've been wondering, though, why the navy didn't open fire when Capt. Phillips jumped into the sea from the lifeboat, a couple of days ago. It also happened at night, but at that point, he was out of the line of fire, and the pirates were sitting ducks. And that must be what he was expecting when he jumped.

Arming the ships seems like the right idea, except that the sailors aren't really trained, and this could lead to rapid escalation, with the pirates starting with rpgs instead of warning rifle fire. I think the military knows where the pirates are coming from (i.e. which ports). I wonder if the answer is to blockade those ports. Tough issue.

[texbike]

Originally Posted by Onno

Arming the ships seems like the right idea, except that the sailors aren't really trained, and this could lead to rapid escalation, with the pirates starting with rpgs instead of warning rifle fire. I think the military knows where the pirates are coming from (i.e. which ports). Tough issue.

Sounds like the PERFECT business opportunity for Blackwater. All they would need is 3 guys on each ship armed with a small arsenal. It couldn't be any tougher of a security job for them than Iraq was. It seems like the toughest part for them would be the lack of "no bid" contracts.

Texbike

[Birddog]

I've been wondering, though, why the Navy didn't open fire when Capt. Phillips jumped into the sea from the lifeboat, a couple of days ago. It also happened at night, but at that point, he was out of the line of fire, and the pirates were sitting ducks. And that must be what he was expecting when he jumped

I can only guess, but I figure the Navy was not yet ready for such an action. I also think that the Cap't jumped overboard, thinking that if the Somali's shoot him, they are also as good as dead. Sort of a "Somali Standoff". I can understand his change of heart after the Somalis fired into the water, though. Then there is the problem of sanctioning action through the proper channels. No telling how many briefings and how far up they went before the Navy got the OK to act.

It's a good thing Perry, Campbell and Mikelson weren't the trigger men.

Birddog

[chuckred]

now after trying to capture another US ship, holding a US citizen hostage, they want to continue "business as usual" and will take revenge on the US for shooting the pirates...

Criminals unclear of the concept...

[sg8357]

Originally Posted by Onno

I think the military knows where the pirates are coming from (i.e. which ports). I wonder if the answer is to blockade those ports. Tough issue.

The Royal Navy used to be quite good at this sort of thing, circa 1805.
Anyone have a copy of the RNs 1805 Fighting Instructions to send the
US Navy ?

What would Aubrey and Maturin do ?
Can we issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal and have Privateers
patrol the Somali coast ?

Scott G.
Eighteenth Century Problems require Eighteenth Century Solutions!

[texbike]

Originally Posted by Onno

I think the military knows where the pirates are coming from (i.e. which ports). I wonder if the answer is to blockade those ports. Tough issue.

Direct attacks on pirate ports or blockades could negatively impact too many innocent people.

Personally I think that this is an easy issue to address. The bad guys are in the boats that attack the ships. If a boat approaches and fires on a ship, it seems pretty clear that THOSE guys need to be smoked. Private security would be perfect for this.

There has been HUGE incentive for these pirates to attack vessels in the past without much downside. If a few of their ships/boats are sunk and a number of their "co-workers" get taken down in the process, it would cause them to rethink their attacks.

It wouldn't address the underlying lawlessness and poverty in the region, but it would help reduce the piracy issue.

Texbike

[RPS]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave

Don't negotiate and make them know that they will be shot on sight.

I agree the only way to stop them is to never negotiate; hence make their efforts pointless. However, I think it’s reasonable to expect pirates will escalate in an attempt to get what they want which will in turn cost many innocent lives. In the long run it's the right thing to do IMHO.

Didn’t pirate ships that approached the area a few days ago have hostages onboard to prevent an all out attack by the Navy? I didn’t hear what happened with them, but if I was a pirate that’s what I would do – I’d surround myself with human shields.

[Lazarus]

We don't have good history in Somalia. Americans couldn't find it on a map, nor recall the ugly scene that took place within the lands of Somalia back in 1993 with Blackhawk Down. Civus Romanus used to mean something.