[Snowman7]

Originally Posted by Uturn2001

Before praising Obama for his "order" you should stop and consider what that order really was.

He issued orders to use force when and only when the on site team determined the Capt Phillips life was in imminent danger. Other wise they were to continue negotiations.

I dont know what else you guys want from the guy.:roll:

[mike3fan]

Originally Posted by Snowman7

I dont know what else you guys want from the guy.:roll:

They want John Wayne, run in and shoot all the bad guys without questions and pound their chest because we're Americans and just do as we please. Seems to me that is the kind of thing that has got us in this mess in Iraq.

[everytruckjob.com]

until the address the poverty of that country it'll keep happening, when you're hungry and poor what have you got to lose? It's a country where inflation is so high it takes a half million of there dollars to be groceries.

If if patrols pick up they will keep going, the odds are in their favor ( it's an area 4 times the size of texas ) only I'm afraid next time if a captain offers to go with them in exchange for the crew they'll say no. And be more heavily armed.

I was somewhat surprised they let it go this long and not pay the fee; they could have moved in later tactically, or even tracked them back to their main camp to control the conflict and send a more local message.

They were asking for a million dollars, that's a minute of our deficit right now, and the way they are spending trillions...

[Snowman7]

Its a complex issue. Not to mention there are still over 200 men from more than 12 countries being held hostage. What if some of them die in retaliation for what we did? There's more involved than just shooting some Somali's and getting our guy back. Overall I think it was handled very well but the larger battle still remains. I bet if you ask Captain Phillips and his family they are happy with the way it was handled.

[ronjon619]

I bet that was not the first American Flagged cargo ship to run those waters. The Pirates decided to take on the American ship knowing full well they would be tugging on Superman's cape. The other pirates are probably thinking they should have went for a different country's ship.

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by DaveP

Can't.

The UN says so.

The decision not to arm Merchant Marine ships has been around since long before the UN was someone's wet dream....

If you arm a "merchant marine ship" under a sovereign flag, you have converted that vessel to a "warship". and the last time that the US armed merchant marine ships was during WWII.

According to this article...the UN made an authorization for foreign naval vessels to provide protection against piracy... Marine News - Piracy and Armed Response on Ships but the Somali's whined about their sovereignty in their waters.

Personally, the answer to the issue is not to arm the crews....and their industry leaders agree... the answer is for each country to put their own armed guards on the boats and have them deal with the issues.

Frankly, this country needs to make it clear that any attack on any vessel, marine or air that carries the US flag is an act of war...and retribution will be swift.

Arming Merchant Ship Crews - the “Obvious Answer” that may be Simply Wrong : Old Salt Blog - a virtual port of call for all those who love the sea

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by mike3fan

They want John Wayne, run in and shoot all the bad guys without questions and pound their chest because we're Americans and just do as we please. Seems to me that is the kind of thing that has got us in this mess in Iraq.

Yup....they want good old fashioned "cowboy mentality diplomacy"....an oxymoron if there ever was one....

What they did was proper. The SEALS did it right. I have no complaints about the way it was handled.....

The only other solution would be to have headed off the pirates before they got to the ship.

Maybe putting some "Blackwater employees" on the boats would keep it from happening.:lol:

[ohiomohawk]

Originally Posted by Snowman7

Thats it Stan. There was no shot while they were sealed up inside the lifeboat. They had to wait for 3 different shooters to have a simultaneous shot in rolling seas. Even then you have to hope the fourth guy gives up without a fight or killing the hostage. .

The fourth guy was not on the boat with the 3 pirates, he was on the US Navy ship negotiating with the FBI. He was 16 years old and is now being held by the US.


How does this topic stay in the "New Truck drivers" section and the post about driving 65 mph in Ohio get moved ???

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by ohiomohawk

The fourth guy was not on the boat with the 3 pirates, he was on the US Navy ship negotiating with the FBI. He was 16 years old and is now being held by the US.

Well, the pirates get my vote for biggest dumbasses of the year! Send a 16 year old punk to negotiate? Sheeeesh.....oh duh.

How does this topic stay in the "New Truck drivers" section and the post about driving 65 mph in Ohio get moved ???

Yeah, weird, huh.....I was wondering kinda the same thing...

[Mr. Ford95]

Give'em an even bigger award Sky:

The three Somali pirates thought the American warship was doing them a favour when it offered to tow the drifting lifeboat in which they were holding captain Richard Phillips after it ran out of fuel.

The USS Bainbridge fed out a 200-foot line but as the seas grew more choppy the American sailors hauled the rope in and brought the lifeboat much closer. Sitting in the wake of the US warship's broad beam riding on the tiny craft would have been a lot less rough.

But it also brought pirates within range of three snipers perched on the Bainbridge's stern and made the Somalis more stable targets.

Gortney said that one of the pirates was seen to be pointing a weapon at the captain's back and the snipers "took it that the pirate was ready to use that weapon". He said that when all three pirates where in their sights "with their heads and shoulders exposed" - two of them emerging from the covered lifeboat while the third could be seen through a window guarding the bound hostage - the sharpshooters opened fire simultaneously hitting each of the pirates in the head.

As it was getting dark on Sunday, one of the pirates fired a tracer bullet toward the US warship. Then one of the pirates was seen holding his Kalashnikov so close to Phillips that it appeared to be touching him. The order to kill the pirates was given.

A fourth pirate, believed to be in his late teens, had surrendered earlier by jumping in to a small craft delivering food to the lifeboat.