I suspect that if you were to examine the records of domestic hostage situations, MANY would involve drugs and/or alcohol. That is one reason they tend to be so problematic for domestic law enforcement agencies - the cops frequently don't know how medicated the perps are - tweakers, junkies and other drug addled miscreants are frequently just looking to get enough cash for their next score and that innate drug-induced instability is what oftentimes causes a robbery to go bad.
"of our enemies, even at the expense of Americans on the ground. Thus, this is a matter for “Law Enforcement”, not the military, and these guys need to be arrested, not killed. "
Then, you need to change the law. But, the law as it exists today, is quite clear. The US Navy is not in the execution business. It's in the war business. To the extent that pirates can be engaged in non-territorial waters is pretty clear, legally - they can only be engaged legally when they are either firing upon US (or non-combatant) vessels, or have boarded a ship under hostile conditions.
Lastly, I wonder how many of the people commenting have spent even a few days on the open seas. There seems to be a prevailing opinion that the US Navy could have diffused this situation with a couple super-double-top-secret SEAL insertions that surely would have happened absent the intervention of the FBI and Obama himself. It's patently absurd.
We're talking about boarding a stand-off vessel in open waters while at the same time, four hostages literally have automatic weapons trained on their heads. The FBI played the only card they had - negotiation. And, it was right to pick the FBI to play that card, because ship captains aren't trained to negotiate with hostage takers. Now, whether that card was played appropriately or not, is for others to decide. I'm not a hostage negotiator, nor was I there. But given the tactical situation, talking was the only realistic option at that time.
The dead Americans aren’t talking. They don’t have that option any more.
You think the FBI team has sea legs? Did any get sea sick? Did being on a rocking boat mid-ocean after a half-day flight out degrade their judgment?
Just tell us, what damn good did any talking do?
I agree with your points. I don’t think people are complaining about that fact a raid wasn’t immediately launched. Rather, I think the concern is that Domestic LE may have been put in charge. Clearly an FBI agent handpicked by Holder will have a grossly different approach from the nearest Military commander. (look at how the Border Patrol Leadership let one of their tactical officers bleed out, while they helo’d a drug cartel killer to a hospital. Not something common in the military.) BTW, if the Navy Captain was in full operational control, I’ve got no complaints here.
What you are seeing here is that we all know Liberals are a flavor fo traitor. In any conflict, they seek to resolve it with our enemies’ interests in mind. We prefer a more loyal approach, designed to favor our own interests at the expense of our enemiess’.
Since Obama is in charge, and LE is invovled, most (myself included) are worried (possibly correctly) that the Liberals and Obama intervened after last time to more effectively hogtie the military commander on scene to favor our enemies, and Americans died because of it. It wouldn’t be the first time.
You are right, though. There wasn’t really a good raid option.
You don’t know if it is practical to pump Isoflurane, or some other airborne anesthesia into a craft and put everyone out, do you? I know the Russians failed in that theater with the Chechens, but that seemed more due to a lack of medical support for hostages afterward.
Seems we really should develop the capability, if it is possible.