The moment that they showed three heads, they were DEAD.
Heresy!
Very interesting, sounds like the captain decided a clean shot on all three was an opportunity and decided to take it. Doesn’t sound like the pirates were about to shoot the captain. This was real hardball, which I think is appropriate for pirates. A very gutsy move, also taking advantage of the absence of the 4th pirate who was negotiating.
I don’t Think the White house has a recent reputation for “truthfulness”.
They were probably ready to say “obama did not authorize Deadly force” if things had gone badly for the Captain.
Obama was ready to “bow” out on Bad news.
Conjecture, based on what I read in the funny books and see on computer games:
Three snipers stationed on the fantail of USS Bainbridge reported that each had their assigned target in their scopes and had a clean shot.
Captain of Bainbridge assessed reports of snipers and with understanding of imminent danger to the hostage, ordered snipers to engage.
Snipers engaged, the three shots coming within a single second of one another.
Three pirates cease to exist.
LRB (Little Rubber Boat) embarks from Bainbridge to lifeboat, retreives hostage, and returns.
4th pirate placed under arrest and informed of his likely future.
Again I hate to defend Obama; but this seems like exactly the best way to have handled it.
The professional people on the scene were given permission to do what was needed.
The stories last night were implying that the life boat was drifting to shore and were helpless to stop it.
That apparently was not the case fortunately.
My question is:were the Navy’s hands tied when the Captain jumped into the water?
I hope they learned their lesson, don’t mess with the U.S. Navy or the Marines or the Army or even the Coast Guard.
The White House is being modest.
The real facts - President Obama and VP Biden flew over late last night in a supersonic jet and bailed out into the sea next to the lifeboat.
Obama tapped on the hull in morse code “let us have the hostage or I will throw Joe Biden into your boat and seal the door.”
The pirates immediately shot themselves and the hostage was picked up by the Navy. Obama and Biden were then launced off a carrier on two fighter jets and returned to the USA non-stop. Biden flew the jet most of the way by himself and even did the six air refuelings required, two of them in the night in wicked thunderstorms.
Upon his return, Biden modestly said that he had done this many times before.
There were sure a lot of different stories early on. Like the captain jumping in the water and such.