Must have been somebody rich and important. That was no run of the mill yacht. Looked like it was worth something that only the top 500 richest people could afford.
"Well then. Who in the hell was on that yacht that it required parachuting an Admiral no less into the sea so he could oversee the rescue operation ?"
Nathan Zachary wrote:
"Must have been somebody rich and important. That was no run of the mill yacht. Looked like it was worth something that only the top 500 richest people could afford."
Who was aboard the yacht was probably of less importance than the fact that what French forces were about to do had the potential of becoming a major international incident. It was therefore important that the operation be in direct control af an admiral who would give the orders and take the flack for their consequences.
I don't see it as a rescue operation. France knew that the ships owners' or the charterparty owners' relatives were about to pay the ransom and that the customary practice would be that the hostages would be released unharmed.
France was embarking on a punishment operation. This is necessary to foster clearer thinking on the part of those who would interfere with French citizens going about their lawful business on the high seas.