[chessplayer]

Smart move on the part of the pirates. With only the captain as a hostage, it would be stupid to kill him. But with a bunch of other hostages, they can kill the captain to show they mean business and still have the other hostages as bargaining chips.

[Ann Archy]

Our Navy needs to BLOW up EVERY Pirate boat that comes anywhere NEAR them!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Where’s Puff the Magic Dragon when we need him eh.

[fso301]

This didn’t happen to Jimmuh until half way through his term.

[ClearCase_guy]

Obama's inept handling of this should be seen in the context of the Iranian hostage crisis. Ahmadinejad was one of the students who took our embassy workers hostage in 1978. Now he is the leader of Iran. You can bet he is paying very close attention to current events.

Obama is simplying incapable of bargaining from a position of strength with a man like that -- Ahmadinejad knows Obama better than Obama knows himself.

[kabar]

If the four guys in the boat without any gas kill the US Captain, they have no bargaining chips. I seriously doubt the USN will allow these other pirate boats anywhere near the stranded boat. And like other hostage situations, when the hostage holder starts killing folks, then you must respond with force to save as many hostages as you can.

[Ezekiel]

pirate reinforcements with an international gallery of hostages

Reads like Americans held hostage under Zero, Plugs, Pelosi, and Reid.

[mware]

Time to send in the Navy Seals.

[PALIN SMITH]

Obama will neglect the opportunity to lead..........

or he will make a mistake as big as the Elian Gonzales blunder Clinton made......

this is his first international “crisis”

[Realism]

This is what happens when you negotiate with kidnappers, pirates and terrorists.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Pirate ships converge on US hostage at sea

[Bulldawg Fan]

So last night the Captain tries to escape and the Navy says it all happened so fast they couldnt react? Yes sir, our commander in chief sure means business with these crooks. The longer this drags on with US Navy war ships stopped cold by pirates in a life boat, the worse it looks for Hussien Obama. Another “hand wringer” like Jimmy Carter?

[ClearCase_guy]

At one point, I thought Obama would take us back to the 1970's -- an economically troubled time that I did not want to revisit.
Then I thought Obama would take us back to the 1930's -- an economically troubled time that I did not want to revisit.

Now it appears that we're back in 1710, pirates are seizing our ships, the political elite lives lives of luxury, and the rest of us are just peasants who pay taxes.

This Progressivism doesn't work the way I thought it was going to!

[elpadre]

time to blockade the pirate’s home port with a flotilla - no one in or out. Prepare boarding parties to remove the hostage ships and isolate these terrorists.

[BuffaloJack]

By ORDERING our people NOT to shoot Obama is showing how inept and naive he is. He needs to trust our military and let them handle the situation with 100% autonomy and no lawyers present.

[WVKayaker]

Obamas fly in chef 860 miles... just to make pizza...I'm not surprised.

...Mr Somers was accompanied by this business parnter Ryan Mangilardo who will help prepare the dinner for 140 this evening.

It will feature his signature dishes - ten deep dish and ten thin crust creations.

He is also planning a pizza especially for the president - the Hyde Park topped with chicken and hot sauce. ...

[The Great RJ]

It is pathetic that a bunch of idiots in a speed boat with a few AK-47s can hold off the US Navy. This is the consequence of trying to play nice and negotiate with bad guys. These pirates are no different that street thugs who get away with extortion because the cops are afraid to do anything. Why the heck isn’t there a shoot to kill policy for any speedboats approaching ships in that region. It is obvious that these boats are not innocent fishermen. Yet the world pussyfoots because there is no leadership and we end up with more hostages.

[depressed in 06]

This looks like a good “24” moment to exchange the Pres__ent for the Captain. We get something useful and they get something useless.

[yazoo]

This is turning into another Iran hostage situation. Let the pirate reinforcements arrive on the scene, then sink them. If we let this go on we will simply encourage more piracy.

[NavyCanDo]

ATTENTION LIFEBOAT: - This is the Captain of the U.S. Navy warship USS Bainbrige. You have 30 minutes to let the hostage go or I will guarantee you, even if it means putting my career on the line - on this day the Marines will have a new verse for their Marine Hymn.

[DesertSapper]

Ignore the boat holding the US captain and unload on each of the other pirate boats with quad-50's. Not a single boat should survive this encounter. If the pirates can swim, then let them make it to shore on their own.

Without boats, these vermin will have a very difficult time in accosting another ship.

If these parasites persist, we bomb their home bases.