I disagree. This is post 9-11. the longer this goes the more likely other hostages will be taken elsewhere to support their muslim brothers in somalia against the Great Satan. We become sitting ducks. In fact we have already lost our opportunity to control this situation. The pirates and other isalmic radicals are now in control. Once we start to negotiate with terrorists they have already won a victory. This is like the incident with Iran and the British seamen.
Somalians are not kind to their hostages. If this drags on even for a few more days, the Captain probably will not survive.
Then what will the Great Obama do?
Well, I suppose you could look at all the geopolitical ramifications of this incident, and none of them would be good for the US. But, I was speaking specifically about this one hostage. My background is not in LE, but it is military. While no two hostage situations are alike, generally speaking, the longer it goes, the better a chance of a safe resolution for the hostage.
As I said, so long as the lifeboat is bobbing in the middle of the open ocean, and doesn't make it to shore or is reinforced by other pirate ships, the US Navy still maintains the initiative and control - they haven't lost anything yet.
There aren't any good military options, certainly not with a vessel that small and not without extraordinary risk to the the hostage.