Posted on 04/12/2009 9:54:17 AM PDT by BarnacleCenturion
* Lifeboat holding captain drifts toward Somalia
* Helicopters fly over pirate lair
* Hijacked Italian tugboat reaches shore
MOGADISHU, April 12 (Reuters) - Military helicopters flew over Somali pirate lairs and battleships stalked a boat on Sunday in which gunmen were holding an American hostage in a five-day high seas standoff.
Armed with assault rifles and a grenade launcher, four pirates and their captive, 53-year-old U.S. ship captain Richard Phillips, were drifting towards land on a lifeboat out of fuel.
Three U.S. warships were watching the situation.
"The captain must be tied to the lifeboat because he tried to escape once," Aweys Ali Said, chairman of the pirate-infested central Somali region of Galkayo, told Reuters.
Pirate sources said U.S. helicopters were dropping supplies for the boat. Phillips is the first American taken captive by Somali pirate gangs who have marauded in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean shipping lanes for years.
"The Americans give them food and water -- helicopters drop them on the lifeboat," a pirate from Hobyo village, who identified himself as Hussein, told Reuters.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
“U.S. helicopters were dropping supplies for the boat.”
I cry BS! There’s enough food and water on that boat for about 50 people.
dropping food and water? - why arent these guys a red mist by now?
Wait just a friggin’ minute here. That tugboat reached the shore? So what happened to the 10 Italians and other six unnamed poor souls???
Somehow I doubt there are any actual battleships involved. I suspect they mean warships, but the media never is able to be accurate.
I still don’t know how they’ve managed to get so close to the shore.
Dropped drugged food and they all go night night ....pick up the sleeping hostage and sink the boat. Happy ending.
They would make the hostage eat/drink first.
Here is a post of mine from yesterday late afternoon.
“I just heard on radio news that the boat is not out of gas, and is now within 20 miles of shore.”
From what I've read on another thread the 'food' is similar to biscuit flavored digestible cardboard.
Maybe nutritious but 'food' is a misnomer.
They cannot allow this lifeboat to reach shore or this gets even more complicated.
And O'Bama et al have shown they can't deal with this now.
“So what happened to the 10 Italians and other six unnamed poor souls???”
If they are not dead they must be tied up somewhere waiting for Berlusconi to wire the money.
I’d get a line on the bow of that lifeboat TONIGHT, and by morning I’d be towing it at 8 knots to Deigo Garcia Lagoon. The trip would take no more than 12 to 14 days.
I don’t think it would be necessary to actually go all the way. Once the kidnappers realize that they are being towed to God knows where, they they will know they’ve lost. If they want to live, the give up. They are only hanging on because they know they are drifting to shore. That hope must be taken away from them.
Hey wait,,i know what we forgot! We never fired a shot across their bow! THAT must be why the pirates havent surrendered. There must be some way to make afraid of us. Or hey, we could fly a french or an Indian flag, they both SHOOT at pirates, maybe that would help! sarc/
>> Maybe nutritious but ‘food’ is a misnomer.
Besides, it’s not halal — Bambi wouldn’t want to insult his brothers by suggesting they eat infidel food.
Yeah, didnt this start 250 miles or so out to sea? Did we just let them putter away towards home? Insane,,,utterly insane.
Given that there isn't a single battleship currently in service, that seems likely!
I suspect they mean warships, but the media never is able to be accurate.
Just as when someone in the media says "tank", it usually means "any tracked vehicle", and "fully automatic assault weapon" means "any semiautomatic firearm".
>>I still don’t know how they’ve managed to get so close to the shore.
FWIW, see this post from last night. I don’t have any personal experience, but what this poster said makes sense to me.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2227300/posts?page=60#60
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