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U.S. ship captain held by pirates off Somalia, has been freed,
CNN ^

Posted on 04/12/2009 10:25:08 AM PDT by Ladycalif

U.S. ship captain held by pirates off Somalia, has been freed, senior U.S. official says. Three of four pirates killed.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 444; alabama; maritime; navyseals; owned; piracy; pirates; rescue; richardphillps; seals; somalia; somaliapirates; somalipirates; usnavy
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To: jveritas
Taking us 5 days is a big deal for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Iran, North Korea and host of other enemies even if we have achieved our goal at the end.

I'm obviously out of my depth here among all the strategic and tactical experts; but, it just may be that this whole op was run strictly "by the book" which ain't always like the movies or "24" or fevered imagination.

461 posted on 04/12/2009 11:42:46 AM PDT by don-o (My son, Ben - Marine Private First Class - 1/16/09 - Parris Island, SC)
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To: Ladycalif
Great news !

Nam Vet

462 posted on 04/12/2009 11:42:53 AM PDT by Nam Vet ("Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it." .... Henry David Thoreau)
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To: Ladycalif

I heart Navy SEALs!! Awesome


463 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:01 AM PDT by RDTF ("I'm pretty sure this is a 2 man job once the shooting starts")
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To: Kansas58

>> Hope the surviving pirate goes to GITMO, that would be funny.

I like your sense of humor!


464 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:01 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Party? I don't have one anymore.)
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To: shoutingandpointing

This captain is like Sully. He should get a medal.


465 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:02 AM PDT by ichabod1 (I am rolling over in my grave and I am not even dead yet (GOP Poet))
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To: STARWISE

Yes...that was him, Star.


466 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:21 AM PDT by Miss Didi ( "After all...tomorrow is another day." Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind)
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To: shoutingandpointing

Very easy to tell why HE was the captain.


467 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:26 AM PDT by ichabod1 (I am rolling over in my grave and I am not even dead yet (GOP Poet))
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To: trumandogz

You are either a Dreamer or Inbibing in some Happy juice Friend! Probably Both!


468 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:31 AM PDT by True Republican Patriot (GOD BLESS AMERICA and Our Last Great President George W. Bush)
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To: WhistlingPastTheGraveyard

Seems like a sane response - grade the man on this test. The semester review will be coming along soon enough.I see a new company emerging, though - Maersk-XE. Shipping protected by guys with big guns. A few pirates floating leaking blood should be all the advertisement the company needs - “We’ll make sure it gets there” as the tagline.

Are there as many sharks in the Gulf of Aden as there are in the Gulf of Suez?


469 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:35 AM PDT by worst-case scenario (Striving to reach the light)
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To: fella

If he had a visual of the ships, good old fashioned code could have been the comm.


470 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:40 AM PDT by eyedigress
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To: jveritas
“Taking us 5 days is a big deal for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Iran, North Korea and host of other enemies even if we have achieved our goal at the end.”

Sleep deprivation, dehydration, and hunger are important considerations for any tactical plan. Let's give credit where credit is due. It is only a big deal to some fanatical naysayers of liberal and conservative stripe.

471 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:41 AM PDT by AH_LiveRight
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To: All

This is nothing more than a Racist Imperialist Neocon war for oil lead by the Bush-Cheney Cabal. They tortured and violated the rights of those Somali Freedom Fighters who are only fighting the injustices, poverty and inequality that America and its evil empire spreads around the world through its racist policies. This is ALL BUSHITLERMCCHIMPY’S FAULT!

Huh?...wait...hang on a sec....can this wait? I’m in the middle of an anti-Bush tirade.

What? Obama’s “president”?

Oh, hey I’m back. As I was saying, our wonderful Commander in Chief President Barrack Hussien Obama the Enlightend Dear Leader has personally led a victorious successful raid against the terrorists resulting in Mission Accomplished.


472 posted on 04/12/2009 11:43:44 AM PDT by FTL
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To: STARWISE

Agree!


473 posted on 04/12/2009 11:44:44 AM PDT by Halls (I'm with Rush, I want Obama to fail!)
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To: Syncro
Anyone here following this thread?

“Pirates Hijack Second US Vessel
BBC ^ | 11 April 2009 | Staff
Posted on April 11, 2009 11:35:25 AM EDT by BarnacleCenturion

Somali pirates have hijacked a US-owned tugboat in the Gulf of Aden with 16 crew on board, reports say.

Maritime industry sources say the tug, which sails under an Italian flag, was towing two barges at the time of the attack, at 1100 local time (0800 GMT).

The crew are said to be unharmed. The US and Italian governments have not confirmed the hijacking.

Meanwhile pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in “disaster”.

The pirates said they hoped to transfer Capt Richard Phillips from a lifeboat to a bigger vessel, as US and other naval ships made their way to the area.

He is being held by four pirates hundreds of kilometres off Somalia.

In other developments:

- Sailors on a Panama-flagged bulk carrier repulsed a pirate attack with water hoses. Nato officials on a nearby Portuguese warship said an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade landed in the commanding officer's cabin

- On Friday, one Frenchman and two pirates were killed in a rescue operation by French troops on another vessel captured off Somalia. Four others, including a child, were freed from the yacht.”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226983/posts?page=1

474 posted on 04/12/2009 11:44:51 AM PDT by shoutingandpointing
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To: kabar
Neither you nor I have all the details. However, this was not a difficult tactical rescue. We had control of the night thru technology; the target was not able to move or escape; the ability to approach the target undetected, and we had the technical means like stun grenades to immobilize the hostage takers. What was lacking was the will to use force.

First of all, the lifeboat was enclosed, which made it a much more difficult tactical situation than you claim - you just can't have a spotter relying intel about the pirates to the men approaching the raft in the water. You act like it is a simple thing to swim up to an enclosed raft in the open ocean during the night. Second, you just don't have SEALs on every ship. They probably had to be helicoptered in from the nearest base, which could have been thousands of miles away.

For cryin' out loud, this is why Internet politics can be so damn toxic and counterproductive. This was a great outcome for this country. We come across as petty and bilous as the DUmmiess were against Bush when we cannot simply say "God bless America and our military" and leave it at that, without knowing a lick about what Obama did or did not do.

475 posted on 04/12/2009 11:45:02 AM PDT by dirtboy
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To: All
Zer0 is all about being remembered he held off until today to try and trump Easter

then gave the story to lowal to him CNN

476 posted on 04/12/2009 11:45:33 AM PDT by SF_Redux
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To: shoutingandpointing
Meanwhile pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in “disaster”.

You gotta admit, they were right about that.

477 posted on 04/12/2009 11:45:35 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: MindBender26
Unfortunately leaving one perp alive will only lead to stuffing the pockets of a bunch of lawyers pockets with your and my tax dollars in defending the perp!

The perp will claim that Capt. Phillips tortured them and would not let them surrender!

478 posted on 04/12/2009 11:45:55 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: True Republican Patriot

How is that?


479 posted on 04/12/2009 11:46:01 AM PDT by trumandogz (The Democrats are driving us to Socialism at I00 MPH -The GOP is driving us to Socialism at 97.5 MPH)
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To: longtermmemmory
They are also not talking about the fact Obama has directed this is an FBI investigation!!!!!

Ever heard of a false flag?

480 posted on 04/12/2009 11:46:12 AM PDT by don-o (My son, Ben - Marine Private First Class - 1/16/09 - Parris Island, SC)
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