Posted on 04/12/2009 11:00:01 AM PDT by bimboeruption
MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a U.S. Navy operation that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a senior U.S. intelligence official said. One of the pirates was wounded and in custody after a swift firefight, the official said.
Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.
The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A government official and others in Somali with knowledge of the situation had reported hours earlier that negotiations for Phillips' release had broken down.
The district commissioner of the central Mudug region said talks went on all day Saturday, with clan elders from his area talking by satellite telephone and through a translator with Americans, but collapsed late Saturday night.
"The negotiations between the elders and American officials have broken down. The reason is American officials wanted to arrest the pirates in Puntland and elders refused the arrest of the pirates," said the commissioner, Abdi Aziz Aw Yusuf. He said he organized initial contacts between the elders and the Americans.
Two other Somalis, one involved in the negotiations and another in contact with the pirates, also said the talks collapsed because of the U.S. insistence that the pirates be arrested and brought to justice.
Phillips' crew of 19 American sailors reached safe harbor in Kenya's northeast port of Mombasa on Saturday night under guard of U.S. Navy Seals, exhilarated by their freedom but mourning the absence of Phillips.
Crew members said their ordeal had begun with the Somali pirates hauling themselves up from a small boat bobbing on the surface of the Indian Ocean far below.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Naval Prison Charleston is my guess
Amen.
I respectfully disagree. On day one, seals could have boarded the small craft and handled the job with ease. Now it is being reported that the pirates were killed by snipers. If that is accurate, they could also have done the deed that way on day one. Besides, there has been a continuous report of a "small ransom" being offered. What a crock of $hit. A small ransom is like being partially pregnant. This whole deal, from a political standpoint, was botched!
BORED GAY VERY CAPABLE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, PROBABLY A MINOR GOD SOMEWHERE IN THE COSMOS
BORED GAY VERY CAPABLE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, PROBABLY A MINOR GOD SOMEWHERE IN THE COSMOS
Not on the open seas, but yes the International Maritime treaty law has been around for decades once you enter territorial waters. Of course, the cesspool of Somalia doesn't recognize such International treaties.
Plus, each nation/port has it's own weapons restrictions when in their territorial waters and don't allow guns into their ports. Not every nation has a 2nd Amendment.
any reason not to arm the US merchantmen while at sea and toss the ARs over the side before going into port? beats the hell outta a firehose, doesn’t it? a few ARs every voyage are a cheap price (literally) and would sure up the price of poker for the somalis (who are now the only guys with guns)
He is Risen Indeed! Happy Easter all.
A quote...
If it's a good idea, go ahead and do it. It's much easier to apologize than it is to get permission.
Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper
The flip side is that the reason there was a military outcome is because Obama et al would not allow the elders to have their way.
We have considerable fog obscuring the scene but it appears reaction to serendipitous events precipitated the favorable result.
mewzilla
:)
I’m sure there are 500 posts in DUmp land right now saying those very words.
i’ve done quite a bit of construction work for a retired FBI guy that ran the San Diego Office and he told me once that if he had had me he could fired half the idiots that were under him.
I also gave him some advice on an estate that he was involved with that an attorney had totally screwed up and saved him a good many thousands.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only who saw it that way. Sheesh.
Of course. I was just being jubilant and forgot for a moment. So what do we/world do about this? Some military guy just came on Fox and said this won't deter the pirates, due to odds being in their favor of success versus an occasional failure.
New York Daily News:
“Three of the four Somali pirates died”
Some of the coverage is actually quite positive for Obama’s sake, of course
That's not likely to continue after this, at least when Americans are captured by Mooselimb pirates.
Sorry, SEAL commanders don’t make a move without higher authority. That didn’t happen. However, the highest ranking Naval officer in the vicinity could have made the decision. I doubt in came from the WH.
Time to visit those assholes with a Predator drone. Take them and their entire base camp out.
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