And I respectfully disagree with you.
Reason: being Americans, our first objective is maintain the life of American citizens. If the SEALs were to have attempted such a rescue, the hostage would most likely be deaded. You really don't understand how they operate.
Also, I'll bet you a six-pack that the SEALs weren't on station immediately because they don't normally ride on destroyers or frigates (Bainbridge & Halyburton). They had to be helicoptered in to whichever was closest and had the landing platform.
I may be older Navy '75 - '86, but I still know enough that there are not enough SEAL units to ride every ship we have, and that is hundreds. You should listen to what the Navy people on this thread is trying to tell you.
BTW, it is SEAL, not seal. Do you even know what that acronym stands for? No disrespect intended.
from an article update
excerpt..
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy
Three U.S. warships were within easy reach of the lifeboat on Saturday. The U.S. Navy had assumed the pirates would try to get their hostage to shore, where they could have hidden him on Somalia’s lawless soil and been in a stronger position to negotiate a ransom.
“The Somali government wanted the drama to end in a peaceful way, but any one who is involved in this latest case had the choice to use violence or other means,” Abdulkhadir Walayo, the prime minister’s spokesman, told The Associated Press. “Any way, we see it will be a good lesson for the pirates or any one else involved in this dirty business.”
Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, said that the killing of the three pirates was “a painful experience.”
“This is unfortunate action and our friends should have done more to kill the captain before they were killed. This will be a good lesson for us,” Habeb told the AP from one of Somalia’s piracy hubs, Eyl.