Posted on 04/12/2009 2:00:22 PM PDT by Steelfish
Official: Captain was in 'imminent danger' Swift rescue operation left three of the Somali captors dead
MOMBASA, Kenya - A U.S. military official said Navy Seals and other officers opened fire on three pirates when a Navy commander made a split-second decision that an American hostage's life was in danger.
Vice Adm. Bill Gortney also said the pirates made a ransom demand for the release of Capt. Richard Phillips.
Gortney said the pirates threatened throughout the ordeal to kill Phillips. Gortney says the pirates were armed with AK-47s and small-caliber pistols, and were pointing the AK-47s at the captain.
Gortney said the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge believed Phillips was in "imminent danger" when he ordered sailors to fire at the armed pirates.
Gortney said the White House had given "very clear guidance and authority" that if any time the commander Capt. Phillips' life was in danger to take action to make sure it was not
Offered himself as a hostage Phillips' crew, who said they had escaped after he offered himself as a hostage, erupted in cheers aboard their ship docked in Mombasa, Kenya. Some waved an American flag and fired a flare in celebration.
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet said Phillips was resting comfortably on a U.S. warship after receiving a medical exam.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Even the commanders at the scene were fed up with Obama’s lack of spine, it seems.
Thank goodness for Special Operations and the Navy SEALs! This is truly a blessed Easter for the Phillips family.
Official: Captain was in ‘imminent danger’
LOL! Yeah, that started about 3 seconds before he was kidnapped on the high seas.
I’d have bet my bottom dollar as soon as the Navy SEALS heard they could engage if Phillips was in ‘imminent danger’ they would find that imminently dangerous situation.
"Gortney said the White House had given "very clear guidance and authority" that if any time the commander Capt. Phillips' life was in danger to take action to make sure it was not ."
FOX News is stating that the surviving scum "COULD" serve up to life in prison.
If so, it should be on a pork greased water board triggered every 30 seconds.
The Navy did the right thing despite Lord Zero. Saying his life was in "Imminent danger" is like saying "Why yes officer, I did feel that my life was in danger before I shot the intruder."
Too bad the Navy had to play the TOTUS in order to do the right thing.
What a ridiculous thing. So the navy had their hands tied unless the captain had a gun to his head and was in what these liberals considered “imminent danger.” The fact is, Capt. Phillips was in imminent danger from the moment he was seized. The terrorists had promised to kill him if they didn't get the ransom. Obama is a joke!
Too bad the Navy had to play the TOTUS in order to do the right thing.
I don't believe that Vice Adm. Gortney and/or the commander of the USS Bainbridge are liars.
Do you?
Yes, I read the article, thank you. It’s clear that the commander interpreted that to mean “end the standoff at the first opportunity,” meaning that he used the letter of the order to bend the spirit of the order.
I’d have bet my bottom dollar as soon as the Navy SEALS heard they could engage if Phillips was in ‘imminent danger’ they would find that imminently dangerous situation.
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Of course that’s what they did. They were probably so pissed off that they hadn’t been allowed to do it earlier that they decided to heck with obummer, he looks in danger to us, let’s do it. zer0 needs to STFU and learn that our troops know what they are doing. He needs to go put on his pink poodle skirt and his ACORN shirt and eat some veggie pizza. Make sure there’s no Pork on that pizza though.
From the article, you say you read,
”He said the pirates were armed with AK-47s and small-caliber pistols and were pointing the rifles at the captain when the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge gave the order to open fire."
Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said the White House had given "very clear guidance and authority" to take action if Phillips' life was in danger."
I call that 'Imminent Danger'.
I think Naval forces saw the opportunity to end this crisis and took it. Obama had initially denied permission for military action and immediately sent in FBI negotiators, but I’m sure as his polls numbers dropped and the French successfully freed their hostages he had to do what should have been done day one.
I would wager guns had been pointed at Phillips off and on this entire time.
Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old self-proclaimed pirate, told The Associated Press from one of Somalia’s piracy hubs, Eyl, that, “our friends should have done more to kill the captain before they were killed. This will be a good lesson for us.”
“From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages),” he said.
There should now be no mercy for these pirate . Sweep the seas of them , no prisoners . Feed the sharks . Notify Somali fishermen to stay within one mile of shore , or die .
I said that they spun what they needed out of the ROE. I've been in the Navy and Reserve for 20 years and have had to operate under ROEs enough to know that they are generally designed in such a way as to force you to check the block before you act.
That said, if they had been given direct orders to take out the pirates, there would be absolutely no need to point out that it was done because the captains life was in “imminent danger”. The only reason to say that is to point out that you were following the restrictive rules of engagement.
Do think that his life wasn't in imminent danger for the last several days? Do you think that a pirate pointing an AK-47 at him is what triggered this, or do you think that what triggered it was the open window on being able to take three clear shots? I'm going with the latter.
Why were there two orders, and why did it take Obama until Friday to sign the first one?
Navy Seals. When it absolutely, positively, must be destroyed overnight.
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