Posted on 04/12/2009 3:37:39 PM PDT by fiodora
Congratulations all around to the daring warriors who rescued Captain Richard Phillips and captured one of his captors alive.
I am delighted that President Obama's team did not endlessly equivocate. I credit them with bringing the incident to a close. If they needed time to position assets and plan, I am glad they waited.
Update: Reports are that Captain Phillips jumped overboard again. Fragmentary reports suggest sharpshooters may have opened fire allowing him the escape. It is still unclear if there was an actual rescue operation launched
Further update: The head of Maersk just had a news conference ion Norfolk, and stated that a rescue operation approced by President Obama was involved. This is a very encouraging sign, if true.
Further update: Admiral Gortney, speaking from Bahrein to reporters at the Pentagon, just stated that there were standing orders allowing the Captain of the Bainbridge to take action if he saw that Captain Phillips' life was in imminent danger. When one or more AK 47s were pointed at Capt. Phillips, the Bainbridge acted. The Admiral stated that the sharpshooters were on board the Bainbridge when they fired. The Bainbridge was 25-35 meters away from the lifeboat at the time. The Admiral just confirmed that Capt. Phillips was tied up at the time.
It seems clear that the Obama administration deserves some credit for allowing the Bainbridge captain to take action if Capt. Phillips' life was in danger. It would have been hard to justify a ban on such action.
It also seems clear that the personnel on the spot, especially the sharpshooters on the fantail of the Bainbridge and her captain too, deserve our deep gratitude. American Special Forces are simply superb human beings, superbly trained. American military doctrine generally allows the commander on the spot considerable discretion, and it is clear that in this case, the wisdom of that approach was confirmed.
I remain concerned that the captured terrorist will be treated as a criminal defendant, with all the rights of discovery and other secret-busting apparatus that make criminal action inappropriate for terror groups. We know that he will not be subjected to any interrogation techniques that make him seriously uncomfortable.
I also suppose he will be provided a Koran, halaal meals, and (naturally) access to both left wing lawyers and Islamic clergy, whose conversations with him will be held beyond the reach of the good guys.
Phil Aver in an email raises the question of whether or not the captured Somali had his Miranda Rights read to him in a language he understands. If not, he probably walks.
So, barry had nothing to do with it. He sat there wussified so the Captain had to take matters into his own hands, again?
Go Captain, God Bless!
Yes, I bow at my barry alter everyday. GO BARRY!!!!
LOL, not so. The article said that one of them was on the ship negotiating.
I hope so. I would trust our well trained guys on the scene far more than some political type in Washington.
That thought occurred to me, also. (Not to take away anything from our Seal buddies.)
:)
“The article said that one of them was on the ship negotiating.”
They could have at leasr stopped him from assulting them by putting a few bullets in the back of his head!
“Bleep! - Why didn’t he allow them to act on the first day?”
According to Yesterday’s Washington Post, commander-zero was pondering “about the intentions of the al-Shabab organization dictates a more patient, nonmilitary approach....”
I think the drive-by-media is start spinning zero’s “intervention...”
In other words he deserted ship to our side and was helping us.
Yea INHERITED is right
you know if he had to train them they would have only pea shooters and sling shots along with standing orders not to use them :)
(not giving 0 any credit at all for this rescue)
We need to watch what Obama and Rahm were doing while were were watching this hostage crisis. My experience tells me that he probably wrote a couple of executive orders of signed some treaties or spent a trillion dollars or something.
“All thats left now is for Obama to apologize to the pirates for the unnecessary violence and promise the senate will hold hearings to thoroughly investigate the military. /s”
Of course, what do you expect? This “trouble-unfriendly-youth” deserves the best defense that tax-payers can afford via ACLU-SHARPTON-ACORN.
“Im really not familiar with how this works. Does this mean to say that our military must wait for the President to tell them its ok to take action?”
They have rules of engagements they must follow but he has the right to meddle and change them.
The one on the Bainbridge was the youngster, merely a child, as so many of these unfortunate victims of western imperialism are; driven by unspeakable poverty, poor little tyke . . that is my predicted usless idiot spin on the little chicken pirate.
And how many times does Julie Banderas have to repeat that her hearthrob gave the order not once, but TWICE!
Silent Thunder! Then their heads explode.....
:) Our Seals rule.
LOL, not so. The article said that one of them was on the ship negotiating.
Hey, it's okay for the taxpayers to pay for this punk's life in prison, providing he coughs up some info. I'm not sure if the pirate hierarchy is known to the underlings, or if the structure is more cell-like, as with Al-Q'aida. I'm hoping for the former, but this is supposedly a young kid, and he may not know anyone beyond his own crew.
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