I tried to play devil's advocate on this one, that is the way I feel about matters involving the military. As it turns out, the SEALs were not in place until Saturday night, so IMO there would not have been proper resources in place the first time the captain attempted to escape. And I have no problem with a directive that puts the captain's life first and foremost. This country owes that to a man of such bravery. But if the SEALs were not allowed to plink the perps the first opportunity they had because of operational constraints from Obama - well, that is very problematic. Prior reporting made it seem like the final kill shots were the first opportunity. But if they had prior opportunities, that changes everything.
Well, a couple of things to keep in mind here, is that I believe that negotiations may have had a two-fold (or more) effect. One would be to take off pressure and make the pirates think something might happen. Secondly, it allows for one to assess the situation better. And thirdly, I see two positive results from the negotiations, one result being that they gained the pirates trust enough to put a tow rope on the lifeboat (at the ridiculously close distance of a mere 25 yards, more or less), and the second result, being that they were able to get one pirate *off* the lifeboat (making the odds better when they did have to shoot the pirates).
So, when you buy time, make assessments and gather intel and put the enemy at ease and set up the situation to make your “move” all the more successful — that has all the makings of a successful operation...