Posted on 04/14/2009 4:15:01 AM PDT by kellynla
Mombasa, Kenya (AP) - Undeterred by U.S. and French hostage rescues that killed seven bandits, Somali pirates brazenly hijacked three more ships in the Gulf of Aden, the key waterway that's become the focal point of the world's fight against piracy.
The M.V. Irene E.M. was hijacked early Tuesday, but it was not immediately clear where the ship is based or who owns it, two maritime security contractors said, speaking on condition of anonymity because it is a sensitive security issue.
The ship put out a distress signal shortly after midnight "to say they had a suspicious vessel approaching. That rapidly turned into an attack and then a hijacking," one of the contractors told The Associated Press. "They tried to call in support on the emergency channels, but they never got any response."
On Monday, Somali pirates also seized two Egyptian fishing boats in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast, according to Egypt's Foreign Ministry. It cited a Somali diplomat in Cairo as saying there were 18 to 24 Egyptians onboard at the time.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Obama’s war. Yes, it went on before he came to office, but it’s escalated under his watch.
Shoot more somalis. Done. Next.
Obamas illegal war against Somali pirates is to blame for this. Pull out of this quagmire right now.
If you want to end piracy, follow them back to their port and carpet bomb it. Lesson learned.
I guess they don’t find Barry very scary.
Funny, no French or American ships pirated. Seems like deterrence is working for the countries that kill pirates.
I had a flash image of BO and MO strolling along the beachfront of Somalia handing out I-Pods and boom boxes......I seriously doubt he's got the guts to take action. The whole rescue thing was a fluke orchestrated by the Navy.
No US vessels, eh? Coincidence?
Is the fault of the Chicken Hawk, Obama.
Right. The other countries pay tribute. Of course the Piracy is going to continue.
“Undeterred” would apply if they hijacked another US flagged vessel.
They’re testing him, as they would have tested any new US President. Give him a chance. He was a bit too hesitant with round one, but we still ended up with all the crew of the US ship fine, and 3 of the 4 pirates dead (with the fourth in our custody and apparently just a kid). The sharpshooters put on a fine show, and for all the public bravado from the pirate leaders (if in fact there’s really any organized leadership) about “revenge”, you can be sure the chatter among the rank and file pirates is about the US Navy SEAL sharpshooters and not about “revenge”.
“OBAMA’S FAULT”!!!
Funny, no French or American ships pirated. Seems like deterrence is working for the countries that kill pirates.
Sorry, but Somali pirates have been targeting ships for years. The Maersk Alabama was the first US-flagged ship they targeted, and they ended up dead for their trouble. IMO they will go for less lethal targets from now on, such as a Greek freighter like they did here.
Give him a chance? Seriously? He had a chance when he groveled via his youtube video to the Mullahs in Tehran. He had a chance when he had his moronic VP basically warn Israel in a public forum against defending herself. He had a chance when he let the Norks fire a missile over our close ally, Japan, and another chance when he couldn't even get a condemnation from the UN Security Council for that act.
Sorry, but rogue nations and evil dictators test new Presidents...not four dingy pirates in a boat. The idea that the very real brilliance displayed by those Navy SEAL sharpshooters somehow translates into Barry being viewed as even remotely tough by the dictatorial nutters of the world is laughable.
The sheeple who buy what the MSM is selling may see Obama's "strong and steady hand of leadership" in this pirate fiasco, but Kim Jong Il, Imadinnerjacket and Bad Vlad Putin aren't fooled one bit.
/Morning rant off.
The sharpshooters couldn’t shoot without the okay from the Commander-in-Chief. They got it. I hope they get it faster assuming there’s a next time, and I expect they will, since their performance this time certainly must have given the Commander-in-Chief confidence in their abilities.
We will not win the various wars against barbarians if we’re constantly focused on battling our own President. That’s just playing into the barabarians’ hands. Obama wasn’t my choice for President by a long shot, but until we manage to get a better one elected, he’s OUR President and we need to support him whenever he gets anything right, even when he’s a bit slow to get it right.
The flag has a lot to do with which country’s military forces will show up to deal with the pirates. You can be sure the pirates have made a mental note about how the first try on a US-flagged ship went.
I was willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, and the SEAL snipers were not on-scene until after dark Saturday, so Sunday appears to be the first viable tactical day to have a chance to take out the pirates without killing the captain in the process (lobbing a five-incher from the destroyer is not conducive towards that goal).
However, the LA Times reported yesterday that the snipers had many opportunities for shots but passed on them because of the constraint that they could only shoot if the captain's life was in danger - Obama wanted a peaceful resolution. By the time that happened, the shots apparently were far more difficult - it was dark and the lifeboat was pitching strongly up and down. IMO Obama should have authorized force at the first opportunity, and that is where he errored. I am a believer that in these situations, saving the life of the American as soon as you can should take precedence over some kumbaya goal of not killing pirates. And that is where he errored here.
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