[bboop]

Arm the ships, it’s the only solution that makes any sense. “Help arrived in 5 hours.” FIVE hours....?

[coloradan]

Yeah, it sounds pretty bad, but if you call the Navy, an ambulance, and order a pizza on the high seas, the Navy probably gets there first.

I say put fly some Predators around the gulf. Don't wait for American ships to place distress calls - detect the initial gunfire and respond with a Hellfire or two.