It seems to me that this kind of interdiction would call for those specialties to be on hand. They must know they'll encounter hostage situations in the AO, no?
I mean we're not that ignorant or lacking in intelligence on piracy.
Is the whole -we had to get the SEALs in place first- just part of the cover-up?
I’m a retired US Army officer and my son spent 6 years in the Navy—approximately half of that aboard ship.
Soldiers and sailors, of course, are trained in handling and firing small arms. But that training does not make them truly skilled shooters. It is always possible that, by luck of the draw, someone might be assigned to a unit who is a target shooter or hunter. He or she could have the requisite skills to make difficult shots—especially in a hostage situation at sea when vessels are bobbing about in the water.
As to your core question—the US, along with the rest of the world, has chosen to ignore piracy for many years. We are told that unless you fix the economic and political problems in the countries they come from there really is not much that can be done. This is sheer poppery.
In the old days captured pirates were summarily hung. It seems today’s politicians do not have the stomach for that. If I were the US president I would order the military to shoot pirates on site and destroy their vessels. And I would put two “sea” marshalls on every US flagged vessel that must cruise in waters where pirates are active. Similar to the sky marshall program.
In addition, I would destroy any port from which they operated. It is clear that all governments are impedent these days. This is why pirates and pipsqueek countries like Iran, N. Korea and Venezuala are able to jerk the world around as they do.