Posted on 02/24/2011 9:27:43 AM PST by Pan_Yan
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The New York Times reports that an FBI hostage-rescue negotiator aboard the U.S.S. Sterett came to believe the two Somalis were not serious when they boarded the vessel. Once those men were taken into custody, U.S. officials told the pirates on the yacht -- called the Quest -- to send over someone they could negotiate with.
The events that immediately followed have been sharply contested and raises questions about the decision to detain the pirate leaders, the Times reports.
American officials said the pirates on the yacht seemed relieved — even “exceptionally calm” — when they were told their senior commander was cooling his heels in a Navy brig.
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(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
That said, they are criminals engaging in piracy -- which is in effect an unlawful act of warfare without the official declaration of war by any nation/state. As such, they should not be treated pursuant to any criminal justice statutes but rather as unlawful combatants subject to summary execution.
The pirates pulled the trigger. What set this whole thing in motion was the terminal stupidity of the yacht crew members. They left the relative security of a group of fellow sailors that were in a small flotilla organized to provide safe passage thru these treacherous waters. In my opinion no American lives should have been jeopardized to assist in their rescue. Had no one responded chances are they would still be alive.
I feel the Israeli’s deal withhostage situations in the proper way.
The hostages are considered dead when captured and they go in to take out the hostage takers.
That is the only way to deal with them.
Pay them and you will see them again.
Wherever these captured ships they have now are docked ,an International team should go and release the ships and what is left of the hostage’s and destroy anything and everything in their way or that aids the hostage takers.
Exactly.
What’s being missed here is that last time, a Navy Captain was in charge, and had full operational command. He made a unilateral call that the hostage was in danger and gave the sniper team the green light to kill the Pirates.
At the time, an E-mail filtered out, supposedly from a Dev Group guy, who said Obama was trying to screw things up, so the Captain and the SEALs stuck their necks out, made the unilateral call, and took care of business.
I’m guessing Obama learned his lesson. This time he got the FBI there immediately, and gave them operational control. Clearly his intent was to prevent our military from making any unilateral calls to save these people.
I am always fascinated by the lengths to which Liberals will go to betray their own people, and take the sides of our enemies. It would appear that after last time, Obama actually prepped a plan so if pirates ever did this again, our military couldn’t deal with it properly.
“All pirates should be shot at sea. PERIOD!”
That would be a waste of ammunition. A rope tied to an anchor would be sufficient.
Bullets are cheaper than anchors!
Of course there were still 18 other pirates holding the missionaries hostage.
If the objective was to free the hostages, and not just punish the pirates, I think the book says you have to tease the pirates along a little bit longer ~ maybe even invite them to dinner with the captain ~ whatever it takes to separate the pirates from the hostages.
Once you've got them separated then you turn on the pirates and kill them all.
Sorry: I don't understand. Do you perhaps mean littoral (i.e., "coastal") waters?
Regards,
Whether they should or shouldn't be is wholly irrelevant. We do have laws in this country, and our Armed Forces are compelled to follow those laws. 18 U.S.C. § 1651 demands that "robbery on the high sea" be punished as a criminal act, with a maximum punishment possible of life in prison.
The trouble comes from Obama's policy of treating international piracy as a law enforcement problem rather than a naval problem, with ALL that THAT implies.
The singular solution in every case was to poke a hole in the hull!
Bully for you. I’ve always wanted to meet the one guy who stalks threads looking for spelling errors. Now I have.
Agree with your post. I too believe Obama learned from his last experience, and hastened the FBI into control to prevent another success as the last encounter.
Leftists SOP: all conflicts are LE conflicts as to involve
as many UN panels ,lawyers ,treaties,ambassadors, and seminars as possible where in most cases a well-placed 7.62 would have sufficed.
How many pirates have ever been captured by Americans and sentenced by a United States court and subsequently keel hauled or hung?
None
Whoever, on the high seas, commits the crime of piracy as defined by the law of nations, and is afterwards brought into or found in the United States, shall be imprisoned for life.
Doesn't look like maximum to me. Looks like life in prison is the only punishment.
I'll up the ante: 18 U.S.C. § 1657 -
Whoever consults, combines, confederates, or corresponds with any pirate or robber upon the seas, knowing him to be guilty of any piracy or robbery; ... Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
The FBI agents knowingly corresponded with pirates in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1657. Are they in jail yet?
Starts on Friday after Gold Rush!
Whether Islamic or not, the problem you have is you are dealing with more variable psychologies than a common criminal will likely present.
I read one account where the pirates were all hopped up on the local drug of choice, Khat. After they secured the hostages, the pirates began arguing, broke into two groups, and had a gunfight right in front of the hostages, with one pirate group killing the other pirate group. I’m guessing the environment they grew up in had a lot of desperation, and cheap life. I’m not sure how much use negotiating with guys like that will be, especially while they are high, or going through withdrawal.
Not that you can’t get that with an American bank robber, or a Cartel chief, but it would seem less likely.
If the FBI had full control of the situation this time around, and the military was just there for support, then this was Obama’s screwup. At this point the whole federal government - even the FBI’s negotiation team, is far more suspect IMHO than the military.
There is no doubt who I’d want in control, if it were me, and I would extend that courtesy to my fellow Americans.
The whole problem we have is that we all know, deep down, Liberals are traitors, who value our enemies’ lives more than those of Americans. Any time Obama deals with a case like this, we know he will be catering the response to value the lives of our enemies, even at the expense of Americans on the ground. Thus, this is a matter for “Law Enforcement”, not the military, and these guys need to be arrested, not killed. It really produces an untenable state of affairs domestically.
However, questioning whether or not the FBI should have even been involved at all is definitely relevant.
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