Pirated ship,

[John Kepler]

It's just wishful thinking on my part, but I'd like to see a Seal squad deploy from a sub in hover 50' below that boat. Pop up grab the captain and pull him overboard and at the same time filling the boat with a few frag grenades.

Yeah....but when you're sitting on a straight-flush, do you whip out a gun and try to steal the pot?

Those pukes ain't goin' anywhere with that Cap...so why put other men in harm's way just to accelerate the inevitable?

[Rick Gushman]

John, I agree. There's no reason to rush. The situation will turn out OK in the end. The pirates aren't in a position of power regardless of what they may say. Their only ace in the hole is the Captain and if they kill him, they will die very quickly. They may be ignorant savages but they can easily figure this out. Rick

[kcw]

Now it's being reported that the pirates have called for reinforcements. A number of pirate vessels, including some previously pirated ships under outlaw control, are supposedly steaming to the area.
My guess would that there'll be an attempt to pick up the occupants of the lifeboat, including the American captain. Will U.S. forces forces prevent that from happening?
If they get away with this b.s. then the maritime concerns might just as well give in, put up a toll booth and do away with the potential violence everytime they enter the area.

[Cecil]

John, I agree. There's no reason to rush. The situation will turn out OK in the end. The pirates aren't in a position of power regardless of what they may say. Their only ace in the hole is the Captain and if they kill him, they will die very quickly. They may be ignorant savages but they can easily figure this out. Rick

They are 4 Alpha Hotel's in a life boat. This should have ended THE DAY IT STARTED. We have US warships sitting there being held hostage by 4 men in a boat that can only drift. This is more than embarrassing already. The Captain tried to escape last night and we didn't have a single asset close enough to rescue the man. Give me a break. Maybe this one will only last 443 days.

[Quarks]

There was an international agreement in the 1870s (IIRC) that forbade arming of merchant ships. The US of A pushed for it as we had suffered serious losses at the hands of CSA raiders in the War Between the States -- raiders that were (guess what) often armed merchantmen.

In those days a.) piracy was at a very low level and b.) there were plenty of gunboats available from the "evil imperialists" of the day to terminate any practitioners of the art -- with extreme prejudice.

I can't recall how Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty justified arming British merchantmen in War One but he basically told the international community that they could take their "law" and shove it up his cigar and light it.

We followed Churchill's model in War's One and Two.

Dare I say it? Perhaps there aren't enough Churchills out there to deal with the current situation.

A version of the WW II Naval Armed Guard would, IMHO, work wonders on making a few pirates components of the marine food chain; other possible pirates would get the idea.

I believe, under international law, merchies aren't permitted to be armed EXCEPT IN TIME OF WAR.

Since our beloved leader ( ) has declared that we are NOT at war with Islam ( ) then our merchant ships must sally forth un-armed.....

[John Kepler]

Now it's being reported that the pirates have called for reinforcements. A number of pirate vessels, including some previously pirated ships under outlaw control, are supposedly steaming to the area.

Bud...another name for that is a "Target-Rich Environment"! If they really are dumb enough to crawl out of their holes to help those humps..how is that a bad thing?

[Art]

The real problem is the idea held by the international community and our government that weaponry is a "bad thing" even in self defense. The bad guys know they can take over these ships with nothing but a handful of men with small arms and get rich off the proceeds.

It's like the liberal belief that a woman who has been raped is morally superior to a woman with a smoking gun and a dead rapist at her feet.

We really need to arm our flag merchantmen. Allowing the shipping company to contract with security agencies to have armed guards on every ship with authorization to use whatever force is necessary to "repel borders" would probably do the job. I agree that in most cases an AP round through the motors of these launches would do the job.

Ronald Reagan where are you now??

[Cecil]

Fox News,American crew has taken control of ship from pirates. Now this may sound cruel but I believe every one of the pirates should be thrown overboard.

RayP.

Mission of the Navy
"The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas."......Not sitting more than a mile away from four clowns in a lifeboat. If they had been in close quarters when the Captain went over the side and started swimming they could have blown the boat and the Alpha Hotel's to bits. There's no doubt in my mind Obama has ordered them to keep their distance.

[GCK]

Mission of the Navy
"The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas."......Not sitting more than a mile away from four clowns in a lifeboat. If they had been in close quarters when the Captain went over the side and started swimming they could have blown the boat and the Alpha Hotel's to bits. There's no doubt in my mind Obama has ordered them to keep their distance.

Our fearless oboma has to get the permission of the UN before he can make any kind of a move on the pirates.

[Greg H. in Virginia]

I think any captured pirates should be summarily executed on the spot and fed to the sharks, but our half-Muslim half-black Fearful Leader ain't about to let that happen.