Poll - What Does the US do to rescue the Maersk-Alabama Captain

[krotchdog]

Is it a US flagged ship?

NO?

Then it's not up to us to solve the problem, is it?

Actually it is a US flagged ship. The new ship that was just taken today is US owned but not US flagged. The MOSLEM TERRORIST HOLD 12 SHIPS AND OVER 200 PEOPLE.

Think cowards, not the terrorists but our Secretary of State, Mrs. Bill Clinton, Somalia, Somalia, ringing a bell, US citizens murdered, thier bodies drug through the streets, Mr. Hillary Clinton was president, he tucked tail and committed the biggest offense of any president in our history, he left men behind.

How about your take on the Gunny.

U.S. Captain Is Hostage of Pirates; Navy Ship Arrives
Maersk, via Getty Images
An undated file photo of the Maersk Alabama container ship.

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LinkedinDiggFacebookMixxMy SpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalinkBy MARK MAZZETTI and SHARON OTTERMAN
Published: April 8, 2009
WASHINGTON — A high-seas drama unfolded off the coast of Africa on Wednesday, as Somali pirates seized a United States-flagged cargo ship and held 20 American sailors hostage. The crew managed to retake the ship within hours, but not before the pirates had spirited away the ship’s captain and held him for ransom.

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Times Topics: Piracy at Sea
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Toby Talbot/Associated Press
Andrea Phillips holds a photo of her husband, Richard Phillips, captain of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk Alabama.


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John Reinhart, the President and CEO of Maersk Line, during a news conference in Norfolk, Va. on Wednesday.
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The unarmed container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was the first American vessel to be captured in a wave of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa, one of the most notoriously lawless stretches of international waters.

An episode that at times seemed ripped from the pages of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel had its own 21st-century twists: the pirates conducted ransom negotiations using satellite telephones, and a United States Navy guided missile destroyer and other warships were sent to aid the hostages.

Black Hawk Down, Mogadishu, 1993

No wonder our secretary of state was laughing when asked about our response to the current fiasco. The Clintons just keep on giving.

 

[Skull Pilot]

they had their chance to take those savages out when the captain made a break for it.

It's called target separation. When he has swimming for it, the crew of the destroyer had a chance to light up those scurvy dogs and send them straight to Davy Jones' locker in a hail of 50 cal machine gun shells

Why do you suppose they didn't. Were they unprepared? Did they not think to anticipate such an opportunity?

Or were our sailors and Marines aboard that destroyer ordered not to save a fellow American and to spare the lives of the criminals?

Guess where I stand.

I can only imagine what was going through the Skipper's mind as he realized the Navy wasn't going to do anything to help him when he made his getaway attempt.

Way to hate on the Navy.

It wasn't the Navy. It was our gutless Commander in Chief.

 

[PoliticalChic]

The Captain who commanded the Maersk Alabama volunteered to be taken hostage to save his crew in a characteristic act of courage, his family says. The captain’s brother is now in command of the Maersk Alabama, and captain Richard Phillips is being held in a “life-boat by the pirates; a small, orange, enclosed craft.

At least a dozen ships and more than 200 crew members are currently being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. It’s believed in an effort to provide assistance to the pirates holding Captain Phillips, at least four of these pirate-held ships, with their crews as prisoners, are heading toward the lifeboat, possibly to provide transportation for them and Phillips to another location while waiting for the ransom, or as cover for the pirates once a ransom is paid.

Just after Captain Phillip’s failed attempt to escape, French commandos stormed a yacht held by Somali and one male hostage and two pirates were killed in the assault. It was reported three other adults and a three-year-old child were rescued.

This is the first pirating of a US flagged ship since the days of the Barbary Wars, the first war waged by the United States, and involved the US Navy and the US Marine Corps against the “Barbary Pirates”, behaving then the way they are now.

We assume that our ships will prevent these rogue and pirated ships from getting very close to the pirates holding the captain, or perhaps there will be some other strategy.
The “life-boat” he and the pirates are in is a small 28-foot, orange enclosed emergency type craft, without any visible hatches or portholes. It carries provisions for 34 people for about ten days.

But what then; or what do we do in the meantime?
What is the best way to conclude this sorry affair, and get the ship’s captain back?

We can only pray that the whole question will be successfully rendered moot before the week-end is out.


Here’s an ABC link with a U-Tube Video imbedded
ship alabama and pirates "life-boat" - Google News

Our President Compared himself to Lincoln, and to Roosevelt, but clearly not to Teddy Roosevelt. Recall the Rasulli story from your high school days?

"the story of the kidnapped American, Ion Perdicaris. He was a rich businessman who somehow managed to get himself kidnapped by a Berber bandit, Rasuli, in Tangier. Rasuli demanded a ransom for Perdicaris’s life. All of this was taking place just prior to the 1904 political party Presidential nomination conventions. Roosevelt was a candidate for the Republican Party nomination to run for President ‘in my own right’. You will recall that he had become President on the death of President McKinley. So this would be the first time that he would be a candidate for that office.

When he heard about the kidnapping the President sent the U.S. fleet to Tangier with instructions concerning the Perdicaris kidnapping and ransom demands. His instructions were in these words: ‘Perdicaris alive, or Rasuli dead!’

Those words were related to the Republican convention delegates. They went wild with enthusiasm for their bold President and candidate! Of course, Roosevelt was nominated for another term of office with overwhelming support from his party convention. On top of that Perdicaris was soon released and returned to the U.S. The daring President had again proven his skills and his bravery. "

Different kind of President in those days.

 

[WorldAHope]

Pirates!

In the XXIst century and we're still dealing with pirates.

I'm sorry, I know a lot of you are outrged, but I honestly think this is sort of funny.

All those super duper weapons and a couple guys in dingey with a couple hundred bucks worth of automatic weapons have got the combined Navy's of the world on hold.

Am I the only person here who sees how ironic this all is?

Part of the reason I posted this poll was to see how well informed the respondants would be, and to see if they would put their vote on an option in advance of it being determined by events. So far the number of people who posted far exceeds the number who chose one of a set of options varying from very reasonable to ridiculous.

If piracy, brigandage, highway robbery, terrorism can flourish there can be no trade, transportation, or communications on the most important infrastructure asset we all have; the sea lanes.

The Romans dealt with this problem, and established laws like the law of the sea, and the law of nations to deal with "issues" like this one. To them pirates were known as enemies of the human race. America had to deal with it, and it was the first action our Navy and Marine Corps saw, not on our own shores.

Today shippers are discouraged from carrying weapons on board their ships because they cannot enter most ports or territorial waters with those weapons. They risk imprisonment. The Irony is that for a livelihood people risk their lives to oblige nations who would harbor those who would kill them in a moment for convenience sake.

They could, it seems, have armed guards, and place them on "life-boats" before entering coastal waters, but who can be certain that they wouldn't still be called violaters of some state's sovereign territorial waters as soon as the life-boat seperated from the mother ship? Certainly Iran is not above such spurrious charges, or such strategy.

So why not show your hand and vote one of the options above? Need more time to think about it?

Good thread, AH. Brought a lot of response to thei important current event. It is a test of Obama's mettle, and our troops at the sight. The empty headed barfly after a pitcher or two chatter
about how Obama is personally responsible for piracy, and for this situation, and how HE PREVENTED the US navy on sight from rescuing Phillips shows nothing but ignorance and bitterness.
I'd wager that those people never served one minute in a military uniform, certainly not in the navy, and have no knowledge of police procedures or hostage negotiations. The closest they've been to that would be the nights they have spent in the drunk tank.
Those chattering squirrels could easily find information that refutes their ignorant bitter words, and read the accounts of Phillips escape attempt.
The Bainbridge was several hundred yards away at the time, and the US navy had no small boats near the lifeboat. Why ? We will have to find out later.
Obviously, every nitwitted idiot can spit out tha idea that Obama gave a micromanaging order to the Bainbridge's CO to make sure Phillips' escape would fail.
Let the professionals handle this situation. You guys can just go back to crying in your beer.

 

[Gunny]

The Captain who commanded the Maersk Alabama volunteered to be taken hostage to save his crew in a characteristic act of courage, his family says. The captain’s brother is now in command of the Maersk Alabama, and captain Richard Phillips is being held in a “life-boat by the pirates; a small, orange, enclosed craft.

At least a dozen ships and more than 200 crew members are currently being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. It’s believed in an effort to provide assistance to the pirates holding Captain Phillips, at least four of these pirate-held ships, with their crews as prisoners, are heading toward the lifeboat, possibly to provide transportation for them and Phillips to another location while waiting for the ransom, or as cover for the pirates once a ransom is paid.

Just after Captain Phillip’s failed attempt to escape, French commandos stormed a yacht held by Somali and one male hostage and two pirates were killed in the assault. It was reported three other adults and a three-year-old child were rescued.

This is the first pirating of a US flagged ship since the days of the Barbary Wars, the first war waged by the United States, and involved the US Navy and the US Marine Corps against the “Barbary Pirates”, behaving then the way they are now.

We assume that our ships will prevent these rogue and pirated ships from getting very close to the pirates holding the captain, or perhaps there will be some other strategy.
The “life-boat” he and the pirates are in is a small 28-foot, orange enclosed emergency type craft, without any visible hatches or portholes. It carries provisions for 34 people for about ten days.

But what then; or what do we do in the meantime?
What is the best way to conclude this sorry affair, and get the ship’s captain back?

We can only pray that the whole question will be successfully rendered moot before the week-end is out.


Here’s an ABC link with a U-Tube Video imbedded
ship alabama and pirates "life-boat" - Google News

I'd have two SEAL teams sitting in their birds, pay the ransom, get the captain back, then wipe those fuckers off the planet.

 

[slackjawed]

I say wait 'em out and hang 'em up when we get the captain back. Gunny's idea sounds good.
i do think we should make some kind of public spectacle out of killing them as an example to the rest of the pirate scum.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

There are already protocols for just such a contengency... I'll not discuss them here... but what we're looking at here is an administration which has all the tools available to it, to rescue the Captain and shove a sovereign boot in the ass of Islamic Piracy.

This is old news, Muslims intentionally stripping free people of their rights and lives to make illicit profits... and feminized, worthless human beings appeasing them, thus encouraging more of the same.

CNN is even touting the perspective that Islamic Piracy is a: "Sound Business Model..." as if to say 'Sound business models commonly include stripping people of their rights and lives for the purposes of enriching special interests...'

It's idiocy of the first order and we can be certain that where the US Administration treats PIRATES WITH THE SAME, IF NOT MORE CONSIDERATION THAN THEY TREAT US BUSINESS... that there is very little good news in the near future for anyone that considers themselves an American.

Ravi would have LOVED to have advanced a well reasoned, intellectually sound, logically valid response to this post, but lacking the slightest means to reason, she opted for a flaccid neg-rep which projected some irrelevant point regarding a hate of women.

BUT! I believe in giving credit where credit is DUE and it's clear to me as I am sure it is to everyone; that SHE HAS DONE THE BEST SHE CAN, Godbless'er; such flaccid efforts are a function of the impotent rage born of idiocy... wherein the leftist of this board are coming to understand that their attempts to post open arguments on the thread as futile, as they simply lack the means to reason... so they've begun to run to neg-rep and it is ADORABLE! Ravi will now receive 6 neg-reps from me for her efforts...

CONGRATS SIS! You've made an impression and you're now going to reap what you have sowed... Enjoy.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

We have the military capability to successfully rescue the captain.

Do we?

Without question... except where such questions are irrelevant due to the ignorance born of severe cognitive difficiencies, which inevitably breeds contempt for America and the exceptionalism which rests upon the immutable principles which have made her great.

We no longer have the national will to do so.

Don't we?

Not if "WE" includes Leftists... such as yourself.

 

[Peejay]

Gee, this never happened to Bush. ......

Under Bush, this is war, ......

Americans taken hostage, while on a US drug erradication mission, were left unadressed by the Bush administration for five years.

No war.

No military action.

Nothing.

That's what Bush did.

 

[Peejay]

But in answer to the OP, fighting piracy has always been a tough nut. These guys have no government to address, no real leader or organization and they operate in a vast sea. It's like herding cats. There is no turn key solution. The shipping lane is too valuable and busy to abandon and the corridor to large to protect effectively. It's easy to sit back and demand action but real, effective solutions are hard to come by.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

it is up to the dutch shipping company to pay the ransom....that is how it works and has worked...now if the us goes in and moves to kill the pirates...not only will this captain die but the fates of the other 200 men/women being held is in danger... the pirates have the upper hand...the governments of these countries are not going to do a thing....the pirates are bringing money into the country...now ships can avoid this totally by what....sailing around southern africa and avoiding the suez canal....longer and more costly but much safer...so who is suffering....well the cost is added to oil shipments...takes 15 or so days longer and adds maybe 20% or more...to costs....

Major Shippers Skirt Gulf Of Aden To Avoid Pirates - World - Javno


now i wonder how many americans are being held hostage in other countries etc...and how much effort is being made to get them back...

may the fates and muses be kind to this man....

much kinder than the people who should have blown that dingy to hell and back the minute the captain hit the water.....i wonder how he feels at this point..knowing he cant depend on anyone to help him..he gave it his best and was let down

I disagree here...

The only reason the Pirates have the upper hand is that they believe that we, the civilized west, will not risk 'innocent life' and will pay the ransom...

However, those being held captive are not innocent; they willingly undertook the voyage which they knew would take them directly into harms way.

The US should prosecute total, open, uncompromising war on those Pirates... in every facet of their existence... seeking them out, closing with and destroying them wherever their found; merciless, total annihilation...

But what we will get is more misrepresentation of the meaning of human rights... more projection that 'Pirates have rights too...' (which they do not) by the usual suspects and thus encouraging more of the same and of course, they'll be blaming everyone and everything ELSE... for the failure born of their fatally flawed reasoning.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

Gee, this never happened to Bush. ......

Under Bush, this is war, ......

Americans taken hostage, while on a US drug erradication mission, were left unadressed by the Bush administration for five years.

No war.

No military action.

Nothing.

That's what Bush did.

ROFLMNAO... Well sure... No EXAMPLE, NO BASIS IN REASONING, NO POTENTIAL CORRELATATION...

So what you're saying is that the Bush administration left Americans to be held captive, knowing their location... they simply left them to rot in captivity.

You're a liar... but there's no news there.

 

[WorldAHope]

The Captain who commanded the Maersk Alabama volunteered to be taken hostage to save his crew in a characteristic act of courage, his family says. The captain’s brother is now in command of the Maersk Alabama, and captain Richard Phillips is being held in a “life-boat by the pirates; a small, orange, enclosed craft.

At least a dozen ships and more than 200 crew members are currently being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. It’s believed in an effort to provide assistance to the pirates holding Captain Phillips, at least four of these pirate-held ships, with their crews as prisoners, are heading toward the lifeboat, possibly to provide transportation for them and Phillips to another location while waiting for the ransom, or as cover for the pirates once a ransom is paid.

Just after Captain Phillip’s failed attempt to escape, French commandos stormed a yacht held by Somali and one male hostage and two pirates were killed in the assault. It was reported three other adults and a three-year-old child were rescued.

This is the first pirating of a US flagged ship since the days of the Barbary Wars, the first war waged by the United States, and involved the US Navy and the US Marine Corps against the “Barbary Pirates”, behaving then the way they are now.

We assume that our ships will prevent these rogue and pirated ships from getting very close to the pirates holding the captain, or perhaps there will be some other strategy.
The “life-boat” he and the pirates are in is a small 28-foot, orange enclosed emergency type craft, without any visible hatches or portholes. It carries provisions for 34 people for about ten days.

But what then; or what do we do in the meantime?
What is the best way to conclude this sorry affair, and get the ship’s captain back?

We can only pray that the whole question will be successfully rendered moot before the week-end is out.


Here’s an ABC link with a U-Tube Video imbedded
ship alabama and pirates "life-boat" - Google News

I'd have two SEAL teams sitting in their birds, pay the ransom, get the captain back, then wipe those fuckers off the planet.

I concur, 100%. Do what is needed to get this hostage out alive. Pay ransom, whatever.
A SEAL sneak attack may not rescue Phillips alive, but the SEALs are ready to go. They are on sight.
After this standoff is ended, unleash surgical attacks to put the pirates out of business. They are a loose collection of groups that operate out of Somalia, and still hold more than a dozen ships and more than 200 hostages for whom no ransoms have been paid.
We don't want hostages to be killed, but international Special Ops can seek and capture the 'business' men and tribal leaders who are the brains of the pirate ops and hold them for ransom.
Messy business, but this is why Special Ops units were created.

The Straits of Aden is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, it is vital to our military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and to oil shipping. The US and UN need to take serious measures immediatly to maintain safe transit.

 

[Peejay]

Gee, this never happened to Bush. ......

Under Bush, this is war, ......

Americans taken hostage, while on a US drug erradication mission, were left unadressed by the Bush administration for five years.

No war.

No military action.

Nothing.

That's what Bush did.

ROFLMNAO... Well sure... No EXAMPLE, NO BASIS IN REASONING, NO POTENTIAL CORRELATATION...

So what you're saying is that the Bush administration left Americans to be held captive, knowing their location... they simply left them to rot in captivity.

Yep.

They were left for five years. Bush mentioned them one time in that five years.


Take a history lesson.

 

[jillian]

I'm with Gunny on this one, too.

 

[Peejay]

US forces attempted to approach the vessel today and were fired upon and retreated.

Source: Pirates repel sailors attempting to reach captain - CNN.com

 

[WorldAHope]

The Captain who commanded the Maersk Alabama volunteered to be taken hostage to save his crew in a characteristic act of courage, his family says. The captain’s brother is now in command of the Maersk Alabama, and captain Richard Phillips is being held in a “life-boat by the pirates; a small, orange, enclosed craft.

At least a dozen ships and more than 200 crew members are currently being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia. It’s believed in an effort to provide assistance to the pirates holding Captain Phillips, at least four of these pirate-held ships, with their crews as prisoners, are heading toward the lifeboat, possibly to provide transportation for them and Phillips to another location while waiting for the ransom, or as cover for the pirates once a ransom is paid.

Just after Captain Phillip’s failed attempt to escape, French commandos stormed a yacht held by Somali and one male hostage and two pirates were killed in the assault. It was reported three other adults and a three-year-old child were rescued.

This is the first pirating of a US flagged ship since the days of the Barbary Wars, the first war waged by the United States, and involved the US Navy and the US Marine Corps against the “Barbary Pirates”, behaving then the way they are now.

We assume that our ships will prevent these rogue and pirated ships from getting very close to the pirates holding the captain, or perhaps there will be some other strategy.
The “life-boat” he and the pirates are in is a small 28-foot, orange enclosed emergency type craft, without any visible hatches or portholes. It carries provisions for 34 people for about ten days.

But what then; or what do we do in the meantime?
What is the best way to conclude this sorry affair, and get the ship’s captain back?

We can only pray that the whole question will be successfully rendered moot before the week-end is out.


Here’s an ABC link with a U-Tube Video imbedded
ship alabama and pirates "life-boat" - Google News

I'd have two SEAL teams sitting in their birds, pay the ransom, get the captain back, then wipe those fuckers off the planet.

The US didn't send this much muscle in to just look. A lot of punch in this, plus the Special Ops that have been sent in.
USS Boxer (LHD 4)

Plus the small guys.
USS Bainbridge (DDG 96)
USS Halyburton (FFG 40)

 

[xotoxi]

This whole sit has me sick. I can't believe we haven't sent in Spec Op or Marines to end this crap. I would be sorry if the Cap died, but he put himself in that position knowing what it could mean, so it would be a death with honor if it happened. I would be happy to die if I were in his position if it meant the pirates would get their justice. I know that sounds harsh, but some things ARE worth dying for.

I think you blow them all away and send the captain's widow a flag and a medal of honor.

Teach those goddamn pirates who's boss!

 

[Xenophon]

Drop them Ipods loaded with BO speeches, and when they pass out from boredom rescue the capatin.

 

[raceright]

Good chance this heroic Captain is toast,but the Pirates should pay with there lifes. Insurance regulations are the reason these ships do not have proper weapons is that right??? Fuck that if this is so the insurance industry should be made to save the ships an pay and damages or delays in shipping times.