The Captain of a US Ship Has Been Released

[DeepFrz]

The captain of a US container ship taken hostage by Somali pirates has been released, the US Navy has said.

[SkiprJohn]

Wonderful! Great news. I'd like to hear more of how that happened. Will have to do some web searches. The old USS Bainbridge CGN-25) (nuclear powered) is one of my old ships. Looks like the new one is doing duty there now.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[DavidGC]

This from FOX News/AP:
Ship Captain Rescued From Somali Pirates
Sunday, April 12, 2009

American sea Captain Richard Phillips was safely rescued Sunday from four Somali pirates, who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a U.S. intelligence official said.

Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said.

Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation.

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This from the BBC:
US captain held by pirates freed

The captain of a US container ship taken hostage by Somali pirates has been released, the US Navy has said.
Three pirates are reported to have been killed in the operation to free Captain Richard Phillips, who had been held in a lifeboat for several days.
Capt Phillips is said to be unhurt and aboard the USS Bainbridge, a warship sent to track the pirates holding him.
He was taken hostage after pirates briefly hijacked his ship, the Maersk Alabama, on Wednesday.
On Friday he failed in an attempt to swim free.
An unnamed US official told the Associated Press news agency that Capt Phillips was freed in what appeared to be a swift firefight.
Reports say he jumped overboard for a second time, and the pirates were shot and killed before they could take action to get him back.
US forces apparently took advantage of the fact one of the pirates was negotiating on the USS Bainbridge when the incident happened.
Somali elders had been trying to resolve the standoff but most recent reports had suggested the talks had stalled.

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This from CNN:
Captain jumps overboard, SEALs shoot pirates, official says

(CNN) -- The American captain of a cargo ship held hostage by pirates jumped overboard from the lifeboat where he was being held, and U.S. Navy SEALs shot and killed three of his four captors, according to a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation.


Capt. Richard Phillips escaped from pirates holding him in a lifeboat, a U.S. official said Sunday.
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Capt. Richard Phillips was helped out of the water off the Somali coast and is uninjured and in good condition, the official said. He was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, a nearby naval warship.

At the time of the shootings, the fourth pirate was aboard the Bainbridge negotiating with officials, the source said. That pirate was taken into custody.

Maersk Line Limited, owner of the cargo ship that Phillips captained, issued a statement saying it was informed at 1:30 p.m. by the U.S. government that he had been rescued. John Reinhart, president and CEO, called Phillips' wife, Andrea, to tell her the good news.

Crew members from the ship, the Maersk Alabama, were "jubilant" when they received word, the statement says.

"We are all absolutely thrilled to learn that Richard is safe and will be re-united with his family," Reinhart said. "Maersk Line Limited is deeply grateful to the Navy, the FBI and so many others for their tireless efforts to secure Richard's freedom."

"We look forward to welcoming him home in the coming days," Reinhart added.

Earlier Sunday, Maersk said the U.S. Navy had informed the company that it had sighted Phillips in the lifeboat where the pirates were holding him.

[GordMay]

You must be surprised at your left-leaning President.

Originally Posted by DavidGC

... The current U.S. president, like most left-leaning politicians in the U.S., is not comfortable with the military and has no true, historic idea of their necessity and justifiable use...

[DavidGC]

Yes, I am. I'm glad he did the right thing.

[H Romberg]

Finally.

[DeepFrz]

Yeah, what took the navy so long? Do you think they may have been waiting for the right moment?

[DavidGC]

I'd think they were trying to give the negotiation process a chance, so that there could have been a resolution that did not cost any lives. When the Capt. gave them another chance by jumping off the boat again, this time the SEALS were ready.

[H Romberg]

In the case of this one situation I'll give you that the captain's chance for survival was probably enhanced by a long wait that probably tired the pirates and slowed their reactions. That's not the point though.

There should be no negotiation process. This is no different from a terrorist attack. You set up and go kill the terrorists with as little risk to innocents as is practical.

The fact that they do negotiate is the source of the whole problem.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by H Romberg

There should be no negotiation process. This is no different from a terrorist attack. You set up and go kill the terrorists with as little risk to innocents as is practical.

The fact that they do negotiate is the source of the whole problem.

Another Right Wing Einstein.

You use the means to a resolution that fit the circumstances. If negotiating with 4 hayseed Somalians who have probably never even seen toilet paper saves the life of a hostage, you do it. These guys weren't threatening New York with a dirty bomb. They were at sea in a 30' boat with one hostage and a couple of guns. A full on assault could have resulted in 100% hostage casualties. But hey, as long as America isn't seen to be weak, right? Jeezus.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Another Right Wing Einstein.

You use the means to a resolution that fit the circumstances. If negotiating with 4 hayseed Somalians who have probably never even seen toilet paper saves the life of a hostage, you do it. These guys weren't threatening New York with a dirty bomb. They were at sea in a 30' boat with one hostage and a couple of guns. A full on assault could have resulted in 100% hostage casualties. But hey, as long as America isn't seen to be weak, right? Jeezus.

There must be something in that San Francisco water...

[DeepFrz]

There must be something in that San Francisco water...

You mean something that fosters common sense?

[H Romberg]

Just to clarify a bit, I'm a Libertarian. That means that I make the commies out in San Fran look conservative on social issues and I make Rush look like Obama on fiscal ones. Please don't lump me in with the right wing. That said, Libertarians like me tend to think it's really bad to start a fight, it's required that you finish them.

My ideas about the proper strategy for deterring hostage takers aren't based on some half-assed desire to prop up our national ego. They're based on managing the incentives we present to people who are trying to decide whether or not to attack our people.

The more certain they are that hurting us won't help them, the fewer incidents there will be. It's not about being liked, respected or anything like that. It's about not being a juicy target. That's all it is. Cruisers understand that intuitively when they put an ugly paint job on a new dink to make it less attractive. This is the same thing on a bigger scale. It's not going to be perfect and there might be situations where negotiating might possibly save more lives. But that will only apply to the individual situation, and the unintended side effect is the situation we have now with 200 odd seamen being held for ransom. I think the risk to the one in most cases is trumped by the risk to the hundreds of people who will be kidnapped, held, abused and threatened with death as long as being a pirate still makes sense for Somalis.

So I really think we should set a policy for when people attack our vessels at sea. We don't negotiate. We attack. And we should do it aggressively quickly and reliably. In my book that's the smartest course to steer to get out of the current situation.

That's not right wing. I think it's just good sense.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by H Romberg

That's not right wing. I think it's just good sense.

What you suggest is that, in this particular scenario, we sacrifice the life of a clearly selfless, brave American ship's captain to exact bloody revenge on four dumbshits who are not worthy of licking his boots. If that's the kind of good sense that Libertarians are known for, it's no wonder they almost zero political power in this country.

[Jesse]

Pirates should be made to understand that that the only thing that they will gain from taking lives or hostages is pain and grief. Even their low level of intellect or education can grasp something that simple. Jesse