Smart sailors- they knew better than to wait for Washington to make a decision.
So...this couldn’t be true.....Our President didn’t have time to send Hillary over to have tea and crumpets with the pirates, prostrate herself before the pirates, apologize for our past, current, and future sins, and then ask for the captives to be released, pretty please.
Stupid pirates!!! We don't pay ransoms so we gotta be ready to fight.