Posted on 04/10/2009 6:21:26 AM PDT by broken_arrow1
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US ship captain being held hostage by pirates off Somalia jumped off the lifeboat where he was being held early Friday but failed to escape his captors, US networks reported. Captain Richard Phillips jumped into the water during the night and tried to swim towards the nearby US destroyer, the USS Bainbridge, but pirates jumped in and recaptured him, three US television networks reported. US military officials told CNN that Phillips was in good condition and that the pirates did not hurt him. The Bainbridge, accompanied by a P-3 Orion surveillance plane, was preventing the pirates from moving their hostage to a larger ship. Meanwhile Vice Admiral William Gortney, the commander of the US 5th Fleet based in Bahrain, told CNN that negotiations between officers on the Bainbridge backed by FBI experts and the pirates were continuing. "We have the USS Bainbridge on station currently negotiating with the pirates to get our American citizen back," Gortney told CNN. Gortney said a key concern was that the pirates were in touch with clan members on the mainland and could try to draw reinforcements to the standoff. "They are communicating. With communication possibly comes coordination, cooperation with each other," Gortney said. Somali pirates have attacked numerous ships in the area in recent months, but this was the first attempted hijacking of a US-crewed vessel -- an act Gortney said represented a new stage in the piracy crisis. "We always thought that one of the potential game changers out there was the US flag -- with US citizens onboard.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Just like Lyndon Johnson in Vietnam, Barry is behind the scenes calling the shots, giving great consideration to his own political hide. Our military is fully capable of dealing with this quickly and smoothly. Don’t blame the Navy.
The captain probably figured, with Obama bowing to the Saudi’s and saying we will never be at war with Islam, that his only chance to freedom was to escape on his own. I think Obama has given the Navy strict orders that they are not to use force. This moron will make Jimmy Carter look like a warmonger. We need to start preemptively start blowing out of the water any Somali ship with Somali men and no fishing rods. If they aren’t fishing, they must be pirates, blow them away.
“One of the prime needs of a sharp shooter is a stationary platform from which to fire, especially at the distance we’re talking about here. I doubt the deck of a destroyer, even in relatively calm seas, is stable enough to afford a decent shot.”
That’s only half the equation. The targets are bobbing up and down and probably partially obscured in a lifeboat. Even in calm sea states, a lifeboat will be moving with the swells. Not an easy shot for even the best shooter.
The Bainbridge should come home. Flag at half mast.
An idea: give the pirates a kilogram of opium, pipes, and lighters. I doubt they’d have ability to resist smoking themselves into basket cases. Once the captain is rescued, shoot a hole in the boat and leave them to their own devices.
This kind of crap never happended under President Bush's watch. The pirates pretty much know who to screw with based on their risk analysis.
“Where were the Navy Sharp Shooters...”
Sharp Shooter heck. A near sided squid with a 50 cal would of been enough. Good guy in water, bad guy jumping in after, raft behind then turning into a fiberglass splinters and gory pirate pieces. End of hostage ordeal.
Please, I didn’t mean to imply that it is the Navy’s fault at all! I know that if unleashed they could obliterate all of Somalia and I’d like to see that happen as pay back for October 3, 1993. ;-D
Good point, well-made, to those who know the answer. "... to the shores of Tripoli..."
An old marine told me the navy is to land Marines, pull back and drink coffee.
Sounds like the Navy was sent to protect the pirates.
Somebody should have informed Gunny Hathcock the M2 was wasn’t accurate before he used it to take out Vietcong at 2500 yards...
I am afraid that four scared pirates (one of whom actually was in a conversation with Reuters) have scored a huge propaganda victory. The incident should never have been allowed to continue once the Bainbridge was nearby. I wonder, doesn’t a destroyer have a launch aboard, or a motorized lifeboat? Shouldn’t it have had an armed crew and been within hailing range? Shouldn’t it have holed the pirate vessel? I’m sorry, but the fecklessness of our response only portends future problems for American vessels who ply the region.
I got a buck that says that:
The captain reads semaphore and the pirates don’t.
First message to captian:
“If you understand the semaphore, stretch as if tired.”
He does so.
“Seals under boat, dive at first opportunity.”
He stretches, dives under boat, gets his suba lung and disappears.
Navy sinks boat, hangs pirates over side of destroyer and the world gasps as the piracy ends.
I got a buck that says that:
The captain reads semaphore and the pirates don’t.
First message to captian:
“If you understand the semaphore, stretch as if tired.”
He does so.
“Seals under boat, dive at first opportunity.”
He stretches, dives under boat, gets his suba lung and disappears.
Navy sinks boat, hangs pirates over side of destroyer and the world gasps as the piracy ends.
The Captain of the Alabama Maersk did not fail, the USN failed when they didn’t exert the means to secure him when he escaped.
Since Cargo ships don’t carry weapons because it is feared this would increase the likelihood of crew members getting killed or injured, isn’t it up to our military to protect them?
I feel like I am living in Bizarro World, and I’m sure my Dad USN (ret) is spinning in his grave. The Piracy problem isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. It seems like this problem could be fixed in less than a week if any country were so inclined. Calling TOTUS.
Pray for the Good Captain and his safe rescue.
Interesting LInk from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_attacked_by_Somali_pirates
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