Posted on 04/11/2009 11:46:01 AM PDT by SonOfDarkSkies
The Maersk Alabama pulled into its berth in Mombasa port Saturday evening, while U.S. warships tried to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where the Alabama's capitain is being held hostage off Africa's eastern coast.
About seven Alabama crewmembers, clad in blue overalls and hardhats, watched from the railings as the ship was pulled into its berth. A few waved and one pumped his fist as the ship approached the dock, which was covered with journalists wielding cameras and notebooks, as a helicopter rented by the Associated Press hovered overhead.
The ship had visible security: several men in flak jackets, camouflage and automatic weapons could be seen moving about the ship.
When the ship got into shouting distance to the reporters, an older crewmember wearing a goatee who said his name was Ken Quinn, leaned over to answer a few questions from the media.
Mr. Quinn called Capt. Richard Phillips, who surrendered himself to safeguard his men, a hero. "The whole crew misses him," Mr. Quinn said. "We owe the captain our lives."
Mr. Quinn said the pirates attacked about 7 a.m. Wednesday.
"They woke me up out of bed," he said.
Another man said the pirates had climbed aboard by throwing a rope over the side of the boat, and that he and the other crew hid in what he said was a "secure area."
Then the captain "took care of us," he said, without elaborating.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I did a search and found nothing...but if this was posted under a different news source, please pull it.
Prayers up for Captain Richard Phillips. May God keep him safe and foil the efforts of those holding him hostage.
Why doesn’t the Navy Seals swim under the boat the Somalis are in, poke a hole and wait for the sucker to sink? Then while the terrorists are flailing around in the water, pick up the American captain and capture the pirates.
Short answer: Barry won't let 'em.
Damn!
Are Somali pirates helping al-Qaeda?
Oh, Barry....
That’s the only explanation that makes any sense.
Another disgusting consequence of the election brought to us by ACORN.
>> Why doesn’t the Navy Seals swim under the boat the Somalis are in, poke a hole and wait for the sucker to sink? Then while the terrorists are flailing around in the water, pick up the American captain and capture the pirates.
I used to build survival craft in a previous job many years ago. They are built from 2 nested pieces of fiberglass, and foam is pumped in between the two pieces. They are designed not to sink even with a hole in them (although the inside would be pretty miserable with a couple of feet of water in it).
HOWEVER... why Seals don’t swim underneath, poke a hole, and pump in sleeping gas or nerve gas or smoke or all three, is a mystery...
I think mewzilla nailed in on the head: Bambi doesn’t want to “annoy” fellow Muslims so he won’t allow it.
I'm not sure these kinds of lifeboats can sink. I think you can literally fill them with water & they will only ride lower in the water. Only way to sink one would be to blow it apart -- and we now that Obama would never order that.
If we end up with two or three of our naval ships, and the lifeboat with the Captain and four pirates, then a couple or more of the previously captured ships loaded with more pirates and more hostages on the scene, well, this will probably become one of the most bizarre and weak appearing standoffs the US has ever been involved in.
This is pathetic. Action should been taken soon after the USS Bainbridge arrived on the scene. Or they should have been ready to take action when the Captain dove from the lifeboat.
This could really turn into a circus, and/or a complete capitulation by the US.
Unless the SEALs could do that quickly & quietly, they'd only get a burst of full-auto AK fire right through that boat. Ruin your whole day.
I’d be willing to bet that the Seals have a plan to deal with just this scenario. And that Barry won’t allow them to implement it.
>> This could really turn into a circus
It already has.
I guarantee you additional “incidents” involving attacks on Americans and American property are on the drawing boards of terrorists and criminals the world over — now that they know Bambi won’t do anything to protect us.
Yeah....was just thinking....note to self...better not plan any international trips for awhile.....
This could really turn into a circus
Welcome back Carter.......
Before this is over we might loose a Tincan or the Boxer from one of the pirated ships packed with HE and pulling along side. What would our ships do, here comes a pirated ship with a bunch of hostages on deck, shoot at ‘em?
It’s the SEALs JOB to have a plan for this kind of eventuallity. That much is certain.
Obama may eventually DO something. My fear, is that the military planners will be prodded into instant action when the intel suggests that they should wait a bit to gain a tactical advantage. That’s how Jimmy Carter gave us “Desert One”. When the Public had finally had enough, then Jimmy couldn’t wait, and couldn’t leave the planning to the experts.
In a recent communiqué, the Islamist organization claimed responsibility for this year’s surge in pirate attacks in the vital Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. Dozens of vessels from different nations have been seized and held for ransom, shaking the world’s shipping industry. Al-Qaeda calls its maritime campaign “a new strategy which permits the mujahedeen” to hijack shipping, since “fighters who aspire to establish the caliphate must control the seas and the waterways.”
Counterterrorism consultant Olivier Guitta revealed the al-Qaeda connection in his Asia Times column, writing that the terrorist organization “intends to take control of the Gulf of Aden and the southern entrance of the Red Sea.” Guitta called the area “strategic” for the radical Islamic group.Al-Qaeda’s goal is the removal of Western military bases from the Arabian Peninsula. It believes sea lanes “weakened by acts of piracy,” combined with mujahedeen attacks, will force concessions from Western powers.
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