Next time we let pirates go, let's do it from 10,000 feet.
Posted on 04/04/2010 1:40:46 AM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
A U.S. Navy ship has sunk a pirate "mother ship" in the Indian Ocean and captured 11 pirates, and then promptly let them go.
It was the second time within 24 hours that U.S. forces captured Somali pirates. Earlier Thursday, five pirates were taken into custody after they attacked a U.S. warship.
While those five pirates remain in custody, the 11 captured Thursday were allowed to leave in small skiffs after the mother ship was sunk. The action prompted a Pentagon spokesman to deny that the Navy had a "catch and release" policy regarding pirates.
A Naval official told ABC News that the practice of releasing pirates is not unheard of. While piracy is illegal according to international maritime law, it is considered a criminal issue, not a national security one.
If the country of the attacked ship does not want to prosecute the pirates, and if Kenya, which has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Naval forces, does not agree to prosecute them, there are few options as to where the suspected pirates can be held and tried.
The latest confrontation occurred when pirates on three skiffs tried to hijack the Sierra Leone-flagged commercial ship MV Evita using rocket propelled grenades and rifle fire.
The MV Evita avoided being boarded by increasing its speed and firing flares, according to a press release by the Combined Maritime Piracy Task Force.
After the ship's captain radioed for help, a Swedish patrol aircraft spotted the pirates and the USS Farragut dispatched its own plane to monitor the situation until the Navy ship could arrive.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Small skiffs? How far offshore, and what did the weather people have to say?
Hold them on deck until a crewman is able to toss a rope over the yardarm. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes.
How about, shooting them and tossing the bodies overboard?
So long as they steamed another 200km away from land before letting them go, then it might be OK. Saves ammo.
Something tells me the namesake of that ship wouldn’t have exactly been forgiving of pirates.
Yes.
Bag limits.
ROFL...”You’re too small, I’ve got to put you back. Meanwhile, here’s a picture of the last guys that tried to hijack a US-flagged ship AFTER they got to meet the SEALs. Oh, and would you like a ham sandwich for your trip back? I hear it’s a long row.”
...and we didn’t have 11 body bags why? Amen.
What, did Bambi declare a “catch and release” ROE? Or, has someone decided that they’re too small, so they throw them back?
This is even more ridiculous than me learning to fly fish just because I like the cool colors of the fishing line!
Hopefully to re-board their sunken boat!
... to deny that the Navy had a "catch and release" policy regarding pirates.
I'm a believer in Catch and Release. Catch them, sink their boats and release the pirates- at least 50 miles offshore, no boats, no life jackets.
Why bother. We don't have the will to deal with this and we are the Worlds only Super Power, give me a break. Get me some leadership.
Next time we let pirates go, let's do it from 10,000 feet.
This is the reason that 'walking the plank' became popuular during previous engagements.
Let them go huh? I wonder if it was a simple act of official naval political correctness mandated by Dear Leader for only black pirates? God help them if they were white.
The pirates would, in the meantime, be wined, dined and entertained at taxpayer expense somewhere in... Hawaii or something.
Send them to their unhappy hunting ground by blowing them out of the water on sight.
Sheesh.
Why waste good bullets?
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