Posted on 04/12/2009 2:02:50 PM PDT by GVnana
DEVELOPING:
Capt. Richard Phillips jumped to freedom on Easter Sunday from the lifeboat where four pirates had been holding him captive off the coast of Somalia in a five-day stand off with the U.S. Navy.
Capt. Phillips, who has been described by his crew as a hero for leaving with four pirates in a lifeboat to save his ship, the Maersk Alabama, escaped by jumping overboard.
Before pirates could respond, U.S. forces killed three pirates still on the lifeboat and arrested a fourth pirate.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
NICE SHOOTIN' NAVY!!!
BTTT
He jumped only after being instructed to do so by obama.
And had it not been for this brave individuals initiative they’d be on shore by now free and clear. Way to go Obama. All the power in the world means nothing if not executed.
This seems more likely than anything else. He took action and forced everyones hand
I hear it was Marine Corps frogmen off the USS Bainbridge, in the water for three days waiting, that did in the pirates. Waiting for a confirm on that.
UPDATES: US Navy Press Briefing:
One of the 4 pirates went on board the Bainbridge to negotiate.
The Lifeboat was being towed by the Bainbridge into calmer waters, by agreement, because the sea was getting rough.
The Captain was tied up on board the lifeboat.
The 3 pirates on board the lifeboat were exposing their heads above the lifeboat hatches. At one point, one of the 3 pointed his AK47 at the back of the captain. At that point, the Special Forces snipers on the fantail of the Bainbridge opened fire, and killed the 3 pirates on board the lifeboat.
The US sent a Rib (Rubber boat up to the Lifeboat, boarded, untied the capitain, put a lifesaver on him, put him in the rib, and took him to the Bainbridge.
The Captain was unharmed.
How the pirate on board the Bainbridge got himself stabbed in the hand, has not been mentioned.
Thank God there are still some real men left in this world.
Gosh golly!!!
I love a happy ending!!!
Obviously, when Captain Phillips jumped clear this time, the SEALs had a clear line of fire.
I am overjoyed at this news. Obama still does not get a free pass on this from me. When he doesn’t address a situation such as this, the MSM gives him a free pass. Oh, they say, he’s being so smart by playing it all so close to the vest. Giving, perhaps, time for negotiations to work. It’s all a load of crap. Sounds like Phillips did what he had to do and the SEALS did what they are trained to do. All the while the useless FBI hostage negotiators tried to hold discussions with so-called pirates who hijack and hold hostages at will.
Waaay Cool!
He was stabbed in the hand with an icepick during the pirates’ attack on the Maersk. One of the American mariners stabbed him as he was being lowered into the hold of the ship. He was tied up and offered in exchange for Captain Phillips, but somehow that was foiled by the pirates, and the stabbed pirate made it onto the lifeboat.
Amazing rescue.
sw
Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, said that the killing of the three pirates was "a painful experience."
"This is unfortunate action and our friends should have done more to kill the captain before they were killed. This will be a good lesson for us," Habeb told the AP from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl.
Residents of Harardhere, another port and pirate stronghold, were gathering in the streets after news of the captain's release, saying they fear pirates may now retaliate against some of the 200 hostages they still hold.
"We fear more that any revenge taken by the pirates against foreign nationals could bring more attacks from the foreign navies, perhaps on our villages," Abdullahi Haji Jama
Yeah I saw that. Initial reports are always confused. I decided to post this since it’s an important event and the full story isn’t yet known.
I watched it also and agree with you....sounds as though he did not jump a second time.
The Marines don’t have “frogmen” but they do have combat divers. More likely this was a seal op all the way. Possible the shooters were Marines, that would be their specialty.
Thank God there are still some real men left in this world.
Amen and Praise God
What a wonderful Easter present
Thanks. Hadn’t heard that.
Well, I guess if they really fear the foreign navies, they should take action against the pirates in their midst. IMHO, though, Jama is actually more than happy to profit from the sudden wealth of the pirates. If so, he needs to be ready to pay the price for his ill-gotten gains.
Obama granted the authority to use appropriate force with the focus on saving and protecting Phillips’ life.
“Present”
I still don't think we've heard the full story - not by a long-shot.
Obambi wants to take all the credit now. He authorized the use of force as recently as an hour after the captain was rescued.
What is shocking to me is the extreme danger to which the captain was exposed to at that time they fired on the pirates.
If all three pirates were visible, and in the gun-sights of our guys, it was a very gutsy call to fire. If they missed just one - it could have meant the death of the captain.
LOL! CNN is now reporting that the pirate they were negotiating with on the Bainbridge, was getting medical treatment for his hand, while there, and reportedly did *noot* want to go back to the lifeboat, but wanted to stay on the Bainbridge.
actually, I think it was by a long shot - 3 of them to be exact
Well, he did order a $500 pizza...
For sure, Obama will soon be on the air posturing & chestbeating about how his weakness helped in this situation. He saved the captain!!!
Danger is relative, obviously.
He was stabbed in the hand with an ice pick by ATM Reza, a crewmember of the Maersk Alabama during the initial hijack attempt.
I know that for a fact because I heard a Reza on TV last night say to the camera guy, "I stabbed one of the pirates in the hand." :-)
I’m not so sure. These snipers are trained to shoot moving targets a half mile away, and do it quite proficiently. While the lifeboat, was being towed behind the Bainbrde was only a matter of (they stated it in meters, and I don’t remember how many it was) but I remember it came across to me as a distance of much less than 50 yards.
" Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, said that the killing of the three pirates was "a painful experience.""This is unfortunate action and our friends should have done more to kill the captain before they were killed. This will be a good lesson for us," Habeb told the AP from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl."
Time to take Habeb and his crewe in that open sewer to "drone city".
That sounds likely to me also. Not enough details.
Yes. Had that clarified for me. Now on to the fact that he did not want to go back with his pirate buddies on the lifeboat. >P-)
Who in turn got the order from his teleprompter.
Thank God that this happened early in Zero’s administration before he had a chance to Carterize the Military!
HaHa, that was good. Took me reading it twice. LOL
But let's not flame Obama for eventually doing the right thing. If he gets a burst of high polls out of this, the Democrats need to know that it's for doing what rank-and-file Republicans wanted to have done.
They, the bad guys, will evolve. They, the bad guys, should have been destroyed with no word of how ever reaching beyond that patch of ocean.
Well, whatever the relative dangers were, this Navy vet is just ecstatic that American forces whipped the pirates and freed our man.
The only thing that would beat this is the freeing the 200 plus hostages they hold ashore in Somalia. If the zerobama doesn't do that - he is an incompetent ass. But - that's already more than proven. (If he would just get out of the way, and let our military loose - there.)
He was probably chosen as the "negotiator" so he could get his wound treated at Sick Bay aboard Bainbridge.
The pirate needs to send Reza a "Thank You" card for saving his life. ;-)
What a brave and determined American. And this is the second time he jumped. This time he got the response he should have gotten.
“He jumped only after being instructed to do so by obama.”
That’s the way I hear the news going gaga over the wise and studied handling that saved the Captains life.
Edited............
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