Free Republic

Carter owes the people of Iran an apology. ... Carter's critics always point to his handling of the Iran hostage crisis as the most glaring flaw in his time in office. During the course of that 444-day nightmare, a student mob held 52 U.S. diplomats and civilians hostage, and no amount of negotiation—or attempted military action—could get them released. Thankfully, that sad chapter finally ended on Jan. 20, 1980, the day President Ronald Reagan took the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol. But Carter's true transgression—the original sin that has complicated and shaped U.S. policy in the Middle East...

Former Iranian ambassador to Syria and a hostage-taker of U.S. diplomats, Hossein Sheikholeslam, died Thursday from a Covid19 infection, local news outlets report. An advisor to the Islamic Republic Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, 68-year-old Sheikholeslam was one of the leaders of the so-called "Muslim Student Followers of Imam's Line," who took 52 U.S. diplomats hostage, on November 4, 1979, and released them after 444 days. Sheikholeslam studied at the University of California at Berkeley before the Iranian revolution and later interrogated U.S. Embassy staff members during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979.

They have no chef and they cook for themselves, often together. They make their own yogurt. On this summer morning, Rosalynn mixes pancake batter and sprinkles in blueberries grown on their land. Carter cooks them on the griddle. Then he does the dishes.

SUPERYACHTS sailing from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean for the summer could be the next target of Somali pirates, security experts have warned. The multi-million-dollar luxury craft, many measuring more than 300 feet and owned by some of the world's wealthiest people, tend to spend the northern hemisphere winter in the Indian Ocean or Caribbean before relocating to the Mediterranean for thADVERTISEMENT300x250 e summer to host their owners and friends. Those moving from tropical islands such as the Seychelles, Mauritius and the Maldives need to sail through the Gulf of Aden to get to the Mediterranean via the Suez...

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.

MOMBASA, Kenya - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, the ship's owner said.

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a U.S. Navy operation that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a senior U.S. intelligence official said. One of the pirates was wounded and in custody after a swift firefight, the official said. Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A government official and others in Somali...

U.S. ship captain held by pirates off Somalia, has been freed, senior U.S. official says. Three of four pirates killed.

The opening stanza of the Marine Corps hymn is: "From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, we fight our country's battles in the air, on land and sea." The "Halls of Montezuma" refers to the assault on Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican War, which was led by the small Marine contingent in Gen. Winfield Scott's army. Ninety percent of the officers and NCOs who led the assault were killed. The red stripe on the dress uniform trousers of Marine officers is in commemoration of the blood their predecessors shed that day. (For those who love historical coincidences,...

* Lifeboat holding captain drifts toward Somalia * Helicopters fly over pirate lair * Hijacked Italian tugboat reaches shore MOGADISHU, April 12 (Reuters) - Military helicopters flew over Somali pirate lairs and battleships stalked a boat on Sunday in which gunmen were holding an American hostage in a five-day high seas standoff. Armed with assault rifles and a grenade launcher, four pirates and their captive, 53-year-old U.S. ship captain Richard Phillips, were drifting towards land on a lifeboat out of fuel. Three U.S. warships were watching the situation. "The captain must be tied to the lifeboat because he tried to...

MOGADISHU, Somalia Apr 12 (Garowe Online) - Rebel leaders in southern Somalia associated with Islamist factions have hailed recent pirate attacks off the coast of the Horn of Africa region, Radio Garowe reports. In separate comments, Al Shabaab spokesman Muktar Robow “Abu Mansur” and Ras Kamboni Brigade leader Sheikh Hassan Abdullahi “Turki” have hailed ship-hijackings by Somali pirates. In Baidoa, capital of Bay region, Abu Mansur told reporters that the pirates are “protecting the Somali coast.” "Foreign powers want to divide the country [Somalia] and the pirates are protecting the coast against the enemies of Allah [God],” Abu Mansur said.

I read much saber rattling concerning the current hostage crises.Remember, a Destroyer or Frigate only have the capability to sink ships and submarines...and to shoot planes and missile out of the sky.They do not have SEAL teams...nor even snipers...onboard. They have the ship's weapons and small arms, usually shotguns and pistols.Until the USS Boxer arrives on the scene, the Navy does not have the ability to even ATTEMPT a rescue.However, I'm pretty darn sure that lifeboat will not reach the beach, no matter what...

Somali elders on Sunday renewed efforts to free an American held hostage for days on a lifeboat after his pirate captors fired on a US navy vessel and defied attempts to have them arrested. Even as negotiations resumed to free the American captain, pirates manoeuvred an Italian vessel and its 16-strong crew toward the Somali coastline

MOMBASA, Kenya, April 11 (Reuters) - A U.S.-flagged ship that was seized by Somali pirates arrived safely in the Kenyan port of Mombasa on Saturday, as a Somali mediator headed to sea to try to secure the release of the ship's American captain. "The captain is a hero," one crew member shouted from the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama container ship as it docked. "He saved our lives by giving himself up." The ship, under the command of Richard Phillips, was attacked by gunmen far out in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday but its 20 American crew apparently fought off the hijackers...

Pirates have seized two ships in which America has an interest and continue to hold Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk Alabama, for two million dollars ransom. After several days of witnessing the lone superpower in the universe literally brought to its knees by four Johnny Depp caliber pirates, even journalists in the leftist media are starting to wonder: Where in the hell is President and Commander-in-chief Barack Obama? Until now, Obama has been strangely mute, preferring to let Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speak for the administration.

This is bad news : “The American sea captain held hostage by Somali pirates tried to escape Friday and was recaptured, a U.S. official said, with no action from the U.S. Navy destroyer monitoring the situation from nearby in the Indian Ocean.” But why didn’t the Navy act? Well, they are “waiting out the pirates.” Perhaps that will work. Nevertheless it is a bit unsettling to hear the Navy explain, “Our job is to make sure the negotiations can continue.” Perhaps they are coyly setting up a rescue effort.

U.S. talks with pirates holding American ship captain Richard Phillips broke down this weekend, with Somali officials blaming a U.S. insistence that the pirates must be arrested, The New York Times reported. Talks began Thursday with the captain of the USS Bainbridge talking to the pirates under instruction from FBI hostage negotiators on board the U.S. destroyer. A Pentagon spokesman said Saturday that negotiations to free Phillips were continuing. Phillips was still held hostage in an enclosed lifeboat Sunday by four pirates being closely watched by the Navy and a helicopter in an increasingly tense standoff. The lifeboat is out...

Fox just interviewed off screen a former SEAL regarding why the Somali pirates are being allowed to take the kidnapped US merchant captain to Somalia. In his words, 'this is not an operational issue.' In other words, Obama is ordering that no action be taken until he can get permission from the 'international community.' The SEAL noted that they have been training for just this situation since 1981. Meanwhile, the French rescue their people.

Pirates Have Gas on Lifeboat, Fire Shots at U.S. Navy Sailors The captain of a U.S.-flagged ship held hostage by armed pirates on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean appears to be alive after a daring escape attempt -- but the pirates now seem to have fuel and to be moving closer to shore, sources told ABC News. The latest evidence that Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, is alive came as the pirates holding him in a 28-foot covered lifeboat fired shots at U.S. Navy sailors who approached their vessel at an undisclosed time after the escape bid.

NAIROBI, Kenya  —  U.S. warships are trying to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain is being held hostage as the high-seas standoff off Africa's eastern coast entered a fourth day Saturday. Underscoring the high stakes involved, France's navy on Friday freed a sailboat seized off Somalia last week by other pirates, but one of the hostages was killed. A Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to reporters, said the pirates have summoned assistance but at least two American ships and U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft...