Great Easter news for all Americans. Captain Richard Phillips has been rescued. There was a brief firefight and now there are 3 dead pirates and 1 captured Somali pirates. Captain Phillips is now on board the destroyer Bainbridge and headed home. Fabulous news!
92 Thoughts to “Captain Richard Phillips Freed! 3 Dead Pirates!”
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That is fantastic news M-H, thanks for being the first to break it (in my home anyway)! I’m going to turn on CNN.
Same here. Weird to get my “news” from here!
Made a trip to Giant, and returned to learn this excellent news.
This one was good enough to report!! I was really excited over this news. Everyone involved is a hero.
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am wondering, why do they call them pirates? Somehow, pirate, seems to have a less deadly connotation.
How about murderous pirates? I think that Johnny Depp probably has given us a kinder, gentler pirate image. Those who had to deal with Edward Teach aka Blackbeard didn’t have such a good image of him. Blackbeard patroled the seas around the Atlantic and the Carribbean. He was eventually killed by brave Captain Maynard who hung his head on the sloop’s bowspirit. I think that Blackbeard is more famous on the outer banks than Capt. Maynard.
WHEW!!!!!! Never thought the captain would get through this alive.
The term “pirates” seems a little harsh and judgmental, don’t you think? I prefer the Obamaspeak term “contingent occupants.”
Funny Emma, that same thought came to my mind. After all we wouldn’t want to offend those poor Samoli who are just trying to earn a living, and provide a better life for their families. Hmmm………. where have I heard that before?
Unbelievable, Emma and SA. President Obama is not just a “cowboy” with little care for consequences. He authorized necessary action it necessary action was taken. Our Navy SEALs kicked butt and they had the support of the President.
This was great news, however, what we do next will be even more important. We can’t let these terrorist, and they are terrorist, continue to hijack these ships.
Instead of ‘overseas contingency operation’ we need to maybe do some ‘on the sea contingency operations’ to keep these boats and crews safe.
Emma and Second Alamo-
Incredible that you’ll use this drama to push your stuff!
Those who come here “to earn a living” do not threaten lives, do not take hostages and do not demand do millions of dollars in ransom. And don’t come back with the tired, old “they use our tax dollars” crap.
For shame!
Not so fast Punchak, you said “Those who come here “to earn a living” do not threaten lives, do not take hostages and do not demand do millions of dollars in ransom”.
Maybe you should read this: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=6848672&page=1
“Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City “
I see the cute brigade is out in full force this morning. All you illegal pirate apologists need to put the broad brush away. I think it is safe to say that every last pirate who stops a ship on the high seas and demands ransome probably has both malice and profit in his heart and intends to harm those who do not comply.
I can’t stop laughing…illegal pirate apologists. 🙂
I see Emma and Second Alamo beat me to it, but I just wanted to say …
This won’t stop the pirates from trying to earn a living for their families. There is only one reasonable thing to do. We must pay them ransom, offer them Amnesty, and make their children eligible for in-state rates at local U.S. colleges. Then maybe they’ll stop all this pirating business.
I don’t know how some of you can feel so happy that three poor brave men from an impoverished nation were shot trying to provide for their families. These are not criminals – these are hard-working fishermen. Clearly a comprehensive solution is needed here.
Rick,
Some people just don’t have ANY sense of humor!
Why Punchak, how on earth could you ever assume that I was referring to some other group of people? It is interesting how quickly you drew a parallel though! Freudian slip maybe?
You know, I was driving down the road, taking Eli to the doctor, wondering, I’ll be someone tries to make an analogy between pirates who rob and DON’T have job and undocumnted persons. Lo and Behold, I am never disappointed to the level silliness that some actually “write” out loud. Give me a break hello!
I thought Emma’s comment was particularly good … but seriously …
we laugh but in point of fact apparently Obama is looking at pursuing a “comprehensive approach” to the problem which involves providing additional US aid to Somalia. We didn’t much care about them before this, and last time we paid attention to them they were dragging our soldiers’ dead bodies through their streets, and now that they’ve attacked one of our ships it’s time to trot out a “comprehensive” carrot-and-stick approach because God forbid we don’t appear Christian and genteel when we want to blow things up and smoke out thugs.
My tax dollars going to work in Somalia? I’m not happy about it.
Like I said, some people have no sense of humor, but then kidnapping for ransom isn’t funny within the US either even if the ‘pirates’ speak Spanish!
Some of these “pirates are no more than teenagers. The one they have in custody is 14 to 16 yrs old. No wonder he wanted to board the Bainbridge to call home. He must have been calling his mom to tell her why he was going to be late for dinner. These pirates see their cause as justifiable.
From the Huffington Post:
At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia’s seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish-stocks by over-exploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m worth of tuna, shrimp, lobster and other sea-life is being stolen every year by vast trawlers illegally sailing into Somalia’s unprotected seas. The local fishermen have suddenly lost their livelihoods, and they are starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: “If nothing is done, there soon won’t be much fish left in our coastal waters.”
Suddenly piracy has provided a lucrative way to feed their families and it is justified as long as the money is coming from rich shipping companies. They must fancy themselves Robin Hood of the seas.
Hmmm Elena… “Give me a break hello!”. Pirates kidnap for ransom, Mexican drug cartels have turned Phoenix into the kidnapping for ransom capital of the WORLD and I’m supposed to give you a break for comparing the two, please. At this point the latest estimate is that the pirates have around a total of 200 people their holding for ransom. Phoenix had 370 reported cases last year alone, you give me a break!
Pretending that it’s not a problem doesn’t make it go away. If anything the ‘kidnapping for ransom’ we are seeing here in the U.S. is much more worse than these pirates.
Who on here ever has said they have sympathy with Mexican drug cartels and their violence. No one. No one here is in favor of kidnapping either.
I am humorless. I don’t think that making any jokes about the perils Captain Richard Phillips has been through are the least bit funny. I don’t think any of this is a laughing matter. This crap has been going on for several years now. It is time to arm our vessels and to start blowing some Somalis out of the water.
This thread is about the Somali pirates. If you would like me to create one about drug cartel violence, let me know. Meanwhile, the 2 situations have nothing in common other than greed and terrorism.
One more thing, why are you all trying to turn something like this into a political issue? How about saying it is dead wrong and trying to find solutions for remedying it?
Hello, Our war in Somalia, initated by George Bush Senior, began as humanitarian aide to protect people from maurauding bands of killers. It appears not much has changed. Were you as quick to gouge at Bush as you now are at Obama? Sometimes it is less expensive in terms of money and human cost to stabilize governments and economies than it is to go to war.
Anona, from your post at 13:35..he’s a kidnapping thug with an AK47. He knows right from wrong – or should as an adult or young adult – depending upon how old he really is. He gets no sympathy from me. I think if all of these thugs knew there were SEAL snipers on board American flagged ships they’d think twice before acting like animals and stealing and kidnapping. Did you know there are currently 200 plus people being held hostage by these pirates? There is NO justifiable reason for any human being to do that to another human. Two wrongs do not make right.
The British used to hang the severed heads of captured/executed pirates at the entrance to their ports to deter other acts of piracy. While I am not condoning such behavior today, its apparent these people only understand force. So let them have it until they are deterred or stopped.
I agree Lucky Duck. If it was good enough for Captain Maynard to do to Blackbeard, then it is good enough for these thugs. If you are old enough to carry an AK-47, then you are old enough to be gunned down like a worthless dog. Some of the most horrific crimes are commited by 16-17 year olds. Most states arrest and try kids that age as adults. I applaud them for doing so.
I have zero tolerance for this type of behavior.
Please tell me Moon how I’m gouging Obama? The only thing I said about Obama is that it’s important what he does next with this pirate issue. So, please point out where I ‘gouged’ Obama?
Anona,
Thank for a more comprehensive picture. I agree that two wrongs don’t make a right, but if we can’t understand the big picture it will be difficult to create long lasting change.
I agree with Moon, I would rather help the country lift themselves up than fight a costly war.
Sorry, Hello. You are completely innocent. It was Rick who was gouging, not you. Forgive me.
I might have been thinking in my mind that I agreed with you re important what is done next with pirate issue. I am all for arming all ships in that area or sending them with a military convoy.
Elena, it just seems cheaper in the long run. ON the other hand, not to argue with myself, but Somalia One sure didn’t turn out so good. I think the warlords stole our aid and humanitarian relief from those it was sent to.
My other grouse with Somalia is that it is a country where wide-spread female ‘circumscision’ …aka genital mutilation is practiced. They would have to stop doing that crap before I willingly gave them a red cent.
As I recall in Sierra Leone, young children were kidnapped, brainwashed and forced to become soldiers. Has anyone ever read the story about the children of Uganda?
http://themoderatevoice.com/28756/somali-pirate-wanted-us-protection-hes-16-years-old/
I think Lucky Duck, before you condemn this teenager, I feel like it would be helpful to understand how he might have come to be a pirate. I am not excusing his behavior, but how do we know he was there willingly?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11813690
i didn’t “gouge’ anyone. I spoke undeniable truth.
Agreed Moon-Howler, disgusting practice of FGM.
Apparently the age of the pirate is going to cause some complications in how the case is handled. If you knew he was raised in non-stop violence with no hope of getting out, would that change your mind? If you knew that there was no food in his home and his father spent the day chewing kwat until he was stoned out of his mind, would that change your mind? If you knew he’d seen countless people die and really knew no other life, would that change your mind? If you knew the money he got from piracy provided food for his mother and siblings, would that change your mind? I am not saying it should, but it is certainly something to think about. From the AP:
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. officials, in deciding how to handle the lone surviving pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain, must weigh the violence of the suspect’s actions against his surprisingly young age.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday the four pirates were between 17 and 19 years old.
Authorities had previously put the surviving Somali suspect’s age at somewhere from 16 to 20. He surrendered Sunday, leaving a covered lifeboat where he and three other pirates had been holding merchant Capt. Richard Phillips hostage. Shortly after his surrender, the three others were killed by snipers. Phillips was rescued unharmed.
“Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,” Gates told a group of students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. “Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that.”
U.S. officials are now considering whether to bring the unidentified suspect to the United States or possibly turn him over to Kenya. If he is brought to the U.S., he’d most likely be put on trial in New York or Washington.
Both piracy and hostage-taking carry life prison sentences under U.S. law.
Federal judges don’t see many defendants younger than 18, said New Orleans-based lawyer Sandra Jenkins, who has handled such cases.
“It’s very rare,” said Jenkins. “And usually, it’s juveniles with adults involved, meaning a juvenile is charged with an adult or a group of adults.”
In deciding when to charge a minor in federal court, the law requires officials to consider “the age and social background of the juvenile,” as well as the nature of the offense.
Verifying the background of this particular teenager may be difficult to impossible. Somalia has suffered nearly 20 years of anarchy, ruled chaotically by rival clans employing pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns.
Asked how the suspect’s age might factor into the decision whether to prosecute him in the United States, Justice Dept. spokesman Dean Boyd said only that they were considering “the evidence and other issues” in the case.
Jo Becker, a D.C.-based advocate for Human Rights Watch, said if the pirate suspect is in fact 16 or 17 years old, “he would certainly be entitled to protections under international law that allow for lower culpability of juveniles involved in crimes.”
Becker says international law recognizes that people under 18 are “less developed, less mature, and more easily manipulated by adults.”
Ideally, Becker said, an underage suspect would be tried in a juvenile court, with special protections given his age. “He would need to have access to family members. Throughout the whole process, there needs to be a special view to his rehabilitation,” she added.
Kenneth Randall, dean of the University of Alabama School of Law, said the suspect’s age may not affect where or how he is charged, but is likely to impact his eventual sentence.
“When it comes to international attention, they do have to be mindful of the mitigating circumstances of his age,” said Randall.
Whoa, that’s pretty sad that some folks would try to use a great event that should make all Americans proud as a way to further their singularly obsessive agendas. If this rescue doesn’t allow you to stop sniping and be proud of America, I don’t know what would. Really disappointing, people.
You know, I don’t care about their age. I realize that some kids are kidnapped worldwide to serve as soldiers. Again, I am sorry that human beings are forced to live that way but it doesn’t alter how I think we should handle their agression.
Some youngsters right here in the United States have been shanghaied and forced to serve in the military during the Civil War. I expect those drafted right out of high school probably felt they had been Shanghaied duringWWII, Viet Nam also.
What doesn’t matter is that these young men are now killers, regardless of why they are there. We cannot go ask them for their ID while they hold Americans captive.
No Anona, it would not make a difference to me if his father chewed drugs all day long. No, it makes no difference to me if he witnessed non-stop violence all day. Most of all, No, it would not make a difference to me if he fed his family out of his pirate’s ransom. He’s a thug. Try him as an adult in a US Court.
Would you have been willing to exchange places with the Captain so this guy’s family could eat?
Elena, I do see the big picture…I see Somalia as a hell hole that we as Americans are under no obligation to once again shoulder the burden with American lives and money to nation build once again. Where are the British? The Chinese? The Russians? Why is always our obligation to take the lead? America didn’t pillage Somalia, why should we have to spend lives and money as the main force? Lets offer to assist, but not beyond an equal share with everyone else. Not when Americans are losing their homes and jobs.
Hi Lucky Duck,
But what I am wondering is how do you feel about children being kidnapped and forced to become soldiers or “pirates”?
I agree, that this should be a coalition of other countries, but like any endeavor, no matter what it is, from the simplist to the most complicated, it takes a leader to bring parties together to accomplish a unified goal.
Did you ever see the movie “blood diamond” ? It’s an amazing story of one mans struggle to save his son after he is forced to become a “soldier”. Childre who are kidnapped and forced to fight do deserve our pity. There are specific rehabilitation camps desinged for them. I am not excusing their behavior, but I harken back to a great experiment by Stanley Milgrim, done in the 50’s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment @Moon-howler
Milgrim did this experiment because he wanted to find out what motivated the reasons why so many regular people participated in the Holocaust. What he found out was quite frightening. Germans are no different than Americans, under the right circumstances, many of us would harm others just because someone in authority told us to.
I have seen a lot of comments on this blog about “nation building” regarding Iraq, well, we have no business being the lead on Somalia either (imho). Unless its just Presidential politics making people’s decisions whether or not to go in is right or not.
They are our troops that would have to take the lead. Let some other Country bring the parties together with their young people and money.
I have seen the movie “blood diamond”. But thus far, I have not seen any news reports of people being “forced” to be pirates. Not saying it is not happening or not, but I have not seen it reported. BUT, why didn’t the captured pirate just give up when they first were on the American ship? Funny he gave up only after being surrounded by warships on a small life boat.
Hi Lucky Duck,
Please read my post at 17:38, I have included a link of a dateline report regarding children kidnapped to fight in Somalia. I don’t know if the distinction between pirate and child soldier really matters. It might, but I just don’t know.
Hi Elena, I read your post, and I don’t know if these pirates are children being kidnapped or not. Kidnapped and forced, of course that makes a difference, but that would have to be proven. I don’t think we owe this person the benefit of the doubt at this point. I have read government reports that this Somali is 16 to 19 years old. I guess we’ll have to wait to see but 16 to 19 knows what they are doing.
I don’t want to see America take on another costly burden in terms of young American lives and finanical costs to us all to rebuild Somalia. Let some other country do it as lead.
We waste so much money on other countries when we need it here. Sec. of State Clinton awarded $900 million to rebuild the Palestinian lands after the recent war with Israel. Of course, this was after it was destroyed by the weapons we gave to Israel. What sense does that make?
Why is it always the US who has to take the lead?
Let Somalia be someone else’s project, in lives of its young troops and cost to their economy – not ours.
By the way, that $900 million dollar gift to the middle east is $300 million more than President Obama asked to spend on Health Care reform.
I’d rather have kept the cash and have health care reform.
I don’t care how old the pirates are. Additionally, someone age 16 is not necessarily the maturity level of a 16 year old born and raised in the US, where 16 year olds are still considered children. Some of our maturity as human beings is a reflection of our culture.
All sorts of awful things happen in this world. All sorts of people have some hard luck story behind their inability to assimilate into being a human being. Do we pity Charles Manson? I sure don’t.
In my opinion, if someone points a gun at one of our ships, or attempt to take something that doesn’t belong to them….they are an adult and will be treated as one.
There have been several shows on tv depicting the adult lives of those who were pressed into service at a young age. One was on 24, the other one of the Law and Order Shows. Regardless of why they were in service, they were still killers. Color me old and jaded but I think of Cujo and Old Yeller in conversations like these. Recovery and rehabilitation are very remote.
When one of these 16 – 19 year old “forced to be pirates” kills someone as the pirates are now saying they will do in retaliation for the 3 pirates killed, are we supposed to forgive them because they were “forced to be a pirate”? I also think Somalia should not be our project. We give lots of aid to countries all over the world – so far Somalia has not proven itself worthy of that aid in my opinion. Again, let some other country take the lead for a change.
I think Somalia had its chance with us. It blew it. I think Gainesville really said what I am thinking: “so far Somalia has not proven itself worthy of that aid …”
They have too many nasty habits, starting with FGM and piracy.
Yes, what did they do with all the money we’ve given them already? In these economic times we have to be a little more choosy who we spend our money on. I don’t see any benefit we’ve gotten for the money we’ve spent in Somalia so far.
3 pirates just spoke at the BOCS meeting accompanied by Captain Hook in pedal pushers and 1 threatened one of our supervisors. Looks like I will have to donate to his campaign just because Missy the Pirate said she would see he wouldn’t get reelected. A newcomer! Imagine that! A military transplant big assing at our supervisors–the gall!
Just three pirates? I thought Gospel Greg was pulling out all the stops. Doesn’t he have ten followers left?