American sea Captain Richard Phillips was safely rescued Sunday from four Somali pirates, who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a U.S. intelligence official said.Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said.
Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation.
Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vt., was transported to the USS Bainbridge nearby.
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April 12, 2009
Breaking: Captain Richard Phillips rescued [Darleen Click]
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Comment by Canada Corner on 4/12 @ 12:43 pm #
“Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said.”
Make the bastard walk the plank. You know, like the good old days.
Comment by Vulcanrider on 4/12 @ 12:48 pm #
Nah, I’m for keel-hauling the bastard…from the closest aircraft carrier! And if you aren’t familiar with that particular process, google it yourself and tell me you don’t agree…
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 12:54 pm #
Awesome news!
Now the Navy needs to shell the fuck out of their shore bases.
That’s not what’s going to happen, but that’s what needs to happen.
Comment by David on 4/12 @ 1:06 pm #
What?
You people haven’t blamed President Obama for something?
What’s up with that?
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 1:08 pm #
Do modern warships have yard-arms?
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 1:08 pm #
You people haven’t blamed President Obama for something?
Obama had nothing to do with it, cultboi.
He was busy eating his oh-so-carbon-neutral pizza and “talking about housing”, remember?
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 1:12 pm #
Speaking of, David… weren’t you one of the guys who was always yammering about “global warming”?
Care to explain how keeping the White House at Tahiti-like temperatures and flying in a chef from St. Louis just to make pizza helps with that? Or even sets a good example?
Comment by Darleen on 4/12 @ 1:20 pm #
Geez David, feeling a little put out that Obama didn’t just walk on water and rescue Phillips (a man who The One refused to even acknowledge existed) Himself?
Not to worry, the fawning media is all over itself with the new First Puppy and M’chelle’s full-time makeup artist.
THAT’s news!
Comment by sashal on 4/12 @ 1:21 pm #
Don’t feel bad SPB
The world is still a very scary place, bad things will continue to happen .
Perhaps the next time something bad happens, Americans will die needlessly, and you’ll be able to blame Obama.
So enjoy your Easter ham, and keep on praying for America to fail!
Comment by sashal on 4/12 @ 1:22 pm #
8, no, Darleen, it is you who expects him to walk on the water….
Comment by cranky-d on 4/12 @ 1:30 pm #
I can understand her needing some to cover up those forehead ridges. That must take hours every day.
Comment by Travis on 4/12 @ 1:31 pm #
Yeah Darleen! Obama’s constant screw-ups are just proof of his humanity and down to earth goodness. Why are you such a hater?
Comment by JHoward on 4/12 @ 1:32 pm #
Enjoy damning Easter hams, sashal, for reasons even you can’t reason.
Comment by PCachu on 4/12 @ 1:35 pm #
At this point we’re just waiting for Wonder Boy’s other shoe to drop, really. Now that the situation has been resolved appropriately, it’s time for him to put down the damn waffle and act like a frickin’ President. He can either:
a) announce to the world that our official approach to piracy is “shoot them in the face, and if that’s unfeasible, sneak up behind them and shoot them in the back of the face,” or
b) demand apologies from the captain and crew, and reparations for families of the courageous, wrongfully-demonized maritime redistributionists.
If he goes with option A, I’ll be first in line to give him a gold star.
I honestly wish I could say that option B would never happen. I really do. But, again, the term “beyond parody” has been coined for a reason…
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 1:47 pm #
It was all Obama’s fault nothing was being done. And now that’s something’s been done, Obama had nothing to do with it. Wingnuts are so funny.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 1:49 pm #
It was all Obama’s fault nothing was being done.
Yep.
And now that’s something’s been done
By the Navy SEALS.
Not Obama.
Moron.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 1:51 pm #
The world is still a very scary place, bad things will continue to happen .
Yes, it’s a sheer coincidence that the first American ship taken over by pirates in 200 years just happened to occur with Your Lord and Savior at the helm, isn’t it?
“Bad luck”. He “inherited the problem”. Any more excuses.
By the way, didn’t Jeff tell you to take a hike and stay gone, Bolshevik?
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 1:52 pm #
PCachu, I expect him to reprimand the SEALs for not properly mirandizing the pirates.
Comment by Matt on 4/12 @ 1:53 pm #
*He was busy eating his oh-so-carbon-neutral pizz*
Yummy. With double arugula.
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 1:57 pm #
LOL . My guess is that someone in the WH told the Navy next time the Captain jumped in the water, they ought to waste the little frackers. That’s how rules of engagement are made for such a high visibility situations. You were the ones who assigned Obama responsibility for the situation. And now that it ends successfully, you refuse to give credit. Of course it was the SEALS who actually did the rescue. Moron
Comment by Abe Froman on 4/12 @ 1:58 pm #
8, no, Darleen, it is you who expects him to walk on the water….
That’s true. You idiots expected him to make the oceans recede so he could walk on land.
Comment by David on 4/12 @ 1:59 pm #
President Obama signed off on this high-profile operation… but you haters will never give him credit.
What you wingnuts opine is of ZERO value, Obama could resign tomorrow and you’d still blame him for being arrogant about it.
Thank God for the American electorate you wingnuts are WAY off the end of the bell curve and will never win the votes of the young people (plus the fact you people are hard-wired without a sense of humor).
What’s really a damn shame you people are so completely blinded by your ideology that you haven’t noticed that George “The Vietnam War Hero” Bush diverted military resources in lives and equipment for his phony-baloney war in Iraq instead of completely crushing the Taliban and OBL in Afghanistan.
Now we are going to lose Afghanistan and who are you going to blame?
Why Obama, of course… MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 2:00 pm #
My guess is that someone in the WH told the Navy next time the Captain jumped in the water, they ought to waste the little frackers.
My guess is that your Teleprompter Presentdent is a drooling borderline retard who is brutally clueless on how to handle this kind of situation unless someone gives him a script to read.
My guess is based on his previous non-performances when faced with an emergent situation.
Your guess is based on what, exactly?
Oh, right. You pulled it out of your ass.
In the trollbin you go.
Oh, right
Comment by sashal on 4/12 @ 2:02 pm #
SPB, you mean , Jeff, the “Classical liberal” does not want my voice to be heard here?
Is that right, nazi?
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 2:04 pm #
Oh, right. You pulled it out of your ass.
No, from being former military, and with more than two brain cells working. You should give this one up, your embarrassing yourself.
Comment by Jeffersonian on 4/12 @ 2:04 pm #
President Obama signed off on this high-profile operation… but you haters will never give him credit.
If you’re keeping score, chalk this right wing madman up as one who congratulates the President on a job very well done. I’d have liked to have seen this done sooner, but I’m not one to let the perfect be the enemy of the very, very good. It’s hard to see how this could have come out better. I’ll swing a brickbat when it’s warranted, but for now I’ve got a big thumbs-up for Obama.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 2:05 pm #
Thank God for the American electorate you wingnuts are WAY off the end of the bell curve
Bell curves have two ends, idiot. And I’d lay long odds that I’m further to the right of it than you by any metric you care to name.
and will never win the votes of the young people
Sure thing. That’s why survey after survey shows that college students are trending more conservative.
Enjoy your two years of power. It’s all you’re going to get. Remember, the House comes up for reelection next year. The entire House. The House that controls all federal spending.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 2:05 pm #
SPB, you mean , Jeff, the “Classical liberal†does not want my voice to be heard here?
You bring nothing to the table, Bolshevik.
You’d have to ask Jeff to be sure, but I think I remember him telling you to beat it.
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 2:08 pm #
If you’re keeping score, chalk this right wing madman up as one who congratulates the President on a job very well done. I’d have liked to have seen this done sooner, but I’m not one to let the perfect be the enemy of the very, very good. It’s hard to see how this could have come out better. I’ll swing a brickbat when it’s warranted, but for now I’ve got a big thumbs-up for Obama.
An honest Republican. My hat is off, but you should keep aware for the wingnut pitchforks.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 2:09 pm #
BTW, Bolshi-boi: you just joined your fellow traveller Cumrag FuckToy in the troll bin. Again.
I really need to modify that so people stay in there permanently…
Comment by Jeffersonian on 4/12 @ 2:10 pm #
An honest Republican. My hat is off, but you should keep aware for the wingnut pitchforks.
I’m a card-carrying libertarian.
Comment by Mikey NTH on 4/12 @ 2:13 pm #
Actually the president should do very little in this situation. He should just tell the CJCS to get the US captain back if possible, and deal with those pirates. Otherwise, he shouldn’t say anything and let the military do their duty.
He is the ultimate authority on these matters – ‘the decider’ or ‘the buck stops here’ – type of authority. Once he has made his decision and has delegated it, he shouldn’t say anything else until it is done.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 2:13 pm #
Oh, is CumRag Fucktoy under the impression that we’re all Republicans around here?
What a tool.
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 2:16 pm #
I’m a card-carrying libertarian.
My hat is still off, but the wingnut pitchforks don’t make such fine distinctions.
Comment by Abe Froman on 4/12 @ 2:16 pm #
Deep down lefties know that they are a bunch of pussies. No other explanation for their coming here at this moment desperate for our approval of Obama’s brief show of testicular fortitude. I for one applaud Obama’s staying out of the way of the overwhelmingly wingnut military for problem-solving in this instance!
Comment by Mikey NTH on 4/12 @ 2:19 pm #
#17 SBP:
The Mayaguez.
Gerald Ford responded correctly.
Comment by Rusty on 4/12 @ 2:19 pm #
President Obama signed off on this high-profile operation… but you haters will never give him credit.
Oh, no. I give him full credit, and it’s about damn time. This was the “O”s ” 2 or 3 minutes of deer in the headlights like GWBs moment after 9/11, but the “O”s lasted three days. Nice of him to finally get around to it. Now about the economy……………………….
Comment by serr8d on 4/12 @ 2:21 pm #
Yes, congrats to the Navy Seals, and to the Cap’n for having courage beyond the ordinary.
Do I give Obama any credit for this? No.
I’d guess the operation was a success in spite of Obama’s involvement; not because of it.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:21 pm #
I’m awestruck by the fact that David isn’t blaming Bush.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:22 pm #
“Now we are going to lose Afghanistan and who are you going to blame?”
It’ll be Obama’s fault if we cut and run.
Comment by David on 4/12 @ 2:22 pm #
Hey wingnuts, here’s an interesting exercise… name one successful Reich-wing comedian or one funny Reich-wing movie or play, ok?
Of course, Reich wing humor is always a major FAIL… Reich-wing “comedy” is always corny and unfunny to anyone left of Hitler.
Fox Noise’s FAILED “The 1/2 Hour News Hour”?
Denis Miller?
An American Carol (Rotten Tomatoes rating of THIRTEEN PERCENT)
Humorless and authoritarian… that’s why you people have lost the American electorate.
All you people are good at is whining and complaining over some 31 flavor of the month, faux outrage that Rupert Murdock manufactures.
The Reich-wing mentality is based on fear and paranoia.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:23 pm #
Otherwise the American military will win another war the reactionary left wants to lose.
Vietnam redux.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 2:23 pm #
Mikey, the Mayaguez was captured by a uniformed force operating under the auspices of a government, so I’d classify that as an act of war, not piracy.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:24 pm #
“SPB, you mean , Jeff, the “Classical liberal†does not want my voice to be heard here?
Is that right, nazi?”
Naxi’s are leftist thugs.
Oh.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 2:24 pm #
Bye, David.
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 2:26 pm #
Deep down lefties know that they are a bunch of pussies. No other explanation for their coming here at this moment desperate for our approval of Obama’s brief show of testicular fortitude. I for one applaud Obama’s staying out of the way of the overwhelmingly wingnut military for problem-solving in this instance!
Personally, I came here to watch another episode of foot-in-mouth, courtesy of another Obama three pointer. But that’s just me:)
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:27 pm #
“Comment by David on 4/12 @ 2:22 pm #
Hey wingnuts, here’s an interesting exercise… name one successful Reich-wing comedian or one funny Reich-wing movie or play, ok?”
“Reich-wing”??????
Nazis are leftists, retard.
Name me a funny reactionary leftist comedian.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:28 pm #
“Humorless and authoritarian…”
Comrade Stalin redux.
Comment by Abe Froman on 4/12 @ 2:29 pm #
Personally, I came here to watch another episode of foot-in-mouth, courtesy of another Obama three pointer. But that’s just me:)
LOL.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:30 pm #
“….another Obama three pointer.”
Another?
Waht else has he done except laid the groundword for destroying the American economy and putting our children in debt for as far as the eye can see?
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 2:31 pm #
. Now about the economy……………………….
How about the economy? Stock market up 20 percent, banks making money again, and overall, little rays of Obama sunshine.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:31 pm #
Classical liberalism is a belief in individual freedom, traditional religion, democratic (small d) government, property rights, the rule of law, free markets, laissez-faire economics and market competition.
Yet we get called fascist.
-me
Comment by serr8d on 4/12 @ 2:31 pm #
RACIST~~!!!!111!1!!!!
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:32 pm #
Yet we get called fascist by statist, collectivist thugs.
Ok, got it.
Comment by Jeffersonian on 4/12 @ 2:33 pm #
Do I give Obama any credit for this? No.
I think this is wrong-headed. Obama was clearly involved in the decision to proceed with capping these shitheels and capturing the “negotiator.” He could just as easily pulled a Jimmy Carter and put so many restrictions on the military that the operation would almost certainly have failed. As it is, we have an unharmed captain, three dead pirates and another who surely had an “Oh, fuck” moment that I’d pay a dollar to have witnessed. Credit where it’s due, guys and gals.
Comment by serr8d on 4/12 @ 2:33 pm #
OMG, this guy has a Unicorn horn stuck up his ass.
Comrade Stuck, indeed.
Comment by Comrade Stuck on 4/12 @ 2:34 pm #
RACIST~~!!!!111!1!!!!
Airball!
Comment by Travis on 4/12 @ 2:34 pm #
N. O’Brain on 4/12 @ 2:32 pm #
Yet we get called fascist by statist, collectivist thugs.
Ok, got it.
If a conservative doesn’t get called a fascist by the lefties at least once he isn’t doing it right!
Comment by Mikey NTH on 4/12 @ 2:36 pm #
Sure, SBP; but it was the correct reaction to a quasi-war, quasi-pirate situation. If that was not done, how many other ‘Mayaguez’ situations may there have been?
You – whomever you are – seize an American ship, you will get a real reaction. No ransom, just bullets and shells. It tends to be edifying.
Comment by Mikey NTH on 4/12 @ 2:39 pm #
#41:
Does ‘Springtime for Hitler’ count?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNXj-SCx5dY
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 2:46 pm #
“The Reich-wing mentality is based on fear and paranoia.”
“At its most basic level, liberalism is nothing more than childlike emotionalism applied to adult issues.”
-John Hawkins, RWN
Only I don’t call it liberalism, I call it what it is: reactionary leftism.
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 2:47 pm #
President Obama signed off on this high-profile operation… but you haters will never give him credit.
I will give him credit. As Jeffersonian said, “He could just as easily pulled a Jimmy Carter and put so many restrictions on the military that the operation would almost certainly have failed.”
So I will give him credit for giving the okay to shoot pirates and rescue hostages. I hear he also makes the right decision every morning to flush the commode after he takes a shit. Props.
Comment by JHoward on 4/12 @ 2:48 pm #
Heh. I, for one, fully concede the point, David. Bill Maher, Jeanne Garofalo, Letterman, Olberman, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, SNL, and nine-tenths of Hollywood. The left indeed gets a total mindset from the jester class.
Me, I think Goldstein and Limbaugh and Miller are three of the funniest guys I’ve heard.
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 2:50 pm #
Drew Carrey. Ron White. Jeff Foxworthy. Larry the Cable Guy.
Comment by JD on 4/12 @ 2:51 pm #
Are these mendoucheous unicorn-buggerers for real?
Comment by serr8d on 4/12 @ 2:52 pm #
The Cap’n decided the when of this mission, by jumping overboard again. The Navy’s Seals immediately took advantage of the situation. Obama just allowed their success by staying out of the way; the professionals did their jobs.
If only Obama could learn something from this episode, and allow market professionals room to work, then we might keep a market economy. But there’s something else coming his way..
Comment by JHoward on 4/12 @ 2:57 pm #
I knew we weren’t even remotely through, serr8d. We’re at the point now where we might as well just print the stuff.
Half seriously, half experimenting with the idea, I used to advocate just printing the budget’s requirements. We nearly did anyway; let’s be honest about it. Now we’re about to have no choice.
Comment by Jeffersonian on 4/12 @ 2:58 pm #
The Cap’n decided the when of this mission, by jumping overboard again. The Navy’s Seals immediately took advantage of the situation. Obama just allowed their success by staying out of the way; the professionals did their jobs.
I hadn’t seen a definitive sequence of events to say what precipitated this – whether a sniper ventilated a pirate, thus providing an opportunity for the captain to make another break for it or whether the captain bolting brought the pirates out into the open for the snipers – but either way, our guys had a green light to do what was required to bring the citizen home alive and send the pirates back dead. Mission fucking accomplished, baby.
I agree there’s a lesson here for the economy, too. Nice point.
Comment by Jeffersonian on 4/12 @ 3:10 pm #
From a report on Yahoo by the AP, it seems that the trigger for this was the pirates’ threatening to shoot Captain Phillips, whereby snipers opened fire on them, killing them.
Right decision.
Comment by donald on 4/12 @ 3:15 pm #
B’moe’s examples are way funnier…and NICER than than J Howards example. Using Jeff Foxworthy as an example, who grew up on my side of town, and frequented the same southside dumps as I did is a particulary gracious and generous person. Bill Maher as an example is deemed a complete shit heel by all who know him.
President Obama would do well to realize that he has actual professionals in the military who know what they’re doing. Hence if he let’s these professional’s do their job, good things will happen.
Game planning each moment of every citizen’s life with thir rate Ivy League hacks will lead to disaster to this repoublic. Perhaps he could actually recruit some actual professionals and leaders in other key departments.
HAH!
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 3:18 pm #
Here’s a question for the mendoucheous reactionary leftists infesting Jeff’s site today: is the captured pirate eligible for a trial?
Comment by cynn on 4/12 @ 3:26 pm #
Great news!
Comment by Joe on 4/12 @ 3:33 pm #
Borrowing from Ace. Alhamdulillah…pirates killed by enuii, pathos, and well directed attack by U.S. Special Forces, but mostly well directed attack by U.S. Special Forces.
Comment by urthshu on 4/12 @ 3:34 pm #
>>is the captured pirate eligible for a trial?
Not really. And the standoff shouldn’t have taken as long as it did, either.
Nominally, National waters are given as approx. 3 miles from shore [by fading memory] but the practical limit is what the nation can enforce.
Somalia, with its pirate-infested waters, clearly is unable to enforce national boundaries. So whether it took place within nominal territorial waters or not, the pirates are considered to be men without a country engaged in crime on the high seas.
Technically speaking, the Navy has no peace standard whatsoever and need not ask for fire permission when threatened or when defending the sea lanes, which is their primary mission for the US and the world. That they took as long as they did is still somewhat a mystery to me, especially as I know for a fact they’ve standard responses for piracy.
Speaking as a former Bos’n.
Comment by Canada Corner on 4/12 @ 3:39 pm #
I like Dave. He’s clean, articulate and he never brings on the hate! like us silly wingnuts. We got a lot to learn from this Dave fellow. I hope he sticks around.
Comment by urthshu on 4/12 @ 3:42 pm #
That said, BTW, he’ll probably still get a trial. Unsure whether that would fall under admiralty law or military jurisdiction.
Comment by SDN on 4/12 @ 3:50 pm #
Actually, ursuthu, it’s been 12 miles as long as I can remember; various powers have tried to claim 200 for various purposes of economic development (fisheries, mineral rights, etc.), but legal is usually 12 miles (unless the geography dictates less).
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 3:51 pm #
Besides our esteemed host (who’s already been mentioned) Iowahawk, Lileks, and Ace are all funny as hell.
The South Park guys are Republicans. David Zucker, too.
Comment by TmjUtah on 4/12 @ 3:52 pm #
Just an observation on ROE:
It appears that the Captain made the call at the moment all three of the boat-borne pirates were visible. And armed.
The initial White House statement was passive voice; about what I expected. Not sure if their aim is to avoid pissing off their base or just wanting to be on the record as spectators, which they were.
Oh, and much, much more informed comment on the shooting: DAMN. Range a nominal twenty five meters, three targets, shooting from above down to a pitching lifeboat. Just damn fine shooting.
Comment by TmjUtah on 4/12 @ 3:57 pm #
Piracy only ended when it was no longer profitable. Oh, gibbeting and otherwise killing them where they were found was a factor, as were shore raids on pirate lairs, but it was economics that ended the culture last time.
As long as Euro insurance companies maintain offices in Mogadishu expressly for the purpose of negotiating ransoms, we will continue to see the flip flop crews on the nightly news.
Comment by jamrat on 4/12 @ 3:58 pm #
It takes a real ignoramus to accuse people on this site of having no sense of humor. What do you bet David is a denizen of Kos?
Comment by Rusty on 4/12 @ 4:02 pm #
What does “Reichwing” mean?
Comment by TmjUtah on 4/12 @ 4:06 pm #
Rusty, weren’t those the German work boots that always ended up walking across the border to Poland? I can’t remember…;->~
Comment by Joe on 4/12 @ 4:06 pm #
Okay, I did not want Obama to fail doing this. Good to see he had the smarts to let the military do what they do.
Comment by Joe on 4/12 @ 4:11 pm #
Defense of marriage, Saudi style
Comment by Canada Corner on 4/12 @ 4:16 pm #
“Comment by Rusty on 4/12 @ 4:02 pm #
What does “Reichwing†mean?”
It means Dave is still in college. I’d keep an eye on this Dave fellow. He’s got a lot to teach us if we could just get over our wingnutty ways of thinking.
Comment by Ella on 4/12 @ 4:32 pm #
Okay, here’s the timeline as I remember it. Feel free to correct.
Wednesday: The pirates take the boat. Crew kicks three of them off and takes a fourth prisoner, but the fleeing pirates take the captain. Obama gives “do not fire” orders to the Navy, which follows the boat around till it runs out of gas.
Thursday: Captain Phillips jumps overboard to try to swim for the USS Bainbridge. The Bainbridge, under do not engage orders, watches the pirates take the captain again.
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday: The captain jumps off again, and this time the Bainbridge shoots the pirates dead.
Lots of interesting things leap out at me:
1. The living pirate was probably the one captured by the crew in the initial pirate fight.
2. Now, Obama is claiming that he finally told the military it was okay to shoot pirates on Friday and again on Saturday.
Obama initially gave “don’t shoot!” orders and apparently changed his mind only after the captain’s escape attempt. Also, he didn’t, apparently, give any instructions about them fighting pirates today, the actual day of the rescue. That’s interesting to me. Is it going to come out that the Bainbridge acted without orders? And Obama doesn’t want to look like a totally uninvolved douche? Or maybe the orders he gave on Saturday were standing orders (in which case, it’s interesting that the orders he gave on Friday were good for one day only).
My point is, I give O less than zero credit here. I think the only people who handled this worse were the pirates.
My references for Obama’s order history: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97H4LVO0&show_article=1
Comment by Sdferr on 4/12 @ 4:38 pm #
Blackfive has a different narration of events than I see here. The initial stories are almost certainly wrong.
Comment by Ella on 4/12 @ 5:11 pm #
They were towing the pirate boat to calmer waters? What? What? Wha… ? Why were they towing the pirate boat to calmer waters? So this could last water? So the pirates wouldn’t be uncomfortable?
Who came up with that crappy plan?
Comment by Vermont Neighbor on 4/12 @ 5:16 pm #
“Who came up with that crappy plan?”
Black Jesus?
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 5:25 pm #
Why were they towing the pirate boat to calmer waters?
To get close enough to give the snipers a good shot, would be my guess.
Comment by Vermont Neighbor on 4/12 @ 5:26 pm #
Others can kick or praise Junior. It seemed to move slowly, almost with concern for the pirates’ well being. And his initial order was ‘don’t shoot.’ Reading this thread, I would credit the Seals and wait to hear what Obama did, other than stay out of the way. Which, as stated, would also be ideal for the financial mess.
Comment by Vermont Neighbor on 4/12 @ 5:29 pm #
So should Cynthia McKinney turn around with the supply boat? You know what they say in the DNC. Kill babies, not pirates.
Comment by serr8d on 4/12 @ 5:31 pm #
My question is, did the Cap’n jump in the ocean or not? Was he wet when they brought him aboard the Bainbridge?
It seems these pirates point guns at heads as a matter of general principle; that’s not anything unusual. Also, they must’ve known that the minute their hostage died, they too would be dead.
Well, wait. Maybe not. They gots rights.
I’ll bet Captain Phillips played a larger role than as just an immovable target.
Comment by Rick Ballard on 4/12 @ 5:35 pm #
Geez, serr8d, next thing you’ll be pointing out the fact that the one pirate being on board the Bainbridge indicates a state of truce.
‘Cept – pirates and terrorists kinda miss out on the niceties that go along with Rules of War.
Comment by Ella on 4/12 @ 5:42 pm #
My quesiton is, how were they towing them? Since I don’t think the Navy has a tractor beam, they had to actually get a tow rope or something out to the pirate boat. Which means that got pretty stinkin’ close without killing pirates or picking up swimming captains in a way that can only be described as non-confrontational.
That really blows. I am standing by my initial statement that O! did more to hurt this situation than help. When O! tries to make pirates more comfortable and prevents the Navy from saving sea captains, I hope he fails.
Oh, and my previous comment should read “so this could last longer?” not “so this could last water?” Because that second statement makes no sense.
Comment by Vermont Neighbor on 4/12 @ 5:59 pm #
Gimme shelter. Barack has named his dog ‘Bo.’ After his initials. No wonder he didn’t have time for the pirate mess. Priorities.
Comment by eCurmudgeon on 4/12 @ 6:03 pm #
@Spies, Brigands, and Pirates: “Now the Navy needs to shell the fuck out of their shore bases.”
Napalm.
Comment by alppuccino on 4/12 @ 6:03 pm #
Captain Phillips is movie material now and David and Comrade Stuck want to use this time to praise Obama.
Typical. Pretty sure Phillips errs on the side of liberty. Liberty is not really Obama’s thing.
Comment by alppuccino on 4/12 @ 6:04 pm #
Look! Look! Something good happened on Obama’s watch!
Pathetic.
Comment by cranky-d on 4/12 @ 6:05 pm #
He’s a narcissist’s narcissist. Well, he would be, if there could be such a person.
Comment by The Monster on 4/12 @ 6:08 pm #
To get close enough to give the snipers a good shot, would be my guess. Not only that, but, because even the best snipers in the US military can have trouble hitting the brain of a pirate when it’s perched atop a life boat pitching and heaving on rough seas. Get them to calmer waters, and at that reduced range I’d expect anyone who wears the Budweiser to be able to make that shot.
The important thing is that Obama didn’t repeat Carter’s moves that greenlighted the taking of our embassy. He ordered the Marines to not shoot people coming over the embassy walls, despite (because of?) an earlier attempt. He has already shown the willingness to disappoint his base, and continue, if not expand, some Bush Administration policies. Perhaps there’s hope that he’ll do more of that.
Comment by alppuccino on 4/12 @ 6:11 pm #
But will he invite Phillips to the White House and bow lowly to a man of more courage than he?
Not likely.
Comment by The Sanity Inspector on 4/12 @ 6:15 pm #
Let’s hope the pirates are fucking doomed.
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 6:16 pm #
Look! Look! Something good happened on Obama’s watch!
Pathetic.
It really is, isn’t it? David is pissed we aren’t giving Obama enough credit for staying out of the way and not fucking up.
Comment by George Orwell on 4/12 @ 6:23 pm #
I’m thrilled that Obastard failed here. The Unicorn God sold himself to us on the basis of dialogue with enemies, “smart” diplomacy, eschewing provocative actions of a unilateral nature. The only way Obastard could have succeeded would be for everyone to walk away, unharmed. Obastard has failed utterly at this first test. Dead Somalis for a freed hostage. Dead men, killed by US forces. You failed, Barry. Failed miserably. You’re a citizen of the world, remember? And you killed some of your own citizens because you failed at diplomacy and negotiation. If you keep failing like this, you’ll be indistinguishable from the previous occupant of the White House.
Which wouldn’t be so bad, in some ways. But I’m sure you’ll succeed with your other, more engaging projects. Like smothering the economy in massive debt and futile, self-destructive industrial policy.
Comment by Tim McNabb on 4/12 @ 7:01 pm #
I haven’t read all the comments, but I am pleasantly suprised that this operation was not kiboshed. I will give credit where credit is due.
Comment by Matt on 4/12 @ 7:03 pm #
There are alot of mental gymnastics being performed by our resident trolls to somehow turn the Obama presidency to date into a win (or, lol, a 3 pointer).
Do you trolls like fishsticks ??
And really, this was a small thing to handle. 4 terrorists, 1 hostage in a motor boat. And it takes this long to get done. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen during a real crisis like N. korea or iran.
Comment by Matt on 4/12 @ 7:03 pm #
*I will give credit where credit is due.*
Navy seals. US military. Finest best trained men and woman in the world.
Or cold blooded killers, if you listen to John Murtha.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 7:13 pm #
” The lifeboat was approx. 25 m behind the Bainbridge when snipers on the fantail observed one of the pirates in the pilot house of the lifeboat pointing an AK-47 at the back of a tied up Phillips and the other two pirates on board were visible (at least shoulders and heads). The standing authority gave them clearance to engage the pirates if the life of the captain was in imminent danger. The on scene commander deemed this to be true and gave the order to fire. ”
-Blackfive narrative
So much for O!bama being the Messiah.
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/12 @ 7:14 pm #
“This was not a rescue attempt ordered by National Command Authority i.e. the President. It was a reaction by the on scene commander under standard authority to safeguard the life of a hostage.”
HAHAHHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!
Comment by sashal on 4/12 @ 7:16 pm #
hey, nobrain nazi, why do you want our president to be a “Messiah”?
Comment by sashal on 4/12 @ 7:19 pm #
I agree with Matt .
We should start bombing N. Korea and Iran immediately and should send John Bolton to drive the giant crane which will knock down the United Nations building.
Foreign policy should only be handled by the grownups, who know when to throw staplers and when to land on carriers in a flight suit.
Comment by cranky-d on 4/12 @ 7:24 pm #
Hey, troll-boy, I hope you kicked in some money for the bandwidth you’re using, considering you were asked to not comment here.
Comment by ChrisP on 4/12 @ 7:26 pm #
Just an FYI, It’s SEALs, all caps, one word.
Bummer about Trollhammer that one has to enable cookies for it to work.
I hates me some ‘cookies’. I Trollhammered that stupid POS sashal and it did not go away! Turned cookies ON and did it again. Now, I’m safe from the STUPID.
Thanks, SBP!
ChrisP
Comment by Rusty on 4/12 @ 7:45 pm #
#83
“Thanks Tim”, He said, After wiping the beer off his computer screen.
Comment by gus on 4/12 @ 7:59 pm #
Are Obama and Rodham supposed to be grown ups??
The only foreign policy experience or diplomatic experience either of them has is Obama’s short stint as an Indonesian Muslim boy.
I crack myself up.
Comment by TorchesToRome on 4/12 @ 8:04 pm #
Hey Obama killed some brown people and the O-bots are here celebrating! Fucking racists!
Comment by gus on 4/12 @ 8:04 pm #
What was it that O’Drama did for us today? I must have missed it.
Comment by gus on 4/12 @ 8:07 pm #
I will give Obama credit for blowing away these Muslim Fux.
Thank you Sir. Encore, Encore!!!
Hahahahhahaahahhhahaahahaha.
3 dead Muslims, 6 fewer Carbon Footprints.
Comment by Pablo on 4/12 @ 8:15 pm #
O’Bambi made the right call here, and he did right in keeping his mouth shut about it while the Navy did its thing. Credit where it is due, even for dirty socialists. Perhaps he learned something from Carter. Or it was Hillary’s idea.
Nice shooting, boys. thank you.
Comment by Pablo on 4/12 @ 8:17 pm #
Just like Bush did, right sashal?
Comment by Pablo on 4/12 @ 8:23 pm #
Ah. Not exactly a Profile in Courage, but still the right call.
Comment by gus on 4/12 @ 8:26 pm #
Pablo, I find it interesting the O’Drama gets credit for the MILITARY that he INHERITED. If you get my drift.
Comment by gus on 4/12 @ 8:29 pm #
Again Pablo, Obama didn’t make a “call”. He allowed the military to do it’s thing. What were his options? Even a blind squirrel finds an ACORN.
ACORN!!! hAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAA!
Comment by lee on 4/12 @ 8:40 pm #
Here’s the AP account.
Juicy tidbits:
Seems Guns were the enemy, not the barbarians that inhabit Somalia.
The man in the earpieces of the SEALs saying “shoot” was Obama himself it sounds like, expertly bringing to a swift conclusion what ordinary men would have found impossible!
Oh no, the pirates are going to threaten to shoot hostages now, unlike they were doing before I guess…
Well shit, the only mistake the SEALs made…shouls’a put bullets in all of them.
Comment by Roland THTG on 4/12 @ 8:45 pm #
Sounds like the ROE was not designed to end it unless Cpt Phillips was in eminent danger.
SEAL#1,”Hey, that guy gave him a dirty look!”
CMDR, USS Bainbridge, “Take em out!”
Bapbapbap!
Well played, indeed.
If the O! hadn’t orderd them to keep their thumbs up their asses when Phillips jumped out the other day, he’d be home hunting Easter Eggs today with his children.
I’d like to see the FBI report. What the hell? Did they discover that a shitty little boat full of skinny little fuckers managed to jump and take over a container ship? Were they dusting for prints? What was that all about?
Excellent result though. Three cheers for the squids.
Obama? Not so much.
Not impressed.
Comment by Pablo on 4/12 @ 8:55 pm #
Ah, the one isn’t dead because he wasn’t onboard anymore:
gus, he’s the CINC. His options are to tell them to do whatever he wants them to do.
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 9:00 pm #
We need to stop calling them pirates, they are Floating Community Organizers.
Pirates were the first people to rebel against this world. They mutinied against their tyrannical captains – and created a different way of working on the seas. Once they had a ship, the pirates elected their captains, and made all their decisions collectively. They shared their bounty out in what Rediker calls “one of the most egalitarian plans for the disposition of resources to be found anywhere in the eighteenth century.” They even took in escaped African slaves and lived with them as equals. The pirates showed “quite clearly – and subversively – that ships did not have to be run in the brutal and oppressive ways of the merchant service and the Royal navy.” This is why they were popular, despite being unproductive thieves.
That last line again:
This is why they were popular, despite being unproductive thieves.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/you-are-being-lied-to-abo_b_155147.html
Can’t. Stop. Laughing.
Comment by Vermont Neighbor on 4/12 @ 9:20 pm #
HuffPo. wow.. shackled to the narrative.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 9:22 pm #
Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old self-proclaimed pirate, told the AP from one of Somalia’s piracy hubs, Eyl, that: “From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages).â€
What Obama should say in response:
“From now on, Jamec, if you attack a US-flagged ship, you’ll get a couple of Ticonderoga-class cruisers emptying every friggin’ missile into your Stone Age home port.”
What Obama will say in response:
“Uh…uh…we’re requesting that…uh…a UN study group…uh…study the…uh…problem and issue recommendations for further…uh…study. Can I have my pizza now?”
Comment by geoffb on 4/12 @ 9:24 pm #
Well, thank goodness that distraction is now over so Obama can get back to the important things he has been meaning to take care of, someday, if only the world would stop all of the distractions. How can he even eat his waffle in peace, much less implement his grand plan for the world, unless all of us everywhere just sit down and STFU.
Comment by Darleen on 4/12 @ 9:29 pm #
I’ve skipped down from #22 David’s because I have to address this before reading the rest of the comments
Just where is it written that the “young people” are the repository of all wisdom and we must follow them?
Need I remind you, David, that some of the worst evil of the bloodiest century on record, the 20th, was done by “movements” defined by being “young peoples’” movements? Nazism, Italian fascism, Mao and the Khmer Rouge?
Comment by cynn on 4/12 @ 9:32 pm #
You fuckers are unreal.
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 9:38 pm #
You fuckers are unreal.
Thank you.
Comment by gus on 4/12 @ 9:43 pm #
Thank you Pablo. My question was rhetorical. CINC gives Bambi, big ears dimwit the power to tell the USS.REAGAN to serve Muslim Dietary meals 24/7. Being CINC gives him the power to tell all US MILITARY to root for the White Sox. In this situation……WHY WOULD OPIE HUSSEIN OBAMA interject ANYTHING?? How is he smart enough or qualified enough to make a localized decision that is not a MAJOR POLICY DECISION????
In this specific situation, which is INSIGNIFICANT when viewed through the LENS of MILITARY STRATEGY and POLICY, why would BAMBI O’DUMBSHIT have ANY input??? The answer is that…..To O’DUMBSHIT, this is a big MILITARY OPERATION. It was not. It was a very very successful operation in which OBAMA’s input was in NO WAY NECESSARY. OBAMA has NO CLUE what these BRAVE men and women do EVERY SINGLE FUXING DAY.
OBAMA IS AN EMBARRASSMENT to our MILITARY.
Comment by geoffb on 4/12 @ 9:47 pm #
Compared to the “reality based community” at Huffpo as the control group no doubt.
Flattery, flattery. Lovely flattery.
Comment by B Moe on 4/12 @ 9:53 pm #
Might want to cut back on the caffeine, there, gus old boy.
Comment by RTO Trainer on 4/12 @ 9:55 pm #
I don’t think that’s accurate. (Hold onto your hat, cynn.) The military simply did it’s thing. The rest of the story is the White House putting a spin on it to make sure it looks like they were involved in some way, and not just bystanders.
Reaction, not response.
I might be wrong. I’d be pleased to be so. But my hypothesis fits the known data as well as the reported story and fits better with what I believe of the personality at play here.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 10:32 pm #
Yeah… quite likely that Obama voted “present”, as usual.
That way if things worked out well, he could take credit, but if they went sour, he could lay the blame on the military.
Comment by Spies, Brigands, and Pirates on 4/12 @ 10:34 pm #
Just where is it written that the “young people†are the repository of all wisdom and we must follow them?
I’ve noticed that it’s generally the dumber members of the “younger generation” who are cocksure about their own brilliance.
I’ve been around a lot of smart people in my time, but I can’t think of any venue that averages smarter than this one.
Comment by bastiches on 4/12 @ 11:00 pm #
Those who do the right thing and expect praise deserve nothing.
Comment by Try Hang Gliding on 4/12 @ 11:17 pm #
Sure let’s give Mr. Obama credit, but not too much. From the NY Times via Justoneminute:
The Defense Department twice asked Mr. Obama for permission to use military force to rescue Captain Phillips, most recently late on Friday night, senior defense officials said. On Saturday morning, the president agreed to permit action, they said, but only if it appeared that the captain’s life was in imminent danger.
Comment by Vermont Neighbor on 4/12 @ 11:39 pm #
This is from the fab Dana (the photographer) at Patterico. On the Buckley Memorial thread. She in turn found it at Politico. Me, I don’t understand why procedure’s required for pirates and non-combat types… but here it is:
Obama’s involvement in the decision to authorize lethal force was legally required, officials said, because it was a hostage situation, not combat, and unrelated to the already authorized U.S. effort against al-Qaida and other terror groups, officials said.
“It’s not a combat operation so the lawyers wanted to ensure this was done right,†said a second defense official.
Comment by Dana — 4/12/2009 @ 10:20 pm
Comment by Free Thinker on 4/12 @ 11:43 pm #
Stand by for Obama to apologize to Somalia for killing their pirates.b
Comment by lee on 4/12 @ 11:51 pm #
Darleen, I sent you an email.
Comment by Darleen on 4/13 @ 12:03 am #
lee
I sent you an email back.
Comment by thor on 4/13 @ 12:16 am #
Obama called the family of the abducted captain after his successful rescue.
“I won.”
That’s probably all Obama needed to say. He’s that good.
Comment by malaclypse the tertiary on 4/13 @ 12:34 am #
This is the real narrative here: Commander: Pirates’ deaths could escalate violence.
Comment by psycho... on 4/13 @ 1:06 am #
Really?
There was a joke story here a while back, and in it Obama had a dog named “Barky.” I said, “A man who’ll name his dog after himself will do anything.”
Missed it by that much.
But not.
Comment by B Moe on 4/13 @ 4:56 am #
The story I read said the little girls named the dog after a grandfather nicknamed Bo Diddley. So the kids are apparently pretty cool, must be adopted.
Comment by Carin on 4/13 @ 5:34 am #
Bravo. PTL for our armed forces. Baracky? Meh. Not so much. Brilliant leadership? He had the choice between:
1) Allowing the nautical organizers to kill the good man.
2) Pay the nautical organizers $2 mill and wait for the ramp-up in attacks on US ships.
3) Shoot ‘em dead.
That Barack was able to make a correct choice …
Comment by Dan Collins on 4/13 @ 5:38 am #
Barack didn’t make the choice. The Bainbridge’s Captain gave the order to shoot if the marksmen felt that Phillips’s life was in danger.
Comment by Carin on 4/13 @ 5:56 am #
Oh, of course. But, he had a standing order from earlier, right?
Pingback by Pirate Rescue Fallout [Dan Collins] on 4/13 @ 5:59 am #
[...] to Protein Wisdom homepage « Breaking: Captain Richard Phillips rescued [Darleen Click] | Home | April 13, 2009 Pirate Rescue Fallout [Dan [...]
Comment by Carin on 4/13 @ 6:04 am #
Trolling HufPo, so you folks don’t have to …
Now, I gotta go take a shower.
Comment by JHoward on 4/13 @ 6:08 am #
Why did you, sashal the fool, want our previous president to be a reckless chimpanzee, using corporate marauding to pilfer all that are poor and downtroden, and to do so with a convenient but crude and ignorant Texas speech impediment as your handy collectivist-urbanist identifying mark?
Me, the last thing I “want” is a President as hero, savior, and moral compass. And hey, we got O!prompta so it all works out.
Comment by Mikey NTH on 4/13 @ 6:21 am #
Foreign policy should only be handled by the grownups, who know when to throw staplers and when to land on carriers in a flight suit.
Does anybody here speak gibberish; and if so, could you translate that into comprehensible?
Comment by N. O'Brain on 4/13 @ 7:43 am #
“Does anybody here speak gibberish; and if so, could you translate that into comprehensible?”
Bush had real accomplishments in his lifetime before becoming President.
Obama, not so much.
Comment by Matt on 4/13 @ 8:30 am #
I’ll give credit ALL the credit for allowing the Navy to do its job. He saved 1 person in a motor boat from 3 somali pirates.
And sashal, of course, missed my point, which was “there are worse things out there than Somali pirates” and one of them just gave us the middle finger in launching a rocket and the other gave us the middle finger indicating they were now capable of creating nuclear weapons.
But lets focus on the pirates and Obama’s response. He was brilliant during this crisis, don’t you think. Its obvious how much “clean” and “articulate” appealed to the Somali pirates.
Comment by LTC John on 4/13 @ 9:00 am #
“and another who surely had an “Oh, fuck†moment that I’d pay a dollar to have witnessed.”
I sure would have paid more than a dollar.
Now comes the hard part – if the CinC tells the Navy “no more of this pirate #$%&. Use all means necessary to stop it” I will be wildly applauding. If this was a on-time, police style rescue, then not so much.
Comment by maggie katzen on 4/13 @ 2:40 pm #
erm, well, they had some interesting friends.
Comment by Rusty on 4/13 @ 4:16 pm #
That was the longest sniper shot in history, all the way from the oval office.
Comment by ddc on 4/20 @ 10:11 am #
Heard the Captain from the USS Bainbridge got a Presidential Reprimand. Friend got facts from two sources, several are on the boat or in the fleet. I guess Obmana wanted a peaceful solution. Basically, USS Bainbrdge Captain’s career is over. Too bad.
Comment by ddc on 4/20 @ 10:13 am #
Heard the Captain from the USS Bainbridge got a Presidential Reprimand. Friend got facts from two sources, several are on the boat or in the fleet. I guess Obama wanted a peaceful solution. Basically, USS Bainbrdge Captain’s career is over. Too bad.
Comment by ddc on 4/20 @ 10:13 am #
hahahaah…oopps…typo on the President! hahahaaha
Comment by ddc on 4/20 @ 10:32 am #
Read this article…forum message: The time line and events with hostage:
http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?p=53012341
Look at the top message: “What really happened in Somali waters…”