Hilarious Piracy (voluntary Coast Guard)

[Gaspar]

I didn't realize piracy against American citizens was so funny?
Is there a joke I'm missing?

[custosnox]

I hate to say it, but I do find humor in it.  But this is because the pirates tried to take an american ship, and got their butts kicked.  I do hope the captain gets rescued soon, and that the navy doesn't let the pirates off, but as for the rest of it, since none of the piratees did not get hurt, I find the outcome funny.

[Gaspar]

Fair enough. 

We have an American citizen being held hostage.  I can't see the humor yet.
I certainly don't think that the Secretary of State should express humor at the incident until it is resolved.  Heaven forbid the captain is killed or injured.  Heaven forbid that we are forced into a position to render ransom to these animals, or worse, we opt to bow to the UN for guidance.

Perhaps this is a new tactic.  I will reserve judgement.

She could at least put on a grim face, and mentioned that the administration was working on a nasty letter to the pirates, or that they had taken steps to suspend their Twitter accounts.

The sun goes down every night.  I'd like to see what just one Navy Seal could do to those guys under cover of dark.

[custosnox]

I didn't know that our elustrious secretary of state was making light of the situation.  I do agree that is not appropriate with the circumstances.

And yes, I would like to see a seal slip in at night, or a sniper on our ship nearby, or something other then sitting around talking to them.  What ever happened to the "don't negotiate with terrorist" stance?

[we vs us]

There's that whole hostage thing.  You know, innocent lives, etc etc yadda yadda.

Using 24 as a basis for policy, tactics, or strategy is just begging for trouble.

[custosnox]

A seal team, under the cover of night, could easily go in and take out everyone on a lifeboat without putting the hostage at risk.  By negotiating with them, then we leave ourselves open in the future for more hostage situations.  That is why we adopted the policy a long time ago.  Well, we will negotiate, but it's more along the lines of "let them go and you get to live" when it comes down to it.

[cannon_fodder]

Here's what is not so funny, the priority should be:

#1 Pirates get NO REWARD for their efforts, preferably be punished

#2 Safety of US Citizens

#3 Safety of other non-pirate parties

#4 Economic concerns about property.

In the long run, these priorities look out for our interests.  Why do you think they are risking going further out to sea?  Why are they facing off against armed navies? 

Easy:  $3,000,000 a pop.  For $3,000,000 I'd considered hijacking a ship.  A good months work, no one gets hurt, you get more money than your entire village would ever see.

Make it unsuccessful more often than not and the incentive goes away.  Make it so a US flagged ship means no booty, and there is no incentive to attack a US flagged ship.  I feel sorry for the captain (and the company), but long term the no negotiation strategy works.

[Gaspar]

Interesting bit of info:
Maersk Line turned down an offer from Xe (Blackwater) last year for protection.  Xe has developed an anti-pirate ship with guns and specialized helicopters for fighting just such an attack.  They provide similar services to many other countries.  There is not much reported about the attacks they have thwarted because there is not much left to report.

Since Xe (Blackwater) is still our largest military contractor, perhaps the federal government could hire them to provide the protection for merchant ships (or provide US flagged vessels a tax credit for the hire of Xe).  That way we would not have to engage military ships directly, and we would have the additional bonus of NOT dealing with the international repercussions of all the strong worded letters the President would have to write, or the swift and terrible justice of the UN. 

Hope we don't go all Carter on this one!

Or. . . perhaps it's a conspiracy.  The test that Vice President Biden fortold. 

Ragnar is that you?

[we vs us]

Looks like custonox wins the prize.  SEAL team takes out three of four pirates and rescues captain without a scratch. 

Interesting times we live in. 

[guido911]

Looks like custonox wins the prize.  SEAL team takes out three of four pirates and rescues captain without a scratch. 

Interesting times we live in. 

I do not care who made the call (Obama, military commander on scene, Clinton), big props for a great decision. These deadbeat f'ers got what they deserved.

[guido911]

It looks like Obama approved of the resue.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97H4LVO0&show_article=1

As much as I cannot stand this guy, I must give him his due. Good job.

[cannon_fodder]

Gasp!  The pirates are swearing revenge and perhaps we have escalated the situation.  OMG!11!!!

I suppose giving them $2mil and letting them go home would have ensured safety in the area.

Kudos to all involved.

[we vs us]

Gasp!  The pirates are swearing revenge and perhaps we have escalated the situation.  OMG!11!!!

I suppose giving them $2mil and letting them go home would have ensured safety in the area.

Kudos to all involved.

I will be interested to see what "escalation" means in pirate speak. They're pretty far up the ladder at this point, I'd say, if they're successfully capturing and ransoming container-size ships.

[Conan71]

Well, we've just sullied our reputation in the pirate world, haven't we!  Kudos to those who pulled off this mission.

Not negotiating with terrorists isn't a bad idea.

[Gaspar]

I say we take a few of the large to medium size ships that the coast-guard has confiscated for drugs over the years and put a crew of heavily armed marines on each one, then pass them through the area and let the pirates attempt to board, then unleash.

They need to associate pirate activity with suicide.  We should also make sure that the marines are using ammunition coated with pigs blood.