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Thomas Jeffeson Barbary PiratesFollow

#77 Apr 12 2009 at 9:20 PM Rating: Good
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090413/ap_on_re_af/piracy
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Kidnapped US captain freed; snipers kill 3 pirates

NAIROBI, Kenya – Navy Seal snipers on the fantail of a destroyer cut down three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued an American sea captain on Easter Sunday. The surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas ended a five-day standoff between a team of rogue gunmen and the world's most powerful military.

It was a stunning conclusion to an Indian Ocean odyssey that began when 53-year-old freighter Capt. Richard Phillips was taken hostage Wednesday by pirates who tried to hijack the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama. The Vermont native was held on a tiny lifeboat that began drifting precariously toward Somalia's anarchic, gun-plagued shores.

The operation, personally approved by President Barack Obama, quashed fears the saga could drag on for months and marked a victory for the U.S., which for days seemed powerless to resolve the crisis despite massing helicopter-equipped warships at the scene.

Guess Obama could handle it after all Smiley: laugh

Of course there's two sides to every coin:
Quote:
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)."
#78 Apr 12 2009 at 10:22 PM Rating: Excellent
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Why Eyl is not a glowing crater right now, I'll never know.
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#79 Apr 13 2009 at 4:58 AM Rating: Decent
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I'd just like to request that you people please stop rating Varus down once he's hit sub-default. It makes it a pain to follow threads like this when all his ranting has disappeared.

Edited, Apr 13th 2009 8:59am by Turin
#80 Apr 13 2009 at 5:09 AM Rating: Default
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Turin wrote:
I'd just like to request that you people please stop rating Varus down once he's hit sub-default. It makes it a pain to follow threads like this when all his ranting has disappeared.

Edited, Apr 13th 2009 8:59am by Turin



FUck off
#81 Apr 13 2009 at 5:25 AM Rating: Decent
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Deathwysh wrote:
Turin wrote:
I'd just like to request that you people please stop rating Varus down once he's hit sub-default. It makes it a pain to follow threads like this when all his ranting has disappeared.

Edited, Apr 13th 2009 8:59am by Turin



FUck off


Back at you junior.
#82 Apr 13 2009 at 6:14 AM Rating: Default
I'm curious. The captain said he paid the pirates off. If this is true does this make this a victory or defeat for somali/muslim/pirates?

I know questions like these are nothing but the illogical ravings of an insane lunatic.

#83 Apr 13 2009 at 6:18 AM Rating: Good
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hangtennow wrote:
I'm curious. The captain said he paid the pirates off. If this is true does this make this a victory or defeat for somali/muslim/pirates?

I know questions like these are nothing but the illogical ravings of an insane lunatic.

Well, if 3 of them hadn't have died, then I suppose it still would've been a small victory for them as they were still walking away with more than what they came with.
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#84 Apr 13 2009 at 6:23 AM Rating: Excellent
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hangtennow wrote:
The captain said he paid the pirates off.
Got a link? I've seen varied reports of what happened but nothing of that nature.
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#85 Apr 13 2009 at 6:56 AM Rating: Good
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Jophiel wrote:
hangtennow wrote:
The captain said he paid the pirates off.
Got a link? I've seen varied reports of what happened but nothing of that nature.
The story I read said that snipers killed the 3 pirates when one of them had a gun pointed at the captain. I haven't heard anything about the captain paying them off.
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#86 Apr 13 2009 at 7:00 AM Rating: Excellent
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Likewise. A small boat from one of the US naval craft was delivering food to the lifeboat when one pirate asked to get medical attention for his wounded hand (stabbed with an ice-pick during the inital attack). He was returned, under arrest obviously, to the Navy. The other three were taken out simultanously by SEAL snipers with night scopes.

I don't know who got paid off.
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#87 Apr 13 2009 at 7:11 AM Rating: Good
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This wouldn't have happened were the crew allowed to carry guns.

Smiley: grin
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#88 Apr 13 2009 at 7:28 AM Rating: Default
Joph,

Quote:
Got a link? I've seen varied reports of what happened but nothing of that nature.


Nope. Just something I saw either on fox or cnn yesterday afternoon. Something about the captain paying the pirates to release the crew. Which makes a bit more sense than an unarmed crew overpowering guys with ak's.
#89 Apr 13 2009 at 7:29 AM Rating: Good
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Kelvyquayo wrote:
This wouldn't have happened were the crew allowed to carry guns.

Smiley: grin

You hideous, horrible troublemaker. Smiley: bah
#90 Apr 13 2009 at 7:36 AM Rating: Good
hangtennow wrote:
The captain said he paid the pirates off.


Using what? The gold doubloons and peices of eight he was keeping in his back pocket?
#91 Apr 13 2009 at 7:40 AM Rating: Good
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Which makes a bit more sense than an unarmed crew overpowering guys with ak's.


That's exactly what happened. The darkies climbed onto the boat with their AKs and charged toward the bridge taking hostages along the way... At some point the crew DID manage to get one of the AKs from the pirates and held one of them hostage. The pirates had their own hostage and they did a prisoner exchange... only the pirates failed on their deal... (prolly cause they were too drugged up to really know what was going on)

but yeah.. if they had guns in the first place.. instead of firehoses...

let's see.. AK-47 vs. Firehose.. Seems like a no-brainer here.
Sending people into the Gulf of Aden unarmed seems a bit unwise to say the least.

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#92 Apr 13 2009 at 8:01 AM Rating: Excellent
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Screenshot
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#93 Apr 13 2009 at 8:01 AM Rating: Default
Tze,

Are you implying a captain in a ship in those waters wouldn't have access to millions?


#94 Apr 13 2009 at 8:04 AM Rating: Excellent
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If you meant the company was arranging ransom, you should have said so. No, I don't believe the captain would have direct and ready access to millions of dollars. He's an employee.

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#95 Apr 13 2009 at 8:04 AM Rating: Good
Neverunderestimate the PSI of firehoses.

They probably won't kill you, but they will knock you back and leave a lot of bruises.
#96 Apr 13 2009 at 8:09 AM Rating: Excellent
The boat in this case was also carrying aid to Ethiopia, which means it was either a nonprofit organization or a federally owned ship (or outsourced to Haliburton or whoever won that cushy contract.)

Arranging randoms for the retrieval of crew members has been how these pirates have been making their living the last few years.

BTW, now the pirates are vowing revenge on US and French Navies for killing three of their "brothers." I'm torn about it. I have the proverbial devil and angel on my shoulder.

Devil: BRING IT! Go go USA! We can take you ALL on!

Angel: We have left three families without a breadwinner or provider, and incited an already incredibly unstable criminal organization that has everything to gain and nothing to lose. We have to proceed very carefully.

I think my inner devil is a Republican.
#97 Apr 13 2009 at 8:33 AM Rating: Good
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Quote:
BTW, now the pirates are vowing revenge on US and French Navies for killing three of their "brothers."


They'll forget all about it after a few days of whores, drugs, and drinking.
I heard someone on the news say "these aren't the 'Pirates of the Caribbean'". HA! Yes they are. They just aren't white.
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#98 Apr 13 2009 at 8:42 AM Rating: Good
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Of course they're vowing revenge. They can't look like they're easy targets for governments to come in and just wipe them out. They need to look tough so no one tries to stop them. Too many people getting away and their operations fail.
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#99 Apr 13 2009 at 8:45 AM Rating: Excellent
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catwho the Pest wrote:
incited an already incredibly unstable criminal organization that has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
They have a shitload to lose. Piracy has been safe and profitable for them because the companies paid up and the crews didn't fight back. If they start killing crew members in revenge then the crews have motivation to start actually fighting back when being boarded. If they start killing crew members then they're opening themselves and their ports for military strikes. There's mansions being built in Somalia and it doesn't take a genius to guess that their owners didn't make their money by investing in plastics. A big new house on a Somalian hilltop makes a great target for a missile or drone.

The pirates who tried to take the Maersk Alabama made a stupid move when they sent four guys to do it instead of the usual 15-20 and were chased off. The smartest thing the rest of them could do would be to write it off and return to the status quo. Yeah, the US or Europe doesn't want a prolonged military encounter or anything but the pirates are killing their golden goose if they step it up as well.

Edited, Apr 13th 2009 11:46am by Jophiel
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#100 Apr 13 2009 at 9:04 AM Rating: Good
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Yeah, I was thinking that their threat to kill any future hostages if provoked is mostly empty. Killing their hostages when faced with the navy would be suicide, and as has been noted, these are profiteers not suicidal terrorists.

#101 Apr 13 2009 at 9:15 AM Rating: Excellent
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Heh, I caught a couple minutes of Limbaugh bemoaning the fact that Obama is getting any credit for the successful operation and that this will raise his approval numbers and make it easier for him to pass Socialism!. Poor Rush, you could tell he was banking on a negative resolution where he could blame it all on Obama and how he failed his test, etc.

To give credit, most Pubbie sites I saw yesterday gave Obama kudos for the operation.
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