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| Pirates Take 4 Americans Hostage - Administration Paralyzed With Indecision | |||||||
| 2011-02-19 | |||||||
The Obama Administration on Saturday said it was assessing possible options and responses, and otherwise not doing anything, after Somali pirates hijacked a yacht with four Americans on board in the Arabian sea off the coast of Somalia.
That case ended in a spectacular rescue by US Navy SEAL snipers, who killed three pirates holding Capt. Richard Phillips, acting on their own initiative with the permission of their ships Captain, while the administration continued to assess possible options and responses.
"All relevant U.S. agencies are monitoring the situation, working to develop further information, assess options and possible responses," Goshko said.
Pirates have recently tied hostages upside down and dragged them in the sea, locked them in freezers, beaten them and used plastic ties around their genitals, the commander of the European Union anti-piracy force, Maj. Gen. Buster Howes said this month.
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| Posted by: Anonymoose |
| #22 And so the Obama administration's "hostage crisis" begins. Wonder if the MSM will run a counter on the nightly news like they did in the Carter administration. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2011-02-19 23:53 |
| #21 Pirates have recently tied hostages upside down and dragged them in the sea, locked them in freezers, beaten them and used plastic ties around their genitals, the commander of the European Union anti-piracy force, Maj. Gen. Buster Howes said this month. But the retired unarmed pilgrims get the ridicule, ok then. Theres some story like that, a good story, some book, hmmmm Piracy happens everyone, Phillipines, Indonesia, Caribbean...what makes this untolerable is it is not like there are a ton of islands and coves to hide out in. Oh we can't violate Somalia's soverignty. What Somalia? It is a failure to make piracy unprofitable and to approach this any less serious then the pirates are obviously taking it, is just window washing. I find it unfortunate there are events we point at and go hey, that was a good one! It should be the other way around. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-02-19 22:58 |
| #20 The EagleSpeak weblog site usually has the latest compiled information on piracy. They also often have maps of pirate activity, and the pirates out of Somalia are ranging far and wide. The business plan is working well for them, due to crazy lawfare ROEs. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2011-02-19 22:36 |
| #19 Total fuckwits who had no business sailing through pirate-infested waters. The thing about sailing on the open water is that there are no roads, road signs or landmarks. Sailors do go off course - by mistake (much as motorists do) or deliberately to avoid storms. They were on their way to Oman, which is hundreds of miles away from the Somali coast. I wouldn't be so quick to blame the victim. Besides, one of the primary functions of the USN is to deter piracy around the globe - it's why we have a blue water navy. In a time of tight budgets, it would be a real feather in the USN's cap if it manages to free the hostages. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-02-19 22:16 |
| #18 gromky, would you be terribly upset if I told you "fuck off, you curmudgeonly bastard"? Not at all! Faith has its place, but trusting to Jesus to help you through real hazards is just really out there. "The Good Lord helps those who help themselves." |
| Posted by: gromky 2011-02-19 22:07 |
| #17 Hobyo, designed for ARCLIGHT. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2011-02-19 20:03 |
#16 Ok, O Admin. You may be only looking at CNN, but I am sure that your own NRO has some dandy pics of Hobyo, Somalia. Well, just in case you have not looked there, here is an image of Hobyo. Latitude: N5-21-05 Longitude: E48-31-30 Looks like an easy one to surround and sort out, given adequate resources. I would, recommend, however to ask your mil intelligence sources for the latest information, as they have the latest pics and intel. The pirates may be holding hostages out of town a ways. Good luck. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2011-02-19 20:02 |
| #15 The latest... MOGADISHU — Somali pirates who hijacked a yacht believed to have Americans onboard were expected to bring the boat back to their main base of Hobyo, a senior pirate commander told AFP Saturday. Abdi Yare, a top pirate commander in Hobyo, 500 kilometres (300 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu, said the boarding squad that captured the yacht left a week earlier from Harardhere, another pirate base further south. "The pirate team that hijacked the yacht is led by a senior commander from the Harardhere area," he said. "I think they will bring them (the hostages) here, near Hobyo, to negotiate the ransom," Yare added. Harardhere, located around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Hobyo is where modern Somali piracy originated in 2003-2004. The town was conquered by the Shebab, an Al Qaeda-inspired insurgent group which is officially opposed to piracy but has recently appeared to tolerate pirate activity on its territory in exchange for a cut of the ransoms. A dispute broke out in recent days between the Shebab and the main "investors" who finance pirate raids and hijackings in exchange for a stake in the ransoms. As a result, most of the vessels that had recently been held off the shores of Harardhere have been transferred to Hobyo and another smaller town to the north called Labad. Most of the 40-plus vessels currently held are cargo or fishing ships but when they capture yachts, the pirates tend to take the hostages to shore as their main bargaining chip is the crew's freedom rather than the ship's value. Few Americans have been taken hostage by pirates since attacks in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean surged in 2007. Abdi Yare said he had received few details on the identities of the S/V Quest's crew as it was still far out at sea, heading towards the Somali coast. "But we have been told they are Americans.... This could be a big catch." |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-02-19 17:32 |
| #14 The organisers of the Somali pirates hijackers are hiding in plain sight is the US, in the Somalia community, to be precise. And Europe. But it's not just the Somalis. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-02-19 16:34 |
| #13 Good job, Bible thumpers. gromky, would you be terribly upset if I told you "fuck off, you curmudgeonly bastard"? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-02-19 16:32 |
| #12 #9 quoting an administration official? |
| Posted by: RandomJD 2011-02-19 16:30 |
| #11 Dear O. Back the hell off and turn over operational control to the local SEAL team. |
| Posted by: Chunky Ebbonter1791 2011-02-19 15:50 |
| #10 Yeah, they are not helping us. We have enough Americans detained overseas be it three hikers in Iran or that media baby in North Korea, or a Diplomat in Pakistan. And you are right about "these types". If you travel abroad, heed state department warnings and be no closer than 10 miles to any border. Carry lots of cash and stay out of the hornets nest. The point is, anytime an American is detained overseas - it's a very big deal. No country or group should ever believe it is rational to take an American hostage. Just how it always was. But, if we have a lackluster response, it sends a message. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-02-19 13:28 |
| #9 Ah, no wonder: "Jesus will protect us!" types. Total fuckwits who had no business sailing through pirate-infested waters. Now, instead of a metaphorical penicillin shot to rid the American people of idiocy, it's an international incident. Good job, Bible thumpers. |
| Posted by: gromky 2011-02-19 13:07 |
| #8 Operation Mobilisation has a couple of large ships that do the same thing on a far larger scale. Going it alone was not prudent. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-02-19 13:00 |
| #7 Background... According to a website chronicling the voyage of a yacht bearing the name S/V Quest, it is the floating home of Jean and Scott Adam, a retired American couple who have been sailing the globe since 2002. The site states the pair took on two new crew members last year. The couple write on their website that they run a Bible ministry, and have been delivering Bibles to schools and churches in remote communities from Alaska to New Zealand. In their planned itinerary for 2011, the couple planned to sail from Sri Lanka to the Mediterranean, via the Suez Canal. Their yacht was apparently en route from India to Oman when it was attacked. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-02-19 12:38 |
| #6 The organisers of the Somali pirates hijackers are hiding in plain sight is the US, in the Somalia community, to be precise. Everyone has known about this for years but as long as the pirates were hijacking other nationalities the can could be kicked down the road. They hijacked the Maersk Alabama which was a mistake, but the US made a mistake in taking one prisoner and sentencing him. The smart thing for the organisers would be to put it down to experience and carry on. But they've decided not to, but instead take on the US head on. The response will be interesting. |
| Posted by: tipper 2011-02-19 12:05 |
| #5 Why is anyone plying a private yacht in those waters? Yeah, yeah, "I have my rights". Then accept the responsibilities and consequences as well. Why should any other American be endangered in a rescue if these fools decided to do their own thing without regard in face of the very common knowledge of the dangers. They said basically 'Screw you. We'll do what we want to do'. My sympathy meter is at zero. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-02-19 12:04 |
| #4 I believe that last paragraph should be highlighted. I don't see it at the link and I don't think that even anyone in the current administration would say something that stupid. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2011-02-19 11:29 |
| #3 Now now, Obambi is just going to consult with his spleen as usual, by shoving his head up his fourth point of contact. He'll be consulting until the people with spines actually resolve this. I would have sworn nobody was going to knock Carter off the Throne of Morons. Apparently I was wrong. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick - Lost Drill Bit Division - Halliburton 2011-02-19 11:29 |
| #2 This has been a disaster since that buffoon was elected. Anybody looking for decisiveness should turn to the dictionary, becasue it sure as he!! isn't going to be coming from DC and the Waffler-in-Chief. Pray for those hostages. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret 2011-02-19 11:22 |
| #1 this already is a disaster. This administration... Get your asses on the comm and get those Americans released NOW. Your pussy administration. WTF is this nonsense? and I do not mean "Way to the future" Stupid stupid - yes you obama. You are stupid. |
| Posted by: newc 2011-02-19 10:20 |