MOMBASA, Kenya - In a daring high-seas rescue, U.S. Navy SEAL snipers killed three Somali pirates and freed the American sea captain who had offered himself as a hostage to save his crew.
The operation was a victory for the world's most powerful military but angry pirates vowed Monday to retaliate.
Those threats raised fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off the coast of lawless Somalia.
"From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. 1 enemy."
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All the other countries have just paid these fools off with millions of dollars. I'm proud that our country actually did something about the crime they committed instead of rewarding them with a payday. R.I.H. guys! (REST IN HELL!)
What are these guys? Petulant 3 year olds who are mad because they got caught misbehaving? They are criminals threatening the lives of innocent ship crews. They should fully expect that if they attack the property or people of another country that SOMEBODY might decide to attack them back. They have no right to commit acts of kidnapping, piracy, and extortion.
What really needs to happen is the rest of the contries of the world who are affected by these events or have shipping concerns in this area of the world need to follow the example set here and fight back. Perhaps if enough of these clowns actually die for their actions, this will become a significantly less appealing line of work and this problem will magically disappear. I would bet it is going to be a little more difficult to get folks together to go after an American flagged ship now.
Perhaps to punctuate the point that it is not a good idea to mess with American citizens and shipping, we ought to lob a few Tomahawks at Mr. Jamac Habeb's neighborhood there in Eyl. I'm fairly certain the US Navy is not highly concerned about being Mr. Habeb's #1 enemy, but perhaps he should have a little concern about him being on our "not hot" list.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
I think they should equip American ships with a few snipers. They can act similiar to the Air Marshals on planes. At the first sign of trouble, bam! Give the stupid pirates warning that should they choose not t heed the advice of not attempting to board the ship they will be shot. It is treaspassing. I would consider it an act of self defense.
I agree with Mema. Start protecting yourselves in the same way and they may get the point.
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Stop trying to be what you see. Be what you ought to be.
I think they should equip American ships with a few snipers. They can act similiar to the Air Marshals on planes. At the first sign of trouble, bam! Give the stupid pirates warning that should they choose not t heed the advice of not attempting to board the ship they will be shot. It is treaspassing. I would consider it an act of self defense.
I agree with Mema. Start protecting yourselves in the same way and they may get the point.
that's what Mr Woo has been saying
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"Am I speaking in a language you're not getting here?"
There was little doubt that we were going to get Captain Phillips back. Just a matter of when they decided to extract him. The greater situation still needs to be dealt with. 4 more ships were hijacked overnight. None of which are American ships or American crews. It really and truly is time for the rest of the world to quit paying these criminals and start dealing with the issue.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
My wife and I were talking about this during lunch. I'd also like to know . . . when something like this comes up, why does the world always look to us to be the ones to come in with force and fix it? For the most part, its not US people getting caught by these turds, so why are we the ones that are expected to take care of it?
I also agree with putting weapons on the ships and give people the clearance to use any necessary force to protect themselves. Yes, there will be a few bloody incidents, but after only a few ships shooting back, it will GREATLY decrease the frequency of them.
Sad, isn't it? Most of the rest of the world likes to complain about the US having military bases around the world, how we are ruining the world economy, and how we are excessive, spoiled, and evil for being in the Middle East. However, when anybody anywhere is in trouble, they look to us to fix it for them. Then when we do, they want to complain about our tactics.
I really think the thing to do here is say to the rest of the world, "We will protect our citizens and our interests. You need to follow suit. Paying these people off like they want us to only encourages them to continue the behavior. Yes there may be some losses which is unfortunate, but that will likely happen anyway if this behavior continues. Its time for everyone concerned to take part in the solution."
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
