I would guess that SEAL Team 6 was probably responsible, and good for them for pulling off such a difficult mission. And this could have easily ended bad, but for this fight and this day, I will gladly cheer on and celebrate a success.
The other point I wanted to make, is the comments made by the pirates themselves. Especially after news that their fellow pirates were just dealt with violently. Here is the quote:
“The French and the Americans will regret starting this killing. We do not kill, but take only ransom. We shall do something to anyone we see as French or American from now.”
My question for these thugs, is if you only take ransom, what are the RPG’s and AK 47’s for? What a very odd mindset, and it is the type of mindset that has been conditioned by a really good racket. No one has been pushing back for all of these years, and these thugs are probably shocked that anyone would want to fight with them. But to the Somali, who comes from a life of war and chaos, fighting is not that big of a deal.
So with that said, it is even more important than ever, to start this process of getting security on ships. And for those ships that do not have adequate security or still choose to not use security, I really wish you all the luck with that plan. –Matt
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Ship’s captain freed after three pirates are killed in gunfight
Published Date: 13 April 2009
By ELIZABETH A KENNEDY IN MOMBASA
AN AMERICAN ship captain was freed unharmed last night as three of the pirates who held him for days in a lifeboat off the Somali coast were killed during a navy Seals operation personally ordered by US president Barack Obama.
Captain Richard Phillips was in “imminent danger” of being killed before US snipers shot three of the four pirates. The fourth pirate was in US custody last night.
“They were pointing the AK-47s at the captain,” Vice-Admiral William Gortney, head of the US naval central command, said in a Pentagon briefing. He added that Washington had rejected negotiations with the pirates. “The United States government policy is to not negotiate,” he added.
Last night, Mr Obama said the captain had courage that was “a model for all Americans”.
He said he was pleased that Captain Phillips was rescued, adding that the US needed help from other countries to deal with the threat of piracy and to hold pirates accountable. However, Somali pirates threatened revenge last night, raising fears of future bloodshed on the high seas.