Navy Seals Free Hostage

[Embar Angylwrath]

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id ... _article=1

This is a nice double helping of awesome. I sure would like to know how the SEALs pulled it off. Just speculating here, but it was probably a 300 yard underwater swim from the Bainbridge, sunset stealth attack with the sun in the eyes of the pirates, double-taps to the guys standing watch on the lifeboat, immediate boarding of the lifeboat by 3-4 SEAL members, and a subsequent immediate surrender by the other pirates.

Everytime I need a reminder of just how bad-ass SEALs are, something like this hits the news.

Obama certainly got some military street cred with this one. It was a gutsy call that could have resulted in the death of the captain, at a time Obama doesn't need any negative publicity. Hell, not even Limbaugh will be able to take a pot-shot at Obama for this one.

[Torakus]

I will have to agree that this is a good thing. Though, based on other reports, I don't think it was anything so dramatic as you envision. It appears the three Somalis that were killed, were taken down by sniper fire.

Tora

[Ddrak]

7:19pm local time - would have been dark.

[Kulaf]

Piracy in international waters should just be summary execution. Like the good old days.

[Ddrak]

Reuters has more info: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/ ... 9120090412

Interesting side point - the pirate gangs are now are claiming US and French civilians as free targets, claiming the US response was unfair because they didn't kill anyone. I doubt we've seen the end of this mess.

Dd

[Torakus]

If we leave things as they stand, we have not seen the last of it, but if we move on to the next logical step then I think we will see this turn the corner. That next logical step is to start interdicting the mother ships, arresting the whole crew and handing them over to the ICC (yeah I know we have had a bad run with that body, but its time to fix that as well). Slowing the flow of ransom money, and offering them the choice of a bullet in the head or a lifetime of licking grape jelly from Thunder Dick's butt crack, will all help to convince these turds to find some other line of work.

Tora

[Ddrak]

Agreed, Torakus. I imagine it's going to be difficult politically to chase these pirates into Somali waters, and certainly difficult if they land?

Dd

[Arathena]

The primary political issues with chasing them to land and slaughtering them wholesale will be China and Russia taking offense at the use of military force that isn't theirs. There is no credible local authority.

[Torakus]

Here we go again. Latest reports suggest the U.S. is considering an attempt to take out the pirates on land. The proposed measure to soften this intrusion into sovereign territory would be food aid to the locals and an effort to help Somali establish its own Coast Guard.

When will they learn? Our attempt to help last time wasn't welcome, and that time it was Somalis killing other Somalis, not Americans doing the killing. I don't imagine we would be any more welcome to an even more disenfranchised Somali populace this time.

I am not sure anyone is advocating chasing them into land and slaughtering them wholesale. Experience with invoking bilateral agreements to enter foreign territorial seas to conduct LE operations during counter narco-terrorism operations at sea, tells me that the time lag associated with invoking one with Somalia for counter piracy operations (assuming we could get them to even enter into one), would be so large that it might as well not exist. Nor does the government of Somali have any interest in allowing it. They are not looking to improve their local tourism business after all. No I think the answer is to hit them where it hurts and start punishing their national fishing fleet for aiding the pirates. Sure, taking the food off the tables of folks who don't have shit already seems pretty fucking heartless, but something needs to happen.

Tora

[Embar Angylwrath]

The way to deal with pirates hasn't changed in 2000 years. Sink their ships. No ships, no piracy.

[Lurker]

The problem isn't going to be solved by sinking their ships. The boats these pirates are using are small, cheap, and replaceable, and the risk vs. reward ensures an endless supply of manpower. Here's an article about the problem from last year.

[Fallakin Kuvari]

Then you do what the British started doing. Start tracking them down, taking them prisoner and line them up at the gallows.

[Lurker]

yuk yuk

[Embar Angylwrath]

The problem isn't going to be solved by sinking their ships. The boats these pirates are using are small, cheap, and replaceable, and the risk vs. reward ensures an endless supply of manpower. Here's an article about the problem from last year.

Arming potential piracy targets with firepower to repel/sink the pirates changes the risk/reward calculation. If pirates begin to understand that they will most likely die in a piracy attempt, maybe they go back to fishing for a living.

Put a few of these babies on cargo ships and I bet successful piracy attempts plummet.

[Klast Brell]

Most reports I have seen don't go in to the details. From what I gathered the Captain jumped out of the boat and Navy snipers took out the pirates before they could blink.
I have no idea if that's true, but If anyone has heard more details about how the event went down please let me know.

[Klast Brell]

I found more details. It really makes me wonder why more of the story is not being publicized.
The pirates boat ran out of fuel. They were adrift and the navy offered to tow them to calmer waters. The navy ship was towing the pirate vessel on a 100 foot line. I imagine this was part of a set up. Now the pirates were being kept close by in a relatively stable position compared to the Navy ship. After sunset snipers with night vision scopes set up at the back of the ship and waited for a time when they had a clear shot on all 3 pirates at once. "Boom Headshot"

[Partha]

Nor does the government of Somali exist in any practical sense

FIFY.

[Embar Angylwrath]

I found more details. It really makes me wonder why more of the story is not being publicized.
The pirates boat ran out of fuel. They were adrift and the navy offered to tow them to calmer waters. The navy ship was towing the pirate vessel on a 100 foot line. I imagine this was part of a set up. Now the pirates were being kept close by in a relatively stable position compared to the Navy ship. After sunset snipers with night vision scopes set up at the back of the ship and waited for a time when they had a clear shot on all 3 pirates at once. "Boom Headshot"

It's all over CNN.. so I don't know why you say its isn't being publicized. They have interviews with the Rear Admiral, pictures of the boat being towed, and a graphical representation of how it all went down. (Which is pretty much how you understand it)

Anyone else think its some fucking badass marksmenship to take out three pirates with three headshots (they were all headshots.. wow!), at night, in roughening seas, with those three Somali heads moving in 3 axis (pitch, yaw and roll). Sure, it was only a 30 yard shot, but still...

[Fobbon Lazyfoot]

Your tax dollars at work!

[Embar Angylwrath]

BOOM Headshot!