Piracy–Hollywood versus Reality (Update II)
By Larry Johnson on April 11, 2009 at 7:15 PM in "Blackhawk Down", Current Affairs, Persian Gulf, Piracy, Somalia
(bumped up from Friday early evening)
Boy, there is a garbage truck load of nonsense being bandied about on the blogs and media about what can and should be done to respond to the piracy against the U.S. flagged ship in the Indian Ocean. So permit me to try to clear up some of the more egregious goofiness.
My qualifications? I am a graduate of the Paul SEAL seminar. Paul SEAL? Paul is a retired Navy SEAL officer who, when he was still on active duty, worked with me at the Department of State’s Office of Counter Terrorism. Paul and I rode to work together for three years. I received the best education about maritime tactics and operations short of becoming a SEAL. Paul, a mustang, had extensive combat experience and has participated in operations against pirates.
(Some of Paul’s exploits are recorded in the book by Harold Lee Wise, Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf, 1987-1988.) I don’t know of a better SEAL officer who is qualified to comment on matters like these.
So what is to be done?
The Hollywood version would put a SEAL team in the water who would sneak up on the lifeboat and, in the dark of night, leap over the sides, kill the pirates and free the Captain. An alternative version would be to capsize the boat and snatch the Captain from the water. What says Commander Paul? Nonsense!!! None of these are valid options.
Apart from being very difficult to do you incur an unnecessarily high risk to your own personnel–although SEALs are physically fit they are not bullet proof nor knife proof. They do not believe in fighting fair. Instead, get a decisive advantage and employ massive, overwhelming force.
How about snipers from a helicopter platform? That is more realistic but it is tough in the dark, even with Night Vision devices, to identify the U.S. hostage and keep Captain Phillips alive. Also, there is an enclosure on the lifeboat that hinders our ability to identify the Captain.
Some, like my good friend John Batchelor, argue that the problem lies on the shores of Somalia. Yes, but that is not a problem we can handle militarily. We are talking clans that act like criminal mafias. They are civilians and there are no separate army or military targets to attack. Embroiling our forces in another futile insurgent war in Somalia is nuts. We could not do it in 1993 in Mogadishu and we cannot do it today.
The good news is that the lifeboat is out of fuel, can’t go anywhere and there is a U.S. Naval combat ship sitting nearby. Best and most likely option right now is to continue negotiations to secure the release of the Captain. We can offer food and water as a good faith offering and we can offer to let the pirates go once the Captain is free. At this point freeing Captain Phillips is the priority. Once the Captain is freed we can worry about apprehending the suspects and going after their mother ship.
Why is the FBI involved? First, the lifeboat is U.S. territory, as was the U.S. flagged ship. The FBI still has the investigative lead on these kinds of incidents when it occurs on U.S. territory. Even though the lifeboat and ship are in international waters they are still legally considered to be U.S. territory.
Second, the FBI are the best hostage negotiators in the Federal Government. No other U.S. Government agency outside the FBI has qualified personnel who routinely engage in this kind of activity as part of their daily routine.
I am sad to report that the Obama Administration is performing more ineptly than the Bush Administration in managing the crisis response. (Sad because I initially had high hopes that Jim Jones would bring some tough love to a broken interagency system.) So far they have not convened the necessary interagency video conference that should be used to coordinate a full up response and ensure that the White House has a full understanding of the options and capabilities. This is being handled as primarily a DOD operation with the FBI playing an ancillary role. I am surprised that NSC advisor Jim Jones and the NSC chief for counter terrorism, John Brennan, are acting like novices when it comes to handling the interagency responsibility competently.
I am still hopeful this will turn out well and the Obama team will declare victory. But it will be a hollow victory because it exposes how unprepared the Obama team is to handled a full interagency response.
If reports are true that other Somali pirate ships are en-route to the scene to attempt to rescue their colleagues then the Obama team will face a significant test of will. The appropriate response will be to declare the area off limits and shoot any boat out of the water that attempts to approach the lifeboat carrying Captain Phillips. If the Obama team does this they will earn some tough guy points and allay fears I’m hearing from military friends that this group has no spine. If the Obama team fails to stop such an attempt then Obama will have surpassed Jimmy Carter for being a surrender monkey.
UPDATE–There has been some silly complaining about Barack Obama’s silence. I dealt with the U.S. hostages who were held in Lebanon (e.g., Joe Cicippio, Terry Anderson, etc.) Barack is doing the right thing. The last thing we need is a President making a public spectacle of himself and commenting on hostages. That raises the value of the hostages to the hostage takers. Let the professionals handle this behind the scenes. That is happening, although the Obama team is still making the same mistake as the Bush team in parsing the words and defining piracy as something different then terrorism.
Here’s my prediction–we will see action during darkness tonight (or tomorrow night perhaps) to rescue Captain Phillips. He will be saved. The press will praise Obama and the crazed rightwing will be eating some crow. Although Obama does not have a clue about how to manage the interagency process he is smart enough to be quiet and let the guys who know what they are doing handle things. In doing that he’ll probably end up enjoying his first genuine foreign triumph.
And if Phillips dies in the assault? A tragedy but a reminder that Obama is a tough guy who won’t be bullied by pirates. I am betting that will be the storyline.
UPDATE II–There is no problem if this thing is strung out for a while. Unless there is clear evidence that the Captain’s life is in imminent peril it is better to stay calm, keep talking and let the realities of being stuck in the equivalent of a large floating toilet settle in on the pirates. They are accustomed to living in shitty conditions but even this will take a toll. Plus, they have probably used all of the khat they brought with them and are now jonesing for a new hit.
So far the international community has not come up with a credible policy or deterrent to dissuade the pirates from continuing their mayhem. Only when more of them are killed or thwarted in their endeavors, rather then raking in millions of dollars from insurance companies, will they back off and try to figure out a new scam to make risk free money.
U.S. policy remains completely disconnected in trying to figure out how to deal with the threat of terrorism vice piracy. There is an established body of doctrine and procedures for dealing with terrorism. The various U.S. Government agencies and departments generally know what their role and responsibility is. Not so on piracy. Here’s what is crazy. I was involved a few months back on a scenario similar to this. The only difference? We made the pirates adherents of Osama Bin Laden. Katie bar the door!! You wave that red flag and everyone jumped to. There was no hesitation in sending forces overseas. It was not just a DOD mission. Others participated–State Department, Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA and U.S. Central Command.
So now we have a real world incident and what happens? We ignore the so-called lessons learned from that exercise. Instead DOD does its thing and the FBI does its thing and no one is fully coordinating the effort. For example, a U.S. team should have been on hand in Mombassa, Kenya to receive the inbound pirated ship and crew, if for no other reason then to keep the press at bay and help coordinate the reunion of the crew with their loved ones.
Just like George Bush, Obama and his team are treating piracy as if it is something so significantly different from terrorism that the tools and procedures we have in place to respond to a terrorist threat are ignored as they struggle to figure out a response to the latest attacks. Piracy is not the same as terrorism. However, the systems and procedures erected in the Federal Government for marshaling all relevant Federal resources to be brought to bear on the issue are the same and should be used. So far they are not.
One other thought on today’s incident when the Somali pirates holding Captain Philips fired at a small U.S. Navy boat as it tried to approach the life boat. What was going on? Here’s one possibility. The U.S. boat was a diversion designed to distract the pirates while a Navy SEAL placed a listening device (or devices) on the hull of the life boat. Such devices will enable the U.S. hostage negotiators to figure out where they stand in the talks with the pirates. I do not know for a fact whether or not this happened. But anyone who has watched the movie, The Negotiator, can figure out that this kind of move is possible. Negotiators want inside dope in order to gain an edge over the hostage takers.
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I was thinking earlier today that this is starting to remind me of Jimmy Carter.
Jimmy Carter does not sound like a coward to me-
From Wikipedia:
Carter served on surface ships and on diesel-electric submarines in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. As a junior officer, he completed qualification for command of a diesel-electric submarine. He applied for the U.S. Navy’s fledgling nuclear submarine program run by then Captain Hyman G. Rickover. Rickover’s demands on his men and machines were legendary, and Carter later said that, next to his parents, Rickover had the greatest influence on him.
Carter has said that he loved the Navy, and had planned to make it his career. His ultimate goal was to become Chief of Naval Operations. Carter felt the best route for promotion was with submarine duty since he felt that nuclear power would be increasingly used in submarines. During service on the diesel-electric submarine USS Pomfret, Carter was almost washed overboard.[6] After six years of military service, Carter trained for the position of engineering officer in submarine USS Seawolf, then under construction.[7] Carter completed a non-credit introductory course in nuclear reactor power at Union College starting in March 1953. This followed Carter’s first-hand experience as part of a group of American and Canadian servicemen who took part in cleaning up after a nuclear meltdown at Canada’s Chalk River Laboratories reactor
Totally off the topic of surrender, but an interesting Jimmy Carter story nonetheless.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_UFO_Incident
A problem with shooting those other ships out of the water is that they supposedly contain other hostages, from Germany as well as other countries. If one American life is precious, we can’t brush off the value of those other hostages who will be threatened.
Are there international rules in dealing with pirates.
For example if they kill the hostage, are they required to take the captors alive.
What courts have juristiction?
These guys could be tried in any court in the world because, under international jurisdiction, any state can prosecute someone who engages in piracy in international territory.
There are no rules governing dealing with these guys. Kill or capture (or, if you prefer, let them go.)
Larry, I heard somewhere - forget where - that they are holding “hundreds” of hostages on land. So, if they put hostages in each boat going out, what can the U.S. do?
In the previous post some have suggested we need a Teddy Roosevelt. So what would TR do, go in, ‘Apocalypse Now’ like style and eliminate a village? These pirates may not be the brightest but they, as in Afghanistan don’t wear signs “ I am a Pirate” and certainly know they are safest among other who look just like them and there are a more few who fit that description. There were many at this site that were against the collateral damage caused by Israel in their recent incursion, but might I suggest that vs. Somalia, the West Bank is a paradise to operate in if your object is to prevent C/D.
As a PC gamer who has fought my way through most Quakes, Dooms, Half-Life’s, Call of Duty’s, Meck-Worriers, and many others so why not do what a gamer would do, take some land as a base and PROTECT IT. Find a costal spot where the terrain is such that few locals exist to collateralize. Step 2: From this base project out to “The Ocean, as that is where the main problem lies, or in old terms Show the Flag. Might I suggest my previous post, Start a USA protected commuter conveys through the danger. zone .
“What If our Navy could scrape up enough ships for perhaps four groups of a single helo equipped assault ship plus a few smaller coast guards like vessels and form something as primitive as a “Convoy”, going back and forth through the major threat area. These little boats although faster then the average freighter are not exactly hard to find and dispatch. US flag ships go for free and all others pay, it might help our balance of trade. Further if these ships are needed to help in rescue efforts let the associate country wire some of our spread around the world $’s into Uncle Sam’s account and then we will help.”
Why let the government do this? They will overspend and the cost will be spread out amongst all taxpayers. This is a great business opportunity for some private enterprise. The cost will be incorporated into the goods the ships are carrying and affect only the consumers who want them. And incentives to keep costs as low as possible remain intact.
Sonic Ninja Kitty:
Great picture of your Cat:
http://sonicninjakitty.wordpress.com/
Check out my guy who walked in as I opened the door to leave three Christmas’s ago.
http://www.dwarfhamster.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NAEnseyunE&feature=channel_page
Although I would agree with you that in most cases the government is best staying out. In this case however I think at least at first the world needs a show of strong force with selective lethality (ie the pirates before they get to “pirate”) and it would seem that the navy with their equipment and Seal-Teams would be best able to do this.
Wow–that’s one brave kitty
Cute, too!
>>> take some land as a base and PROTECT IT.
We already have a Navy base at Djibouti.
Having are navy sit in some friendly port at the edge of the conflict projects no strength to the world, however I am not suggesting we build another Baghdad Embassy.
hail our whimp in chief..
Yes All Hail “Pantywaist”
Captain Creampuff.
O..BOW MA..
Interesting academic questions, fiscalliberal but, let’s put it this way:
If they kill the captain and the USS NameOfShip blows the scum who did it to the other side of hell and sails away, we can leave it to somebody else (probably at Yale Law School) to pose a class essay question over “requirements” and “jurisdiction” of courts.
Who exactly is going to chase down a U.S. Frigate and arrest it’s crew & captain? The Smoalian Navy?
I believe the various countries’ navies operating against piracy are doing so with UN resolutions and with agreement of the Somali “government”.
Oh well, thank God for UN involvement.
The Smoalian Navy
That ain’t right IndieDogg.
Makes you wish that 007 was something other than fiction. What a mess. I just hope Captain Phillips manages to get out of this alive. The press was reporting earlier that the pirates were sending in reinforcments, bascially other pirated ships with hostages on board. I haven’t heard any confirmation of that original story. But obviously, if true it only complicates an already nasty situation.
I wish I had more confidence in this Administration. A lot of wishing and hoping, I guess. Even from me.
And so, we wait.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97FNAS80&show_article=1
This is not getting better.
These developments in custom found their way into the modern law of the sea as it developed throughout the Twentieth century. The 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas, and then the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (“the Convention”) both outlined an international regime for the repression of piracy and effectively recognised universal jurisdiction on the part of all states to suppress pirate acts. The Convention - which now has 157 State parties - is generally considered to be reflective of customary international law.
Article 101 of the Convention defines an act of ship-based piracy as consisting of acts of violence or detention, or an act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew of a private ship directed against another ship on the high seas, or outside the jurisdiction of any State. Piracy also extends to the operation of a pirate ship which is a ship used by persons for the purposes of committing pirate acts. This general definition of piracy is consistent with the common expression that a pirate is hostis humani generis: an enemy of all mankind. However, by limiting the definition to acts committed for ‘private ends’ any actions taken for political motives are excluded.
Thus the UNCLOS makes it clear that high seas piracy is illegal and that all states have a right to seize and prosecute those responsible for pirate acts on the high seas.
http://www.crimesofwar.org/onnews/news-piracy.html
Ah, HARP, you Engaged Brain Before Putting Mouth (keyboard) Into Gear!
You are Today’s Winner! A Tip of the Cocked Hat to you!
Obama’s inability to be effective in this situation does not bode well for our future. This is small time compared to other stuff that can happen.
I’m sure he understands the processes of hijacking and hostage holding pretty well.
Hell Obama hijacked state elections and a federal Senate alone with a POTUS primary and an election, you’d figure his masterful experience being so fresh he’d know how to beat the hijackers in this instance with the snap of his fingers!
You’d think with all Obama’s experience at hijacking elections since 1996 and as recent as last year, he’d have a solution to resolve this one.
I don’t think there’s much doubt about which path President BOzo will choose.
Frankly, I think we should reactivate the New Jersey, stand off the Somalian coast about 10 miles and start shelling… and wait till the Somalian “government” asks what they can can do to make us stop.
Yeah, that did us a LOT of good in Lebanon.
America’s First War on Terrorists.
Thomas Jefferson sent the Marines.
I have no faith that obama will take bold steps
This situation is frustrating and has gotten completely out of hand. - The pirates want to take Phillips back to the mainland for better negotiations. WTF? Rule #1 Never let the attacker take you to CRIME SCENE 2.
Larry,
You are actualy writing about something that you have some experience on, but then you have to bring everything back to Obama. No matter how remote the link. What a joke!
You are embarassing yourself!
Your blind hatred and personal mission to smear Obama on ever possible thing that happens in the world and in the U.S. is so transparent.
You have no credibility.
To compare Somali pirates attacking a non-U.S. owned ship in an area that had been know for pirates for many years to the Iranian revolution and a direct attack on a U.S. embassy is a joke.
And why precisely do you think Carter was a surrender monkey? First of all what was he going to do, declare war on the Iran? Secondly, Carter did launch a strike to try and rescue the hostages. Third, the Iranians where going to release the hostages before the election with Reagan, but they were told by the CIA to hold on to them until after the election. Congressional investigations have revealed that active-duty CIA officers were working with the Reagan campaign.
Carter actually put a lot of monetary pressure on the Iranians, which likely resulted in their final release.
It sounds like you were one of the CIA agents that was against Carter.
“The CIA was down on Carter. Many agents were outraged by Carter-appointed CIA director, Stansfield Turner. He had had removed about 600 people from their jobs in covert operations, and he disciplined Theodore Shackley and Thomas Clines, two popular and powerful agents who were involved with some unsavory operations.”
http://www.donhopkins.com/drupal/node/104
How did you boss’s world apology tour go? Bowed to any more foreigners in the last couple of days. Do tell us.
What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t write a goddamn thing about Iran or any Embassy. Are you really this fucking stupid?
Yes, she is!! I read your site everday, but don’t comment. I had to today. She is a crazy person.
Yes, she is!! I read your site everday, but don’t comment. I had to today. She is a crazy person. Well, sometimes I comment..lol.
Let me remind you or your previous post where you directly compare this incident to the hostages in Iran.
http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2009/04/08/obamas-surrender-monkey-moment/
Then what exactly are you talking about when you say:
“if the Obama team fails to stop such an attempt then Obama will have surpassed Jimmy Carter for being a surrender monkey.”
Has Carter been called a surrender monkey for something else other than the hostages that I am not aware of?
Wow. If you had half of a brain, maybe you would have mentioned that in your previous post.
Nice to see you admit that Carter was a surrender monkey.
Julie, this whole board thinks you are a buffoon and surrender monkey yourself. That said, I am an American who pays your moron boss’s salary. I expect to feel comforted, safe and secure in times of distress. I am also used to America having some sort of leadership presence in International Crises. Your boss is too busy flying people around the world for a pizza to be bothered. He gives NO ONE a sense of security, or that he knows WTF he is doing. Just because you people are too ignorant to know what a so called “President” should do meant we got stuck with this jizzbrain dud. You’re not going to like it when the terrorists are in your neighborhood and all azzhole Fraud can say is “uhhhh…well…uhhh…I’m focusing on the appropriate…uhhhh…errrr….ummmm…well, the…uhhhh…let me say that…well…we are…well…we’re thinking of what….uhhh…well, what…uhhhh…might…be…uhhh…the…appropriate…uhhhh…response. You’ll be dead by the time that stuttering, stammering fool gets his drug addled brain about WTF just happened. Good luck with that you dumb azz bot.
I was waiting for someone in the world to call out Obama.
Obama just got done with a European Slam America Tour.
I didnt think it would be long before someone realized what an UN-American IDIOT America has as President.
Anybody got the poll ratings on this guy lately. I have a feeling that if there is an European poll for What Country has the Stupidest and most UnPatriotic Leader–America would win hands down.
All I can say is…anyone who didn’t get how much he hated America way back when deserves what they are getting now. We warned everyone that he wasn’t one of us, hates us, and will destroy us. Now lookie lookie.
Julie, just today I was thinking what would another president like Reagan do in this situation. He’d give these pirates an ultimatum — hand over the Captain in one piece and leave or we’ll send some B-52’s from Diego Garcia to drop a load of daisy cutters on your villages. They would steer a clear path from any American flagged vessel and problem solved.
You would either have dead pirates or people who make the right choice to go out of the pirating business.
This is Obama’s moment. If the pirates kill the captain and he does nothing, he flunks this, it’s only going to get worse and no country in the world will respect him — things will get much more dangerous everywhere.
Yeah, geez, Larry, just because he’s the President of the United States, what right do you as a citizen have to expect him to do something?
Isn’t it enough that he’s concerned about the egg roll on Monday?
And the new dog … gee ….
The depth of your stupidity is unmeasurable, Julie or Debbie or whatever name you go by.
Wow! I guess the Obamatrons are equally nervous about what and how the Administration is going to handle this mess. While the world watches, intently. Responsibility, good or nil, is in Obama’s court. No place to run.
And referencing Jimmy Carter? A diversion, maybe but not a good example for any sane conversation.
‘Twasn’t Carter that Screwed the Pooch at Desert One, was it?
Gee, uh yeah, how dare Larry bring it all back on the President, the one who calls the shots “and the buck stops with”. Gee, go figure. BALLS, huh?
Obowma is too busy ordering Pizza from St. Louis. He doesn’t have time for all of the American Hostages - “can’t he just eat his” pizza?
CAROL HAKA
Julie, you must have read a completely different posting than what I read. Maybe you should go back and read it again.
To some extent Larry is defending Obama. Are you so stupid you don’t see that????? And where does Larry mention Iran?
Larry is fair and responsible in his praise and criticism. That is why I have been coming to this blog for years, despite nuts from the right and left like you who write loony comments. Isn’t there something over on HuffPo you would rather be reading?
First, let me preface this by saying I am a huge Hillary Clinton fan and was a passionate supporter of her candidacy. However, here is a link to a video of her today where she laughs about pirates. I, a big fan, was seriously taken aback by this. We have a man’s life in danger right now. I hope his family did not see this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMDvOfIzGek
The video was out yesterday. I think she laughing out of frustration because if she were the president, the hostage situation would be over.
Agreed. A very uncomfortable, unflattering moment for Hillary.
Obama’s “punch drunk” is a contagion.
Is the adm. in disarray, disillusioned, without focus, without leadership….
That was a “frustrated” nervous as in “how fucking ridiculous” is this laugh.
If they get saved, it will because she helps - the rest of them are idiots!
CAROL HAKA
Julie-Larry didn’t compare the pirates to the Iranian revolution. He was talking about Paul’s book. The remote link btwn Obama and the Pirate siutation is not remote. He is the president, and our government is involved in trying to rescue the hostage. Hello!!!
Your blind hate towards Larry is causing you to embarrass yourself. What gives you any creditbility? Nothing is the answer to that.
Maybe you should come back to this site when you learn how to read Austrian off of a teleprompter.
French free sailboat from pirates, 1 hostage dies
April 10, 2009
PARIS
(AP)
— The French Navy stormed a French sailboat being held by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, killing one hostage and two pirates in the operation, a presidential statement said Friday.
The navy also freed four remaining hostages, including one child, who were seized Saturday when pirates boarded their ship, the Tanit. Three other pirates were taken prisoner.
It was not immediately clear where the rescue operation occurred. It did not appear to be in any proximity to the current standoff involving an American captain being held hostage.
It was the third time the French have freed hostages from the hands of pirates but the first time that a hostage had been killed. The French presidential statement said the boat was being steered toward the Somali coast.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said the death of one of five hostages came at the end of a two-day ordeal in the pirate-infested waters where the seizure of vessels by Somali pirates has become a common occurrence.
“During the operation, a hostage was unfortunately killed,” the statement said, adding that the four other hostages, including the child, were “safe and sound.”
France’s policy is to refuse to accept acts of piracy and avoid having French citizens taken ashore as hostages, the statement said.
The operation began Thursday when a Navy vessel contacted the pirates and “immobilized” the Tanit, it said.
“Negotiations were started to persuade the pirates to give up their criminal undertaking,” said the statement.
“Today, threats were more precise, with the pirates refusing proposals and the Tanit moving toward the coast. An operation to free the hostages was decided.”
Details of the operation were not disclosed.
The passengers in the Tanit, a tourist boat, had repeatedly been warned to avoid the dangerous waters around Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.
The boat, a Norwegian-made 14.5-meter sailboat with a single mast, was heading for the coast of Kenya when it was seized. The owners, a French couple, Florence and Chloe Lemacon, had left the French port of Vanves in Brittany in July 2009 on an adventure with their 3-year-old son, according to their blog. Two friends had joined them along the way.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press
Fascinating read. Thank you Larry.
Thank you LJ. I guess only time will tell.
Eventually, they will get hungry and thirsty and the batteries in their SatPhone will shit the bed. These events will sweeten them up.
I wonder how many, “BOMB ‘EM TO HELL! SEND IN THE MARINES!” armchair warriors here have ever heard that singular little “buzz/CRACK!” when a round passes close aboard one’s head?
Or several dozen of them?
Or cleaned a (former) friend’s brains off one’s clothes?
Or written a Next of Kin letter?
Or boxed up a deceased subordinate’s stuff for mailing?
All that John Wayne shootin’ and Tom Clancy skullduggery is real easy to believe in if YOU don’t have to do it…particularly if you haven’t ever DONE it.
TRY to remember that neither John Wayne, nor Tom Clancy, nor Steven Segal, nor, ESPECIALLY the particularly loathsome Sylvester Stallone (who spent Vietnam years teaching Gymnastics at a girls’ school in Eurpoe) have served a single day in the uniform of the United States.
TRY to remember the following:
“Jaw, jaw, jaw is better than War, War, War!” - Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC
Thanks for saying it Baba Rum Raisin.
I have not. A mans gotta know his limitations.
Larry, thanks for some insider POV. Course, I don’t have a clue as to what should be done. I feel terrible for the Captain and hope he will be saved.
I would think that a SWAT team would be effective. But I don’t know if their sharp shooters are qualified out to a 1000 yards.
ROTFLMAO!
I just heard a Lt Col. on Fox, speaking of Obama’s total lack of knowing what the hell to do as president, say he was like
“the dog who caught the fire truck”
Cracked my ass up. How apt.
[...] hope you caught Larry Johnson’s must-read, “Piracy–Hollywood versus Reality (Updated),” as well as John Batchelor’s two fascinating reports today, “Pirate Hostage [...]
No, what will occur will be a ransom paid and safe passage for the pirates while the world watches and then the Captain will lose his head on video.
Then Piracy will continue while Hillary giggles and Obama speaks of hope and change.
I think it’s time for the UN to declare the entire coast of SOmalia now a UN territory under the control of all governments forming the UN. Until SOmalia gets a stable goevrnment Somalia coast should be a international maritime base.
Is that so hard to do? Just let the somalians use the sea for fishing.
Otherwise Waiting on President Obama to figure out what to do, may be a disaster
thanks SUSAN for the bump up..
Darn, I thought LJ got to update it a 2nd time. No doubt he id perplexed and disappointed that Weary Barry has not addressed this and not only did we go in to another day of not even attempting rescue, but now, with all our hoopla of sending ships to the region, it had about as much affect as trying to lift the dingy with a fishing pole, the Pirates laughed and hijacked ANOTHER US OWNED tugboat today.
Obama, “I represent change, I’m a symbol”. “My foregin policy is just that. We will need only I in office. Should someone step out of line, I shall call them out and yell STOP, or I’ll say stop again!”
Here’s what I’d do to get the pirates to give it up: I’d surround the lifeboat w/party barges & other boats. Start a barbecue & fan the smell towards the pirates. Bring out coolers full of cold beer. Get their attention. Then wait.
ROFL
Dont forget the 52 inch Plasma with sports ROFL
IT’S YOUR COUNTRY TOO, MR. PRESIDENT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040903367.html?sid=ST2009040903439
I really wonder if Obama considers America a country he is proud of.
I think America is just a stepping stone for Obama and his wife’s road to $$$$$$ and Fame.
They just want a “piece of the pie” and they will distribute the rest…
Bean custard pie. With a bow tie on top.
Speaking of pie, I asked my bot son who lives near St. Louis about the pizza pie. He says it’s been in the local news all week. The guy is a friend of one of Obama’s aides, he’s going to Washington to visit his girlfriend’s family anyway…really just a trip he was going on anyway.
I said and he’s just taking pizza dough, cheese, pizza tins, and his business partner with him …to visit his girlfriend’s family.
I don’t think for one minute Hillary was laughing at the pirate situation. She was laughing about the irony of stopping the scourge of piracy many years ago and having help and now we having to deal with pirating all over again.
There is always someone who watches every little laugh, smile, frown, what she said, or did not say when it comes to Hillary. Folks for godsake give the woman a break.
Geez, she the only one watching the store, Obama is in la la land and so are his advisors!
If that captain dies, that misplaced laugh may well end any chance of her ever being President. It would be the negative ad of all negative ads.
No offense, that’s bs, that that laugh should end her career. First you have the buffoon Bush for 8 years, and now this buffoon. Sorry, Docelder, but if that laugh were to end her carrer, while we have put up with so much worse from Dubya I and Dubya II, then America is the big loser. Honestly, let’s focus on the big picture here, and not the petty stuff.
Obama likes to take the credit not the heat. Once the Captain is captured, guess who will be the first infront of the media? Obama!
This is getting real serious though. The Pirates threatened t kill the other hostages from foreign nations if their buddies are hurt. The Navy seals should have end this on day one. Now the world is watching. Even the President from phillipines don’t want any show of force.
I can only summed it up as another “Mouse that Roared” that Obama is making look like a Lion.