Those are words I am rather surprised to find myself saying, but all of us need to thank the President for his actions in the pirate hostage situation. I am partial to Power Line Blog because I like the logical way they approach things, but needless to say, the story is all over the internet. It is detailed well at Breitbart.com. The bottom line seems to be that when the skipper of the USS Bainbridge saw an AK-47 pointed at the back of Captain Phillips, who was tied up, he decided to act. The action he took (telling the snipers to fire was not without risk--when snipers shoot people in this type of situation, the gun they are holding can be discharged due to the reflex actions of the person shot--thank God this did not happen). The US Navy snipers did their job and took out each of the three pirates remaining on their little boat with one shot each. There are some really positive aspects of this operation in addition to the rescue of the captain.
Up until now, the pirates had not attacked American ships. The Maersk Alabama was the first attempt at getting a ransom payment out of America. It did not go well for the pirates. During the same week, their hijacking of a French private yacht also did not go well. The French special forces took the yacht back, killing two pirates and one hostage. This week the pirates have lost six pirates--five killed and one taken prisoner by the United States. Not a good week for their enterprise. The ships passing through the area have lost one civilian.
There needs to be a global response to piracy. Whether it comes from the UN or some alliance of the countries that use the targeted shipping lanes, action is necessary. Until piracy becomes unprofitable, it will continue.
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