Navy SEALs 3; pirates 0

[unixronin]

Captain Phillips is coming home.  The pirates who attacked his ship ... not so much.

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) -- An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, the ship’s owner said.

[...]

“The negotiations between the elders and American officials have broken down.  The reason is American officials wanted to arrest the pirates in Puntland and elders refused the arrest of the pirates,” said the commissioner, Abdi Aziz Aw Yusuf.  He said he organized initial contacts between the elders and the Americans.

Two other Somalis, one involved in the negotiations and another in contact with the pirates, also said the talks collapsed because of the U.S. insistence that the pirates be arrested and brought to justice.

We get that you didn’t want your pirates arrested.  OK, we didn’t arrest them.  Let us know how “dead” is working out for you instead.

Comments

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

I prefer to allow people to learn from other's mistakes. In the final analysis, that is indeed what is possible here. We will see what the pirates learn.

Any taking, by local might, rather than the creative use of resources and effort, deserves your categorization of piracy. Trying to live by preying on your society is counter productive from an evolutionary standpoint. The behavior needs to be eliminated.

I would prefer that the pirates be given the chance to evolve and join the human race. Humans are special. I regret the loss of life. I do not regret the enforcement of law against criminal behavior. I would prefer a different endpoint, but I do not begrudge the one we have. This has the virtue of working. As Sgt. Dan "One Drop" Trooper commented, "I never see someone up here twice."

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

So far, the lesson of other people's mistakes has not fully sunk in, it appears. Several known pirates are now blustering and boasting that they'll make France and the USA regret using force, so it seems at least a few more salutary lessons will be required.

[ithildae.livejournal.com]

Willful ignorance, or stupidity, is a capital crime. Without the intervention of others, the world will exact it's price. I hear the bluster. Let's see what they really do. They do have a single data point to draw from, it may take reinforcement to show that it is a trend. As I said, I wish it was different, but I accept that it is needed.