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

[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.