Great news from Somalia

Embedded video from CNN Video
If you haven’t heard, Capt. Richard Phillips has been rescued, and three of the pirates have been killed by U.S. Navy sharpshooters.

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5 thoughts on “Great news from Somalia”

  1. The news may not be *that* great. The stakes have now been raised in this “game” and the Somalian pirates may become more inclined towards using violence and may even harm or indeed kill other hostages they already have. Time will tell. . .

  2. From the CNN video reporting that three pirates have been killed:”For some reason the U.S. believes that the captain was in imminent danger… We’ll be listening very closely, I thing everyone will, to see what we can learn about this notion that he was in imminent danger as described by U S officials.”Notion?Coupled with photos of the previous day’s French military operation showing other pirates with arms raised in surrender. What the hell is that?

  3. Great for the Vermonter, not so good for the 200 hostages, a few of whom may be Americans (though I haven’t heard that). It’s been amazing that the seafaring nations have put up with this criminality for as long as they have. It’s time to get very serious, very quickly. Where’s Blackwater when you need them?

  4. Like everyone else here, I’m relieved that Richard Phillips has been rescued. However…. I think there’s been a lack of context regarding piracy in or around the Horn of Africa. For the most part, the stuff we’re learning are from American news media sources, meaning network news, AP, McClatchy, etc., etc. It seems like the general idea being conveyed and the general idea news consumers are walking away with is that piracy is akin to Pirates of the Caribbean or something silly like that. The other impression I think the media is conveying or at least Americans are thinking is “What’s with those crazy Somalis and their “piracy?” There’s a lack of context and the history of what piracy means to Somalis. Piracy has a deeper issue in Somalia and there’s a reason why this incident started. I’ll save you all the details, but independent journalist Jeremy Scahill (author of “Blackwater”) wrote a very interesting piece that may explain the issue on a more meaningful level. Something I haven’t seen in the traditional media and should be covered. Check out the article here.

  5. This is one step towards encouraging pirates to prepare for another line of work, such as agriculture and becoming more self sufficient without stealing.The captain’s “imminent” danger could be classified as such from the time the pirates entered his vessel until the time he was rescued and towards the end negotiations had broken down and his captors were getting cranky for a lot of reasons, such as distractions by noisy helicopters overhead 24/7, etc. The seals saw an opportunity that brought this to a successful conclusion. This is what makes the USA a great country.

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