MOGADISHU (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy shot dead three Somali pirates and rescued cargo ship captain Richard Phillips on Sunday from a lifeboat off the coast of Somalia where he was being held captive, ending a five-day standoff.
Phillips’ life was in danger when Navy snipers aboard a nearby U.S. destroyer shot his Somali captors, freeing him unharmed and killing three of the four pirates who had held him after trying to seize his vessel, the Navy said.
Our American Captain was finally rescued and it was about time! However, I am stunned that it took so long and that Barack Obama had to give his permission for the Navy to use deadly force on pirates. Why wasn’t this potential scenario addressed years ago when the pirating started, make that a few hundred years ago? Pirating and how nations deal with pirates isn’t exactly new is it?
I’m extremely glad the Captain is safe and Navy snipers shot 3 out of 4 pirates, kudos to the Navy! But, the question remains, why didn’t the Navy have standing orders to take whatever action necessary when dealing with pirates on the high seas? How complicated could that be?
Are we going to have to call Barack Obama every time we need to take action to save a life? Good luck with that one. This is a ridiculous situation and it only serves to point out the tight leash that is put on our military forces. At the politics level, we are too concerned about lawyers and public opinion. Our military is perfectly capable of making life and death judgement calls and they should, this is what they are trained to do! Politicians should stay out of it when its a crime in progress.
If your life was on the line and I had the bad guy in my sights, would you want me to say, hang in there, I need to call the President and ask permission to shoot? I think not – and between you and me, I wouldn’t do it. If an American life is on the line and I can eliminate the threat I’m going to do it. I’ll take the shot and deal with the consequences later. (And with that being said, there goes my position on the anti-hijacking sniper team.. lol)