Terrific resolution to Pirate standoff

[Legacy]

What a relief so see all the US mariners return safely from the pirate standoff. Kudos go to captain, the crew, the Navy and the Seal Team. And I must say, thanks to our Commander in Chief too. Welcome home!

Rick

[jcollins]

3 shots, 3 kills. That is the way to handle pirates. Hopefully they will think twice before boarding another US merchant ship.

[Mariner]

I think it's good to remind the seafaring public that there are benefits to flying the Stars & Stripes off the stern. Sure, the taxes are higher, but Sunday's events are a reminder for everyone of just what you get in return.

[Cape Codder]

Navy 1

Pirates 0

[Mariner]

Navy 1

Pirates 0

Truthfully, it's more like Navy 3, Pirates 300.

They shot and killed three pirates, but they are still holding over 300 hostages that they have taken from 78 ships just since January. This is becoming a major problem, and although I aplaud the actions of the crew of Bainbridge, it is certainly going to generate some retaliatory attacks.

This will have the effect of turning US flagged ships transiting the Gulf of Aden into a sort of bait in this high-stakes game of cat and mouse. That's not all bad, as it will make it easier for the US Navy to identify and neutralize the pirate motherships. They are operating as much as 300 miles offshore, so it's obvious that they are not making that trip in the little 20' skiffs they are using to attack the merchant ships.

In the long run, this is an international, and commercial problem, and it needs to be solved by the international community and shipping companies, likely via the use of private security firms like Blackwater. The practice of simply paying the pirates off has only encoruaged them to continue thier activites and added to their strength and capability. It's not like this is the first time this has happened. Just look back to the first decade of the 19th century at the Barbary Coast, and the same exact thing was happening. In the end, it took action by the US Marines lead by William Eaton (himself not a Marine) to invade Tripoli and unseat the Bashaw. That's where they get the line, "From the shores of Tripoli...."

For those interested in learning a little more from history on this topic, I highly suggest they read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Coast-Jeff ... 753&sr=8-1

I picked it up by chance in the airport while waiting for a flight to Alaska last summer. Once I opened it, I couldn't put it down.