BREAKING: American Capt. Richard Phillips Rescued … Pirates Dead in Davy Jones Locker

FREED!!!

It is being reported at CNN, that the American Captain  Richard Phillips  of the Maersk Alabama who has been held hostage by Somali pirates since Wednesday has been freed. It is also being reported that 3 of the 4 pirates have been killed and will be residing in Davy Jones’ locker. The other pirate is in custody.

American Captain Richard Phillips Free

The captain of the Maersk Alabama was freed Sunday after being held captive since Wednesday by pirates off the coast of Somalia, a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told CNN.

 The official said Capt. Richard Phillips is uninjured and in good condition, and that three of the four pirates were killed. The fourth pirate is in custody. Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, a nearby naval warship.

VT town’s prayers are answered on Easter Sunday

UPDATE I: As reported at MSNBC, there was a swift firefight off the Somali coast on Sunday. Hostage Richard Phillips was not hurt; however, 3 pirates were killed and one was taken into custody. Richard Phillips was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.

UPDATE II: When Negotiations with Pirates Break Down, Bring in The U.S. Navy  & U.S. Marine Corps.

As Atlas Shrugs stated, so much for the FBI crime scene … Hello Navy & Marines.

What was needed to negotiate with pirates was Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element. It would appear that finally The US Navy & Marines took a page from Mr. Willis and not the FBI.

SEND SOMEONE TO NEGOTIATE – THE FIFTH ELEMENT

UPDATE III: From Hot Air, Second Times a Charm

Captain Richard Phillips jumped overboard again, and this time, the Navy was ready to do some negotiating of their own and killed the pirates. Great work, Navy! Once again it just goes to prove, the best negotiator is a Navy Seal. Blue Crab Boulevard is surprised at Obama gave the order. How bad would Obama have looked if Phillips made two attempts to flee and the US Navy sat on their hands and did nothing? Once was bad enough.

A special shout out and tremendous kudos to Captain Richard Phillips, a true American hero. He sacrificed himself for his crew and persevered his ordeal. Not once, but twice he attempted to escape his captors and on Easter Sunday, a day of eternal hope, he was provided the gift of freedom.

UPDATE IV: When the USA Needs to Negotiate … Just say NAVY SEALS

An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday and three of the pirates who held him for days in a lifeboat off the Somali coast were killed in a operation by U.S. Navy Seals that was approved by President Barack Obama, officials said.

From the reaction of the pirates, I would tend to think that any hostage taken might mean they are in imminent danger. One would think that if one had a gun pointed at them they would be in continued imminent danger. Personally, the fact that one is in danger would be good enough for me to have the SEAL’s do their job. Having a heroic individual like Richard’s life hang in the balance on the definition of what is, is does not suffice.

A U.S. Navy commander made a split-second decision to fire on the pirates because he believed that Phillips, who tried to escape on Friday, faced imminent danger amid tense hostage talks with his captors and deteriorating sea conditions.

“They were pointing the AK-47s at the captain,” Vice Admiral William Gortney, head of the U.S. Naval Central Command, said in a Pentagon briefing from Bahrain.

“The on-scene commander took it as the captain was in imminent danger and then made that decision (to kill the pirates) and he had the authorities to make that decision and he had seconds to make that decision.”

President Barack Obama granted the Pentagon’s request for standing authority to use appropriate force to save the life of the captain, Gortney said.

 UPDATE V: How the Rescue Went Sown from Milblogger Black Five

The officials say Obama ordered the Defense Department to use military resources to rescue Richard Phillips from a lifeboat off the Somali coast.

He did affirm the military’s authorization to use force if the captain’s life was in danger, but they already would have had that authorization as part of their standard rules of engagement.

Since I already explained that Obama’s part in this was apparently to reinforce the authority already possessed by the on scene commander. Matter of fact if there was a second communication with the President it nay have been because his first order actually restricted them from taking action i.e. why nothing happened when Phillips made his escape attempt. Regardless, Obama did not order a rescue and I kinda doubt he would have.