USS Boxer and elements of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit are steaming toward the site of Captain Phillips captivity.
The pirates will not be happy campers if Battalion Landing Team 1/1 arrives before they release their American captive. Boxer carries Cobras, Hueys, AMTRACs, Light Armored Vehicles and nearly 2,000 Marines. Remember, the AMTRACs and LAVs are seaworthy. They are armed with 25mm cannon, .50 cal machine guns and mk19 grenade launchers.
Let’s hope that we don’t succumb to the pirates’ demands. We must show them that American vessels are not easy targets.
A good chance for President Hopeychangey to show his worth. Hoping for the best, expecting very little.
Nice demonstration of power, but really at the end of the day what do they bring to the table that will help the situation?
It’s a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean without gas. It’s not going anywhere. Even if it could, it’s staring at the business end of a 76mm gun of the USS Bainbridge… more than enough to dispatch the bad guys if it comes to that.
I doubt you could fit a squad of Marines on the lifeboat… much less an entire BLT.
And, if AMTRACS and LAV’s come at them guns blazing, the hostage will be dead long before we are able to get to him.
Tactically, it probably would have been easier to take these guys when they were still on the Maersk Alabama. Trying to sneak up now is next to impossible.
i served in the 101st airborne 1968 vietnam and the only way to stop the pirates is to kill them.kill them on the sea,kill them in their huts, shell every village on the coast and sink every boat in this stinking muzzy piss addled country.after we do that there will not be any more pirates comming out of jihad land.i think we have forgotten who we are.
As President T. Roosevelt put it “We want either Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead. Time for the U.S. to act rather than hold the U.S. Navy at bay with 4 guys in a lifeboat. If any other of the hijacked ships make it to the area and the pirates gain reinforcements, we will be seen the same as Jimmy Carter was during the hostage crisis with Iran; weak, ineffectual and easy pickings. We cannot allow this.
As President T. Roosevelt put it “We want either Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead. Time for the U.S. to act rather than allow 4 guys in a lifeboat to hold the U.S. Navy at bay. If they get away or if the pirates gain reinforcements, the U.S. and Pres. Obama will be seen the same as Jimmy Carter was during the hostage crisis with Iran; weak, ineffectual and easy pickings. We cannot allow this.
Captain Phillips escaped…
ESCAPED!
And that left four pirates on that lifeboat by themselves. Why was there not immediate action when he was no longer captive?
Is anyone paying attention?
Jimmy Carter’s not dead. Nor is his legacy.
This whole incident has fallen off the front page of the news. Has Obama even made a statement at all? Nope.
NEWS UPDATE – As of 4 PM EDT there is news that the pirates have fired on a Navy rubber boat as it approached the lifeboat. The Navy craft did not retreat. There is an ongoing operation in the dark of night.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/11/world/main4936857.shtml
EDITORIAL UPDATE – It has been reported that a pirate mother ship has returned to port after not being able to find the lifeboat at sea with its GPS.
My guess is that the military has shut down GPS to civilian use in the area. If they haven’t – they should.
The facts are that even though we have elements in place to dispatch the pirates, whether it be a big gun on a destroyer or a few frogmen in the water at night, we don’t have a President with the intestinal fortitude to do what’s necessary to stop this type of activity. The Navy is following orders, which is probably pissing them off to no end. We have 4 pirates holding the United States hostage because we don’t want to upset them, Leadership; you get what you vote for and leadership was at the bottom of the list.
ANOTHER UPDATE – Reports are that talks have broken down, as of 1 PM EDT, it is dark off the coast of Somalia. Hopefully, the military will mount its rescue tonight.