The Story of a Successful Rescue (and the Obama Adminstration’s Attempt to Claim Credit)
151. newscaper wrote:
The point has been raised that SEALs were not yet present when Philips jumped overboard the first (only?) time.
But I don’t think that’s a decent excuse.
Once the captain was overboard surely a .50 cal could have ripped the lifeboat to shreds — no head shots required.
Peter writes: Problem was, the Bainbridge was anywhere from 1 to 2 nautical miles away from the lifeboat, and in the dead of night, when Captain Phillips made his first escape attempt. Little the crew could do, given the circumstances and amount of time before the pirates reacted and re-captured the Captain.
Part of the problem was the Bainbridge was ordered to keep its distance, so as not to provoke the pirates into harming Captain Phillips. Probably one of the reasons why the destroyer needed to clarify their orders more than once.
