The BBC says that Captain Phillips has been “released”, but the first details suggest he was rescued in an operation. One pirate is reported to be in custody. But the apparent end of the Maersk Alabama incident leaves unresolved the larger question of what to do with the Somali piracy problem and whether the pirates will be tried under the new rules the administration has decreed for ‘detainees’.
The captain of a US container ship taken hostage by Somali pirates has been released, the US Navy has said. According to initial reports, three pirates were killed in the operation to free Captain Richard Phillips. Another is in custody. Capt Phillips is said to be unhurt and on the USS Bainbridge, a warship sent to track the pirates holding him.
The Globe repeats the same details. “The captain of the Maersk Alabama was freed today, according to a CNN report, after being held captive by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia for more than five days, a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told the network. The official told CNN that Capt. Richard Phillips is uninjured and in good condition, and that three of the four pirates were killed, with the fourth pirate in custody. Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, a nearby naval warship, according to CNN.”
It now appears that Phillips played a large role in the rescue by making a break for it — for the second time — although this is unconfirmed. Fox reports: “Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation.”
What’s will be interesting to watch is how the fourth pirate — the one reported captured — will be treated. Mackubin Thomas Owens in the WSJ argues that the piracy incident revives the debate over who is an “illegal combatant”. Can the pirate claim, for example, on the basis of religious or other profession, that he is a “prisoner of war”? Will he be tried under the full protection of American laws if he’s on the Bainbridge and later transferred ashore?
Though they don’t often employ the term, many legal experts agree that al Qaeda fighters are latrunculi — hardly distinguishable by their actions from pirates and the like. Robert Kogod Goldman, an American University law professor has commented: “I think under any standard, the captured al Qaeda fighters simply do not meet the minimum standards set out to be considered prisoners of war.” And according to Marc Cogen, a professor of international law at Ghent University in Belgium, “no ‘terrorist organization’ thus far has been deemed a combatant under the laws of armed conflict.” Thus al Qaeda members “can be punished for all hostile acts, including the killing of soldiers, because they have no right to participate directly in hostilities.” But the Obama administration is about to extend legal rights — intended to protect civilians — to the very latrunculi who want to blow them up by considering the possibility of trying them in U.S. courts. Indeed, Attorney General Holder did not rule out trying the Somali pirates.
And if the Captain’s deliverance came in the manner described, events themselves must raise questions about the wisdom of preventing the merchantmen from being armed. If Phillips largely saved himself, employing nothing but his wits with the competent assistance of the USN; and if his crew regained their ship presumably with nothing but cunning and the contents of the galley drawers, how much better would they have fared if allowed a freer hand at self-defense?
But none of these questions should not obscure the fact that this time the pirates lost.
Should have killed the fourth.
Thus concludes “Intro to Pirates” 101.
Now then, which port facilities do we blow up first?
Naw… too much to ask of Dear Leader, I’m sure.
God bless Captain Phillips and the U.S. Navy. What a perfect ending on Easter Sunday.
A minor point: Cpt. Phillips ‘freed’ himself.
A perfect display of what makes Americans American.
He took his fate into his own hands, his ‘bailout’ was delivered by the SEALS, not Turbo Tax Timmy.
God Bless America.
According to Fox News, the Captain jumped overboard again and swam beneath the water and the SEALs, who were waiting, opened fire.
Reading between the lines, the SEALs were under direct orders to do nothing, and disobeyed a direct Presidential Order to do nothing in order to save Captain Phillips life and rescue him.
It’s likely the military will simply be ignoring Obama like the rest of the world. I leave that to others if that is a good thing or not.
I think it highly likely that the Somali pirate will be released with a formal, Obama-delivered apology (he loves making them) and a sum of about 10-20 million dollars.
There is simply no way that Obama can try the guy in the US and make his supporters happy. Obama cannot simply just hold the guy. And the Somali of course has Obama’s sympathy, seeing as how Obama could not wait to dress up like one during some trip to Kenya. In any event a man does not spend his whole life trying to destroy American power and reflexively sympathize with her enemies and then suddenly defend the nation.
Look for the pirate to be freed next week sometime with an apology and money.
This will be an acid teat for obama and holder and the left.
If they defy the common sense of civilization that pirates , when caught, walk the plank without trail then they will have a monumental problem gaining credibility with mainstream, well more like maincreek, America.
I still shake my head and wonder how this country elected this guy.
To repeat Dan’s comment: nice job on an Easter morn, and I’m sure Captain Phillips’ family has noted the coincidence. Does the USS Bainbridge have a yardarm? Should have, should use. Then in keeping with what should become an honored Navy tradition for dealing with such brigands, the fourth pirate should be buried at sea in a pigskin. Don’t hold your breath, though. F
Whiskey
…disobeyed a direct Presidential Order….
Oh how I pray you are right.
The numbers here are consistent with the prediction many have made that extending rights to thugs like this will simply result in most of them failing to survive what would have been the moment of apprehension.
The sole surviving pirate may live on to tie our legal scholars in knots, but as long as he’s in the minority then the more important message was transmitted.
It’s too bad modern destroyers don’t have yardarms. Literally or figuratively.
The surviving pirate will be feted by the Left here in America, receive numerous invites for TV and get a seven figure contract from a publisher.
Then on to being a commmunity organizer then obama advisor ….. this is American Idol.
Larry Tribe will defend him in hopes of being appointed to SCOTUS one day by obama.
Even though they probably were not directly involved with the rescue, I “motomailed” my son a “Well Done”.
Hopefully he will have some good dope on this episode that he can tell me when they return home from this deployment.
AD
Proud dad of Lcpl Andrew B 1/11
13th MEU
Currently deployed aboard USS BOXER
Wonderful news ! This situation has been in my thoughts all day. It will be interesting to learn details of who said and did what, and when, but this seems to have been a morally simple situation which should have been kept that way, and dealt with swiftly and firmly.
I am very glad for Captain Phillips and his family, friends, and crew members. I am also very glad not to have to see the USA being further humiliated. As a Brit, I like to think that we might handle a similar situation rather more promptly, but we are both cursed in our politicians these days.
Actually, I think the captured pirate will be turned over to the illusionary “Somali government,” or those who pretend to represent it, for “punishment.”
That would solve all sorts of problems — or, perhaps more precisely, it would keep all sorts of problems from arising.
Some interesting speculation here. I will be very surprised if this action disobeyed direct Presidential Orders. The Us military is too professional, the whole chain of command takes the priniciple of civilian control of the military too seriously to do that.
If the action was initiated when the Captain dove into the water, it is fantastic and this guy is a hero and a class act.
One thing about treating AQ and pirates as prisoners of war. Can’t you hold POWs until the war is over? How do we deterine our war againt AQ or extemist Islam is over?
PS–NO info about this operation should be released.
As juicy as the details would be, the details should remain unspoken. The less the skinnies know about the juju we inflicted on them, the better.
Fear of the unknown works wonders against your enemies.
WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Score one for the sheepdogs!
God bless the U.S. Navy Seals.
Too bad they didn’t kill the fourth pirate. Under the Bush administration at least I could hope he would be aggressively questioned to determine who he answers to and where that person is, but that is just a forlorn hope in the administration of The One.
Habu — Single women voted 70-29 for Obama. That’s about an eight point increase over Kerry in 2004. The difference? Between 2004 and 2008, far more women are single. Indeed for the first time in history, single women outnumber married women in America.
The outcome of this affair strengthens those who argue that military force and bravery carry the day and weakens those who argue for negotiations and “respect” and so on.
Don’t think for a moment that Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and others won’t make their counter-move to punish the SEALs, sailors, and perhaps even Captain Phillips. While rewarding the Somalis with “respect.”
14. Buck Smith
“I will be very surprised if this action disobeyed direct Presidential Orders. The US military is too professional, the whole chain of command takes the priniciple of civilian control of the military too seriously to do that.”
It is only in our modern world of instant communication that has rendered military decisions totally centralized that this notion of absolute obeisance to CINC is so highly touted. It has removed from the battlefield decisions that should and can only be made at that instant. LBJ screwed up many a bombing mission over North Vietnam because he had the power to talk directly to the pilots. I personally know some who had radio trouble.
But perhaps T. Jefferson said it best:
Jefferson airs his sentiments in a letter to James Madison on January 30, 1787
I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government
http://tinyurl.com/c637lk
Habu @5
“This will be an acid teat for obama and holder and the left.”
That’s a bitter suckle…
“walk the plank without trail”
That should result in a clean post mortum file.
Another small step towards a paperless society.
God bless capt Phillips, an Easter present indeed. On the other hand how long before the captured Somali pirate appears on The View and Larry King and as a college campus speaker…and all the rest…
Buck Smith@14: “Can’t you hold POWs until the war is over? How do we deterine our war againt AQ or extemist Islam is over?”
One word answer: Guantanamo. The Bush administration believed (and I believe was advised) that persons captured on the field of battle could be considered enemy combattants and therefore could be held until the war against AQ was over. You saw how far the left let that administration get away with that reasoning. The only sure way to prevent the pirate being held captive never returns to Somalia is to execute him on the spot. In a more enlightened time, we would do this, but these are not enlightened times. See whiskey@4 for details.
Can anyone cite for me the legal authority that gives the FBI jurisdiction in this case?
20. blert:
Habu @5
blert, i guess all this new help our host has provided is wasted on some. but i had the best three years of my life in the fifth grade.
The absolute last thing we want is for the U.S. military to be going against Presidential orders. I’m disappointed in those of you who are asking for that.
Brian said:
“Actually, I think the captured pirate will be turned over to the illusionary “Somali government,” or those who pretend to represent it, for “punishment.””
Seems like a reasonable prediction given our current president. The pirate should not have been captured. I also suspect the Whiskey was correct that the Navy exceeded their orders. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for that to filter through the MSM.
Minor Detail:
Hands should be bound prior to perp’s plankwalk.
—
The Free World Bars Free Speech
Since 2006, when Muslims worldwide rioted over newspaper cartoons picturing the prophet Muhammad, Western countries, too, have been prosecuting more individuals for criticizing religion.
The “Free World,” it appears, may be losing faith in free speech.
O/T, Here’s a little tidbit from Caroline Glick about our glorious leader:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1238562949505&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
She’s a painfully perceptive journalist.
Obumble will get lots of credit, whether he gave an order or not.
I hate headlines that will say “Obama Frees Hostage From Pirates”
Bless the SEALS….
Have a great Easter.
There is no reason to assume that the Navy was under orders not to open fire if the hostage got clear. Obama is running everything through Attorney General Holder but engagement would be the protocol in that event even in a civilian law enforcement hostage situation. The pirate’s life should be forfeit but that could be achieved in a legal process. There is precedent for executing pirates after a trial, for example William Kidd.
My preference now?
We’re going to give you a fair trial, followed by a first-class hanging.
- Sheriff Cobb (Brian Dennehy) in Silverado
Thomas Jefferson can probably stop spinning in his grave now. I’m actually glad one of the pirates survived, and I want him hung around Obama’s neck. I want Obama to be personally responsible for everything that man does after he’s been freed to become a welfare-collecting Minneapolis cabdriver. This pirate should be allowed to become Obama’s personal albatross, a constant reminder that when you reach the White House you are no longer allowed to simply vote “present” and then go back to eating your waffle or talking about housing….
The surviving pirate probably can not be turned over to a local authority for punishment because if they do anything to him then anyone purporting to be his relative could sue the United States for violating his civil rights. Lawyers have made it impossible to deliver any prisoner to any country that might provide a lower level of humanitarian protection than the jurisdiction holding them. In fact it is now impossible to extradite someone charged with murder from Europe to the United States. The reductio ad absurdum of this is to move an unlimited number of violent criminals to enlightened Western countries where they can not be punished and then allow them to petition to bring their relatives in to enjoy welfare and gain citizenship. That is why the Royal Navy is ordered to neither kill the enemy nor take them prisoner. Wounding is presumably also discouraged and making really loud noises could cause stress.
LOTM @30…
Bring back the gibbet you say?
Hear, hear.
But where shall it swing to sway?
Off Puntland?
Suggestions, please.
The What of Nations?
During Barack Obama’s trip abroad, during which he praised himself by disparaging his predecessor and deploring America’s shortcomings, he took pandering to a comic peak, combining criticism of America with flattery of Europe, when he deplored America’s “failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world.”
Europe plays almost no leadership role, even in Europe, which remains a geographical rather than a political denotation.
In Europe, during his first star turn on the world stage, the president learned, or should have, that charm and two euros will almost get him a copy of the International Herald Tribune.
Out there in the blue, flying high, selling himself, he found out how far he can go on a smile and a shoeshine.
America’s enemies are not smiling back.
Those are smirks, not smiles.
As Caleb at Redstate said:
The Captain saved Obama.
If the Captain had been harmed there would have been hell to pay from the American Public. Now the media can play it as if Obama saved the Captain, not the other way around.
Lifeofthemind wrote:
“The surviving pirate probably can not be turned over to a local authority for punishment because if they do anything to him then anyone purporting to be his relative could sue the United States for violating his civil rights. ”
I believe he will be turned over to local authorities. But he’ll escape before they can “do anything” to him.
Once again — think of all the problems this would avoid!
(Whoa — I think I’m channeling Obama and Holder . . . how scary is that?)
I just occurred to me minutes ago, as I was pondering how we have arrived at this moment when we are having to make the case on bended knee for allowing ships at sea to be armed against pirates and terrorists. We have arrived at this stage of our civilizational suicidalism because many in the legal profession no longer feel and experience revulsion and disgust with evil and heinous acts in the world. They don’t believe in evil, nor in the need to fight it ferociously, with arms if necessary. So, many identify with terrorists and criminals – as misunderstood and oppressed human beings. They do not see in them persons who make choices and are responsible for those choices between good and evil.
These lawyers do not see law as being anchored in natural law, which is divine and ordained by God. They see law as something which ultimately we make up as we go. And what we make up we can undo, if it is politically expedient.
When this happens, gentlemen, we have arrived at degeneracy and oppression. It literally becomes a world where might makes right. Lenin would be smiling now.
LOTM @32…
I suppose that even harsh language would be sanctioned as hate speech.
All of this piety may have forced us into the dilemma: must it be a “no-people = no-problem” equation?
“This will be an acid teat for obama and holder and the left.”
Habu @ 5 and further at 24:
I dont think that is far off the mark. Dear Leader and friends may learn to regret having this heathen to deal with. Had the situation been dealt with summarily and with appropriate dispatch, no prisoners would have been around to tell the tale.
Having the ACLU, Kuntsler Klones et al dog this case thru the federal justice system will cause major heartburn for all of us, even after Barry is a bitter memory.
What needs to happen is for the ‘ville from whence this gang appeared to disappear. One B52 ought to provide enough of a demonstration.
Piracy is not acceptable now nor was it 100 years ago or 100 years before that and back to the dawn of organized societies. Only the NYT and the Nation will object.
blert,
In better days (harrumph harrumph) lawyers were never stationed onboard a US Navy ship. JAG Corps were strictly a shore based outfit. Captains held NJP (non-judicial punishment) Mast without a lawyer looking over their shoulder. If a sailor got cute and insisted on bringing outside counsel, as the Regulations permit, the Captain would nod, indicate where the lawyer could stand and observe, and order them to keep their mouth shut. Now it probably would be possible to conduct a trial at sea but I doubt it would be a good idea. We might as well bring him to Washington or Naval Station Norfolk and make the circus look good. The English would be better at that, full bottom wigs and Queen’s Counsel Silk, but they no longer apply the death penalty. If we really wanted to make a heuristic point of it we would set up our gallows in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Hold it, HOLD IT!!!
Let’s don’t forget that the operation was authorized by the president. Unless we learn otherwise, let’s hold off on the sarcastic remarks and give him credit. Let’s have enough integrity to acknowledge things he does that we agree with if we’re going to criticize when he doesn’t; one goes with the other. Otherwise it’s just mouthing off.
Whiskey (@4)
Reading between the lines, the SEALs were under direct orders to do nothing, and disobeyed a direct Presidential Order to do nothing in order to save Captain Phillips life and rescue him.
Reading between what lines?
The captured pirate will be tried, convicted and imprisoned. I suppose there will be some jurisdiction issues to resolve, but there essentially are no major legal problems here.
The Bush Administration managed to try and convict only Osama Bin Laden’s driver.
The Bush Administration captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in March 2003 and never managed to try him.
If the Obama Administration manages to try and convict this pirate in the next few weeks, then the Obama Administration could make itself look quite effective, compared to the Bush Administration.
The Bush Administration made a mess of this issue of handling unlawful combatants. Bush imagined it was enough for him to declare that “the USA does not torture people.” The Bush Administration’s thinking on the issue was incoherent, poorly argued and gradually discredited.
Those of us who tried to defend the Bush Administration were compelled to throw up out hands in dismay time after time. For example, we grabbed some guys living in Bosnia and then tried to argue that we could hold them without legal proceedings because they were unlawful combatants. This was an entirely undefensible, ludicrous legal argument.
I don’t think that the Obama Administration will do any worse on these issues than the Bush Administration. The Obama Administraton might actually try and convict some bad guys.
In Mycenaean Hellas the traditional greeting when a ship full of young men arrived at your village was “Are you Pirates?” The answer depended on your appearance. If the visitors were met by a dozen adolescent girls and a few old men, because your young men were busy elsewhere, then the reply was “Yes we are” and there would be an exchange of movable property for genetic information. If on the other hand the strangers were met by a couple of dozen healthy lads brandishing sharp objects and your old man behind was waving his hands and calling on the Gods in a troubling way then the answer became “Us? Of course not! We’re here to trade. Your olive oil is famous and we have wine from another island cheap, it fell off a cart.”
——-
fred,
Lawyers do not have to want to make things worse. They just think that they are serving the abstract deity of process, who like Allah is whatever you make of him. What is needed is a new Geneva Convention that makes clear the status of “Unlawful Combatants” and Piracy and re-enables the distinction between civilized fully sovereign states and territories subject to protection and supervision.
Gordon:
I’ll go with you. Faced with the nightmare of the captain disappearing ahore in Somalia for a lengthy and humiliating Carteresque standoff that could fatally damage his presidency, Obama (apparently) made the right choice, and should be applauded for it.
Of course the media and his supporters will over-credit him, and his reluctance this past week to comment on the situation will be presented as a wise feign. But these are the breaks. And after the north Korean missile, the Iranian rebuff of his infomercial, the Euro-snubbing of his requests for significant military assistance and economic stimulation, and Hillary’s serial acts of diplomatic buffoonery, I’ll bet he’s glad to be catching that break.
And I say all this after posting scathing criticism of our elites fetish for legalisms, and after concluding a few hours ago that this whole episode would end in a negotiated humiliation. Sometimes, I good to be wrong.
My read of the situation is that the fourth pirate will indeed be brought back to the U.S. in order for AG Eric Holder’s office to get a chance to test trail the new policy. This guy Holder is a despicable sort, one who is truly a man of the Left. Here are three names, all of them lawyers and law professors, who are now prominent men in president’s administration. All three are men of the Left: Holder, Sunstein, and Koh. If you want to know where we are going, reference their careers and writings.
Now, it’s just a matter of which Communist front legal organization will get the pro bono work to defend the fourth pirate.
The POW argument is a red herring. The geneva conventions also makes provisions about “protected persons.” Enemy combatants (a made up term) fall under that category. Note that the argument the professor is making has nothing to do with whether or not these people have rights. The argument is whether or not they are POW’s (which cannot be interrogated or tried for engaging in hostilities). POW’s can’t be tried for crimes related to the normal course of war, protected persons can, provided that they are given fair trials. Geneva Conventions 101.
But this is something different because this isn’t a war zone. I mean, really we are talking about trying to get out of granting a guy that’s on tape taking hostages, the benefit of a trial. That’s half retarded. Besides, there are already treaties that govern piracy in international waters.
fred,
Sunstein is bad and his wife is worse. Every day the noose on Israel draws tighter. At this point our only hope, and it is a feeble hope, is that the threat of a filibuster in the Senate holds long enough that Obama can’t pack the Judiciary before the next election and that some Judges start a rebellion that prevent the Census from being stolen. That is a very big two part wish to hope for.
Just listened to the Pentagon briefing – just an FYI – details still forthcoming – Captain Richards was tied up with an AK47 pointed at his back by one of the pirates before snipers on the USS Bainbridge took the shots on the three remaining pirates still inside the lifeboat. According to the Pentagon briefing, Captain Richards only jumped overboard one time (however, days of the jump overboard were confused in the response to the question – probably due to times). While I love to hear the details – I hope we don’t – confusion to the enemy – there will be more engagements on this order. P.S. – Pentagon insisted they received their standing orders directly from the President – no going over the President’s head – however, onsite decision was left to the Commander of the USS Bainbridge, who determined it was necessary to act and take the shots to rescue Captain Richards. HAPPY EASTER – what a great day to be alive!
Fourth pirate? What pirate? You mean that poor fisherman who was impressed by those bad guys from the neighboring village?
Thank heaven that President Obama rescued him from the clutches of those gangsters.
AD
Derek,
No, you are the one conflating cases and I will thank you not to resort to preemptive ad hominem attacks. As I stated it is possible to deal with pirates through the legal process and there is historical precedent but there is also historical precedent to dispatch pirates caught en flagrante with summary execution. Their position is analogous to that of spies caught out of uniform on the battlefield or saboteurs. Once the basic facts are established, which here are not in doubt, they simply do not have an absolute right to the protections that the national law gives to a citizen accused of a crime or that international law gives to a prisoner of war or for that matter that treaty grants to a citizen of a foreign nation accused of a crime.
@ 41. Gordon
What operation? At what ROE? Not giving a credit unless deserved.
My take is that when Phillips jumped, the original ROE were in effect no longer applicable and SEALs took an initiative.
@ 49. Knight
Who’s Captain Richards? Same event? Something else? Puzzled.
Habu,
This will be an acid teat
I know… the fifth grade… it is still a good freudian slip.
A good coinage.
President Obama had issued a standing order that the military was to act if the captain’s life was in immediate danger, Gortney said.
I stand corrected.
I have to wonder if the rest of the world has once again learned a small lesson in what makes America great, which is Americans themselves, even if we have elected a pantywaist for a president.
Don’t tread on us. You won’t like the results.
# 53 twobyfour – mea culpa – I actually know someone named Richard Phillips and a Phillip Richards – thanks for correcting me!
Good show US military, FBI, whoever.
Understand President Obama has quickly issued an apology in case any of the Americans were arrogant.
You know, with a giant set of brass balls like Captain Philips has, I don’t know why he didn’t sink like a rock.
This is a great day for American exceptionalism. I don’t think we will hear much about that; but, it is apparent to anyone willing to see.
Additionally, what an Easter story this is. The triumph of hope and faith over evil. Wow!
Well, since manned airstrikes aren’t in the cards, predator strikes seem to be the most likely manner of dealing with this situation. Hey, what happens 150 km leaves no witnesses. High explosives and boat fuel…… Oh well, machine gunning the pirates is more satisfying, but some one would leak details. Sharks, seabirds, and ocean currents make a helpful scenario. True, some “innocent” Somali’s are going to be collateralized, but as it becomes clear that “fishing” is dangerous, even at night…. Well, good hearted sorts will come to the conclusion that piracy is a dangerous biz fraught with missiles in the night. Just sayin’…
Blackfive is reporting that the Navy had affixed a line on the lifeboat and was towing it to calmer waters as the sea was getting rough. One of the pirates was on-board the Navy ship and negotiating with the Navy. Observers noted that the captain and other 3 pirates were in the wheelhouse of the raft and noted that a pirate was pointing an AK-47 at the head of the captain. A judgement was made that the captain’s life was in imminent danger and the order was given to 3 Navy or Marine snipers to take the shots. All 3 pirates were killed. The captain was taken off the raft by a navy inflatable.
Anyone with expertise care to comment on whether being on a rolling ocean affects sniping accuracy?
Nahncee,
And how, awesome shooting, and I understand the seas were getting rougher.
In fact it is now impossible to extradite someone charged with murder from Europe to the United States. The reductio ad absurdum of this is to move an unlimited number of violent criminals to enlightened Western countries where they can not be punished and then allow them to petition to bring their relatives in to enjoy welfare and gain citizenship. That is why the Royal Navy is ordered to neither kill the enemy nor take them prisoner. Wounding is presumably also discouraged and making really loud noises could cause stress.
humm, you should have been more precise since the beginning of your sentence, and that you were thinking of the UK
as far as the treatment of the somalians pursued last year on Somalia’s territory, the court rejected their appeal.
Les suspects avançaient que leur arrestation lors d’une intervention de l’armée française et leur transfert, sans autorisation de l’Etat somalien ni formalités judiciaires, étaient irréguliers…
Le parquet général estimait que l’arrestation et le transfert constituaient des “opérations de défense que la justice n’avait pas à connaître”…
Les suspects restent donc en détention et mis en examen pour “détournement de navire, arrestation et séquestration en bande organisée avec demande de rançon, association de malfaiteurs, vols en bande organisée”.
Ils appartiennent à une “milice de mer”
Cette procédure, une première judiciaire en France, intervient alors que ces pratiques de piraterie se développent dans le golfe d’Aden. Les infractions sont passibles d’un procès aux assises et de la réclusion à perpétuité.
Nahncee @62.
Back in the day (1963) Marine Corps boot camp rifle training was at 200, 300 and 500 yards. This was with an M14 with iron sights (no scope). At the end of three weeks of rifle training, even for a recruit, 25 yard shots would not have been inaccurate from a trampoline!
I’m not taking anything away from the shooters. I tremendously admire (envy) the guys that took out the pirate scum. I’m just giving Nahncee some perspective.
Knight (@49)
Pentagon insisted they received their standing orders directly from the President – no going over the President’s head
That can’t be right! Whiskey read between the lines that they disobeyed Obama!!
“There is nothing so deadly on a battlefield as one well-aimed round.”
Carlos Hathcock
Marie Claude, I was thinking of Ira Einhorn and Charles Kopp.