A maritime riddle
Let’s say you have four Somali pirates in a rowboat holding an American hostage for ransom 125 miles out at sea. They are encircled by the world’s most powerful Navy in a standoff that is now reached into its fourth day. It is further known that the chosen course of action has been to negotiate a resolution with no apparent success. Other points of interest are that this has become an international spectacle, and it is now known that the French just resolved a similar event a day earlier through taking tactical measures upon realizing negotiating was futile.
What action should the United States take with two goals equally considered? One being to rescue the American hostage and the other is to stop making the United States look pathetic to the world.
Note: Once again, this is four pirates in little more than a rowboat.
April 11th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Is anyone else embarrassed this hasn’t been resolved yet? Even the French have this down by now. Turn the SEALs loose on these guys and tell them to make it good…enough already!!
Or, maybe the current administration considers the pirates Merchant Marine Organizers, doing the same work as ACORN, except at sea. Shaking down Corporations for donations, spreading money to those who refuse to work for it.
April 11th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
This riddle is far to deep for me… Because being the simple minded person that I am… The answer appears obvious hhhmmm!!! But we are now a kinder, gentler America that is willing to neogotiate with one and all… terrorist, pirate, missile launchers. None of these problems are that big of a deal… “we” need to be reasonable and logical in dealing with them. Has anyone out here in the blogsphere ever heard the saying that you use the “appropriate” amount of force to match the level of threat?? Hello out there Mr. President….
April 12th, 2009 at 12:11 am
You have a big navy ship out there next to a little life boat with 4 somali pirates in a little life boat holding a captain of an American ship and you don’t know how to handle it, come on you don’t neogotiate with people like that…They are terrorists for heaven sake…You get the big guns that are on the naval ship and let them know they have two choices, let the captain go or blow them out of the water..Now what do you think they are going to choose…They don’t want to die or if they do oh well!!!! You can’t be bullied by people like this, or it will happen again and again… Like Morris said match the level of threat…Mr. President only you can say the command…For heaven sake let us get the job done and get the captain home. This should have been done days ago…How does this make us look to the world WEAK!!!!!
April 13th, 2009 at 10:07 am
I believe it took far to long to settle the issue at hand, the result was acceptable but the continuing piracy shouldn’t be acceptable to any nation. 3 out of four isn’t bad, right message, now lets see the outcome. Threaten Americans, not smart!!