Somali pirates vow retaliation after captain freed

Monday 13th April, 03:14 PM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 70 Total Comments Show All

taniwha at 09:16 PM JST - 14th April

Madverts.

Let me paraphrase you then. Criminals should be summarily executed without trial, simply because they are criminals. Let's not forget although they wanted big buckaroos and kidnapped a captain, the only people injured or killed were themselves, they didn't get a dollar, and the captain was returned, stressed but apparently okay.
Madverts at 09:45 PM JST - 14th April

"Let me paraphrase you then. Criminals should be summarily executed without trial, simply because they are criminals."

Nope, that's not what I'm saying at all. You ignored my earlier suggestion that kidnapping with assault rifles would lead to a similar conclusion anywhere else in the civilized world.

It's simple. If you put yourself in the position of the pirates, expect to be shot yourself.

No.4 pirate will be ok though. American tax-payers will be paying for his incarceration for the next 30 or so years....
Madverts at 09:47 PM JST - 14th April

Also Taniwha, what are your thoughts on the French position?
USNinJapan2 at 10:02 PM JST - 14th April

taniwha

If you had been the captain of the Bainbridge, Captain Phillips would have been shot dead by his captors because the SEALs weren't permitted by you to save his life, and the pirate may or may not be in custody to stand trial. That's somehow better in your opinion? The pirates were not 'summarily executed' as you say; they were shot while still carrying out their crimes. Besides, you can't execute someone who isn't in custody. If you're going to blame anyone blame the pirates. After all they're the ones that didn't give us the chance to take them to trial despite repeated offers to grant them the opportunity for due process... : O
Den Den at 11:17 PM JST - 14th April

The pirates took two more in the last 24 hours. Great job guys with big guns.
bushlover at 05:31 AM JST - 15th April

Oh no 2 more? Lets just give into them now and pay up. We'll be paying for the rest of our lives. Maybe since it's profitable you should consider this line of work. Good Luck.
USNinJapan2 at 07:59 AM JST - 15th April

Den Den

And what flag were those two captured ships flying? That's right, not the US flag. Come back when they hijack the next American ship...
grafton at 08:32 AM JST - 15th April

Wow what simplicity of thought? I take it this is something to do with the Bush education system, the “for us or against us” idea. Then again it could be a degree of general illiteracy. Maybe if my previous posts were re-read somebody could highlight a point where I have anything good or defensive to say about pirates. Given that there is not much chance of that I suppose we need to look for other reasons for the sudden outbreak of anti-grafton posts.

I accept that the pirates are bad people, they need shooting & I have no qualms about that so long as doing so doesn’t put others at risk. I will leave this as a separate paragraph so as not to confuse people that confuse easily.

I have not defended the pirates, I have been critical of the US & how they dealt with the pirates. In the last years the pirates have kidnapped & held hostage hundreds of merchant seamen & in all that time they have killed one man, but even then there seems to be some mystery about how this happened. The US navy got in close for the first time this last week & we now have 3 dead pirates. No, I do not care that the pirates are dead, they deserve to be dead & the risk of being killed should have been part of their job description. But do none of you find it at all strange that as soon as the US arrive people get killed at a much higher rate than before? It would seem that Americans kill first & then try to deal with the consequences of killing afterwards. And no, I do not consider snipers heroes, very professional yes & as such I will respect them for that.
USNinJapan2 at 10:59 AM JST - 15th April

grafton

But do none of you find it at all strange that as soon as the US arrive people get killed at a much higher rate than before?

As opposed to other nationalities (French and Indian excluded) that show up (if they do), do nothing, and no one (especially the pirates) gets killed, and the problem persists and the situation remains the same or worse.

It would seem that Americans kill first & then try to deal with the consequences of killing afterwards.

Killing these pirates first will force the next set of pirates to think twice when comfronted with a possible target ship flying the US flag. Just heard about another US shipped that was approached/attacked by pirates last night but was not boarded and the pirates aborted their attempt to hijack her. You would probably say it was coincidence where as I believe it's effective deterrence.
SaitamaGaijin at 11:08 AM JST - 15th April

Why all the commercial ships have to go through this way?
USNinJapan2 at 11:44 AM JST - 15th April

SaitamaGaijin

Shipping between Europe and Asia use the Suez Canal and must sail through the Gulf of Adan and pass the Horn of Africa. The only alternate shipping route is around the entire African continent at considerable additional cost/time.
HonestDictator at 01:28 PM JST - 15th April

Considering the age of the pirates it is a sad issue, but many of the "pay them don't kill them" folks seem to forget that a)These poor boys come from a country that doesn't have those wonderful rules and secure government that they do. b)The main bad guy is probably a lot smarter and older than them and sends them out to do the dirty work...if they come back alive at all. c)not every country that is adressing the piracy problem is gonna try to grab the pirates with soft cuddly hands and slap them on the wrist when they feel their interests are threatened.
USARonin at 04:17 PM JST - 15th April

Why have we allowed these guys to become a problem?

Remember the maxim:

"The time to take care of a problem is before it becomes a problem." -Lao Tzu or Al Capone (I can't remember which one right now.)
toguro at 04:51 PM JST - 15th April

DenDen: There you go crying again. At least it wasn't an American ship which is the responsibility of the American military, to protect it's citizens. Keep up the crying thought, it's giving me good laughs. :-D
the_sicilian at 09:38 PM JST - 18th April

I say the US should use the coast of Somalia as a training ground for the SF and SEALS. They attack a ship, and they get what the deserve. Dead thieves are good thieves. As the bodies pile up, they'll start thinking, "maybe this isn't a good idea".

Ciao