Quote:
Originally Posted by mynameisjim
There was no other choice in this situation and it was handled the best it could, but when you hear the details, it's not as awesome as it sounds.
The pirates shot were 17 and 19 respectively. Their boat had totally lost power and they agreed to have the U.S. destroyer tow them back to calmer waters. The third pirate actually went aboard the destroyer to collect supplies and have a wound on his hand stitched up.
So basically two teen age pirates where shot while aboard a powerless boat while being towed by a U.S. destroyer.
These pirates were obviously clueless and had no military training, or any training whatsoever.
Like I said, there was no other way to handle this and the innocent hostage was secured alive so it was a victory. It's just the whole thing sort of feels hollow.
P.S. The reason the pirates can take over a big ship is because the captain and crew are told to not engage the pirates or fight the pirates in any way. That's also why they don't hire security or carry guns on the ships.
These pirates are bumbling idiots. During a recent ransom payment, several drowned when their tiny boat capsized while trying to pick up the money. The only reason they can hijack ships is because the crews have orders to not fight back.
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Most people don't seem to fully understand just what kind of people those pirates are.
Most of them are not evil, scheming criminal masterminds. They're young men living in abject poverty, on the brink of starvation, with zero options and no future.
Few people realize that piracy in Somalia started after the government collapsed and international companies started fishing and dumping waste illegally in Somalian waters, basically plundering the resources of people who had virtually nothing to start with. Somali fishing boats were actually destroyed by foreign fishermen because they didn't want any competition.