How the hostage rescue deal went down.

[jefferson_dem]

It's ABC News but gives a good summary rundown of key events -

<SNIP>

By Friday evening, the National Security Council was advising the president on options, and Mr. Obama opted to give the Pentagon the authority to send a team of Special Operations forces to engage in potential emergency actions to save Phillips' life.

He gave the Pentagon the same authority on Saturday. The regulary briefings and MOTR discussions continued. But by that evening, the Special Forces teams hadn't taken action, and the National Security Council updated the president on the situation and planning for hostage contingencies.

The situation, however, seemed to Naval officials to be deteriorating. On Friday, Phillips had jumped off the lifeboat and tried to swim away, only to be dragged back into the boat by the pirates and tied up. A small Naval vessel approaching the boat had been chased away by warning shots fired into the air on Friday, but by Saturday those shots were fired near Phillips' head.

Thankfully, by Sunday the Navy SEALs and other Special Forces had taken control of the situation, and by Sunday night the president was on the phone with Phillips, safely on board the USS Boxer, his wife Andrea in Underhill, Vt., as well as Commander Frank Castellano, captain of the USS Bainbridge, and Vice Admiral William McRaven, Commander Joint Special Operations Command, to express appreciation for their work.

Shortly after 3 p.m. ET, the president had issued a statement saying he was "very proud of the efforts of the U.S. military and many other departments and agencies who worked tirelessly to secure Captain Phillips’s safe recovery," and noting his continued policy view that to halt the rise of piracy the United States "must continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, be prepared to interdict acts of piracy and ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes."

And he added, "I share the country’s admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew. His courage is a model for all Americans."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/the-pirates-cri.html

[BlooInBloo]

1. :)

[Canuckistanian]

2. Yes, but what PHYSICALLY happened?

"the Navy SEALs and other Special Forces had taken control of the situation" tells me nothing.

[stray cat]

3. I heard that they waited until the captain was let out to relieve himself

and then the sharpshooters took over and the captain hit the water. - don't know if it is true but it makes sense.

[zeemike]

4. I don't think they will tell us the exact details of how they did it

And the reasons should be obvious. they may have to do it again sometime.

[bertman]

5. Did anyone really think they wouldn't kill the pirates and rescue the captain? We're talking

about some of the best-trained killers in the world. SEALs and special ops guys DO NOT PLAY.

This whole stage-managed performance was for U.S. public consumption to show that 1) President Obama is NOT a wimp (meaning scared to have some bad guys killed in order to save a heroic American sea captain--which Capt. Phillips is); 2) we Americans can be distracted by the jangling of shiny keys anywhere in the world as long as there's a "human interest" element involved.

Oh, and let's not forget that the Somalis now understand that we aren't scared to spend millions of dollars of U.S. military budget money to kill three or four pirates. Like they didn't already know this.

I wonder what the tally of expenditures for this rescue operation is. Think about it. How many U.S. warships were mobilized to deal with this situation? This is ridiculous. One seal team could have pulled this off in the middle of the night and made off with the captain without all the paraphernalia that got used to capture the attention of the U.S. television viewers. That's what SEALs do. And do well.

Just another jingoist diversion.

Also, ask yourself why these tankers, with their supersophisticated radar and communications gear, can't have a team of anti-pirate security types on board. BlackWater, I mean Xe, would gladly hire out some of its finest to protect these multi-million dollar ships from piracy.

I'm thinking there's more here than meets the eye. If anybody has any idea what it is, please chime in.

[Peacetrain]

6. What about the other 250 internationals being held hostage, 13 ships.. that a performance also??

Give me a break..

[jefferson_dem]

7. Let me guess. You're a 911 Truther too, right?

n/t

[Jennicut]

8. So this man's life meant nothing? Your crazy. They were trying intimidation first.

Obviously they did not want to go the violent route but had too to save the man's life. If your life is in danger perhaps we should not let an ambulance get you, a fireman rescue you, doctors and a hospital not treat you. After all, in the long run its so damn expensive and a small copay and premium hardly covers all the expenses. Where is your sense of humanity? The French tried to save their own hostages with tons of resources as well. Paranoia sometimes makes no sense.

[Median Democrat]

9. True, I Guess Like Bush, We Can Expectr Obama To Fly In And Land On An Aircraft Carrier...

Afterall, if the whole thing is staged, then Obama is screwing it up by simply issue muted press releases, and praising the participants in a written statement. Bush and McCain would be saying something like "We are all merchant marines now."

:sarcasm:

[bertman]

10. Oh the hysteria!! Did you read my post?? Read but not comprehend, I guess. It's not

WHAT they did, but HOW they did it that bothers me.

Once again I'll say that they could have killed the pirates and rescued the captain without making this into a made-for-TV movie. Our professional killers--SEALs, special ops teams are trained just for this type of situation. Go in. Kill the bad guys. Rescue the captain. Get out with the captain. Details to follow.

But we have to make this into a U.S. NAVAL EXTRAVAGANZA. That's jingoist propaganda bullshit. It's like using a howitzer to kill a fly.

For those of you who don't think that our new President, who has never served a day in the military, wasn't looking for the perfect opportunity to "prove himself" to the world (and especially the McCain-Palin supporter types), well, I'll just say that you are a bit naive.

[Solomon]

11. Your shit is pathetic.

It really is. You do realize that negotiating set the whole thing up right? That your "Seals" who can do anything and everything just can't go barging in? You do realize that right?

The bitterness must hurt real bad.

[bertman]

12. No bitterness. No hurt. I've seen this kind of crap unfold so many times before that I

can't believe we Americans are so stupid that we fall for it again and again.

Pathetic is when you think you're Solomon, but you're really Bozo.