U.S. Navy snipers opened fire and killed three pirates holding an American captain at gunpoint, delivering the skipper unharmed and ending a five-day high-seas hostage drama on Easter Sunday.I'm VERY relieved that Capt. Phillips has been rescued from Muslim terrorists (like the "Somali pirates" who celebrated the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr during a similar hijacking last year).
The pirates were pointing AK-47s at Capt. Richard Phillips and he was in "imminent danger" of being killed when the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge made the split-second decision to order his men to shoot, Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said.
Phillips' crew, who said they had escaped the pirates after he offered himself as a hostage, erupted in cheers aboard their ship docked in Mombasa, Kenya. Some waved an American flag and fired flares in celebration. A lawn sign in the captain's hometown of Underhill, Vermont that read "Pray for Captain Phillips' release and safe return home" was changed to read, "Capt. Phillips rescued and safe."
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet said Phillips, 53, was resting comfortably after a medical exam on the San Diego-based USS Boxer in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia. Gortney said the captain had been "tied up inside the lifeboat" over much of the ordeal.
Conversely, I'm disgusted with the Associated Press for trying to spin this rescue as being under direct orders from President Obama.
The AP story's wording is intentionally careful:
Administration officials say President Barack Obama approved the military operation that rescued a U.S. captain held hostage by Somali pirates.That is correct. President Obama approved the Pentagon's request for military resources. And he deserves credit for allowing the military to do their jobs and for not issuing orders which would have prevented them from seizing an opportunity to rescue Capt. Phillips. But that is very different from issuing the order for an active rescue attempt, which is what AP's puffery was alleging earlier today:
The officials say Obama ordered the Defense Department to use military resources to rescue Richard Phillips from a lifeboat off the Somali coast.Many thanks to our American military! And welcome home, Captain Phillips!
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