Pirates

[Redoverfarm]

Whether it was 25 or 200 yards it was well deserving IMO.  If more pro active approach would be taken on many of the delimias that Americans are faced with abroad then there would be less of a desire by pirates  fashions against US Citizens.  What happened to our reputation?

[apaknad]

i am very happy for the decisions and outcome of this situation as i know everyone else is. as an old marine who earned an expert badge on the firing range and with combat experience in nam i can tell you that those shots were amazing. i also want to hijack the thread a little and say i have moved into the house inherited in my mom's estate and just got on line yesterday and feel like the male equivalent of HGT when she went through her ordeal. boxes everywhere, can't find anything. i have fallen behind in updates about everyone and hope you all are doing fine and had a good Easter.
dan(aka apaknad)

[NM_Shooter]

NM,

Remember, these men are highly trained and I would not be surprised if they practiced making water shots for several hours at a time in the days prior to being deployed.

I agree... but comparing these guys to hunters hoping for a kill shot through dense brush at a moving object is not the right analogy.  Anyone who kills a running deer in heavy timber is an example of luck, not skill.  And anyone who would take such a shot is not welcome on my property as a visitor, let alone to hunt.

I think any one of the competitive shooters I know that have an expert class card or higher could have made that shot if given some environmental training.  Probably a lot of hunters too.  Who was it who said that only a handful of people could have done it?  Are you referring to the news reports?  They are being rather sensationalistic about it. 

I am in favor of short negotiations with folks such as these pirates.  I am in favor of amending maritime laws which disallow weapons.  I am a firm believer in peace through superior firepower.  I also think that politicians should negotiate, and warriors should battle.  We get into problems when politicians stick their noses into battles, and when warriors attempt to negotiate.   

Once the Navy started to "negotiate" I think we all knew how this was going to go.  It is sort of like the fox negotiating the chicken to open the coop door.

But you know me... I am never far from an opinion 

(Stink, you crack me up!)

[glenn kangiser]

Glad you made it back, Dan.

[pagan]

NM,

I don't know any hunters who hope to make a shot. All of the people I know who hunt make the shots they take. I agree with you, I don't want anybody who fires and "hopes" to make a hit hunting on my land either.

I was referencing a media article relating the extreme skill of the SEALs. Of course the media is sensationalizing this because it gives them something to justify their jobs and also deflects public attention from domestic issues such as millions of people losing their jobs.

When this was first reported I told my coworkers we'll be hearing about four dead pirates in a few days. Negotiating with them only gives them the idea they have power and would only further the boldness of their attacks in the future. I hope I'm wrong, but I sense an invasion in Somalia's future.

[NM_Shooter]

I think this is written very well ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/13/AR2009041302583_pf.html

[MountainDon]

That is a very good article. 

[apaknad]

very good article about a very hard situation

[rwanders]

Saw a documentary a while back where a shooter demonstrated a .50 sniper rifle----he put two shots in a 12" square target from 1 1/2 miles away-----impressive to say the least. He was firing AP rounds meant for use against vehicles (and thin skinned humans).   

[pagan]

Good article, although I would disagree that snipers are "pure alphas" as that personality type is more prone to act first and think later. Snipers are trained to observe and wait while exercising extreme patience. They took their shots when they knew they'd hit.

Here's the luckiest man on the planet. He came so close to getting his Darwin Award, though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyCV9kWmN1o

[Sassy]

The article in the Post was written like a novel, of course, the writer is a novelist & writes about snipers - kept my interest...

Yes, the guy on YouTube would be a candidate for the Darwin award even though he made it out alive 

Here's another article  http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/dpatton/2009/dp_04131.shtml 

Sadly, Joe Biden Was Right
By Doug Patton
April 13, 2009

Parents and grandparents of small children who recognize the name "Veggie Tales," will be familiar with one of that animated series' most amusing offerings, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." Now we find out that there are real pirates loose on the high seas who are capturing American citizens and holding them for ransom -- and until Sunday it was beginning to look like we had a president who wouldn't do anything.

Remember Vice President (then Senator) Joe Biden's warning just before last November's election? "Mark my words," Biden said to a group of donors at a fund-raiser last fall. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant, 47-year-old senator President of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here, if you don't remember anything else. Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy. I can give you at least four or five scenarios from which it might originate. And he's gonna need help, because it's not gonna be apparent that we're right."
  con't at link above...

Hmmmmm, I guess anything could have happened in 6 mo to make him a prophet...

[pagan]

Given the state of the world and the economy it's not very prophetic to make such a statement.

[NM_Shooter]

This whole issue is a poster child for pro-second amendment arguments.

Let's see... maritime law does not allow these ships to be armed. The criminals of the seas are preying on unarmed ships, as they have no way to protect themselves.

I agree with Windpower.  I think a small security staff with decent weapons could thwart this in a hurry. 

[pagan]

NM,

Better radar for alerting merchant vessels of approaching small craft and a well trained security detail would clear this up quickly.

[MountainDon]

One thing that nobody has touched on is Obama's handling of the affair. I believe the gopusa article is a little unfriendly to him with the statement "Even in Joe Biden's fertile imagination, he could not have visualized this as one of the scenarios that would paralyze the prez." I doubt that Obama was paralyzed. He simply didn't open his mouth right off the bat when there was little need for a comment that could have possibly inflamed the situation.

I'm certain that behind the scenes there was lots of talk going on. Obama did, after all, do what was the best thing to do; he gave authorization to the Navy to do what was necessary if Captain Phillips was in imminent danger. And it was probably best that the Navy didn't go in there right away with guns blazing. Obama didn't try to run the show from a political standpoint.

Yes, I am being supportive of Obama in this case. I believe in this case he deserves it.

No, I never voted for him and I am not a Democrat. It's just that Obama did the right thing.

[Sassy]

I was focusing more on Biden's comment...  didn't Colin Powell make a comment to that effect, around the same time?   

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=5575.0

[MountainDon]

OK. sorry. But in any event you could probably say something like that at any time in the past and it would have come true in one way or another. And you said that too.

[Squirl]

I agree with Don on this one.  Then again the GOP are not looking to praise Obama.  It is not in their self interest.  I think he handled it well, but I thought it was a bit of a no brainer.  I didn't see this as much of a test. N. Korea breaking off six party talks and restarting their nuclear weapons program is more of a test to me.

[Sassy]

I agree with Don on this one.  Then again the GOP are not looking to praise Obama.  It is not in their self interest.  I think he handled it well, but I thought it was a bit of a no brainer.  I didn't see this as much of a test. N. Korea breaking off six party talks and restarting their nuclear weapons program is more of a test to me.

I agree...

[MountainDon]

[apaknad]

shooter,

it's my understanding that they CAN be armed but no weapons are to be in sight and they have to be secured(locked up) when in port.

[NM_Shooter]

Thanks... I'm googling now trying to find a reference.  Please post if you have one. 

I wonder if externally mounted weapons that are obscured using tarps are acceptable?

[Redoverfarm]

If it wasn't for the principle of the ordeal or to stand ground against future pirate action it would have been cheaper to pay them.  Can you imagine what the cost of deployment of the navy and other agencies to this crisis.

[pagan]

Redoverfarm,

I sense the creation of a new cabinet position...THE PIRATE CZAR. He/she will over see the Pirate Homeland Ultra Defense Department. Using the acronym of PHUDD, the Pirate Czar's code name will be Elmer. I think we could get this done with a paltry $150 billion per year.

[apaknad]

reference is from the bill o'reilly show on monday(?). i don't think tarped deck guns would be acceptable but i like the idea .