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Do IT this week: Layering
Shipmates celebrate rescue of U.S. freighter captain from Somali bandits
By Elizabeth A. Kennedy
and Pauline Jelinek
Associated Press
Published on Tuesday, Apr 14, 2009
MOMBASA, KENYA: President Barack Obama vowed Monday ''to halt the rise of piracy,'' while shipmates of the rescued American freighter captain called for tough action against Somali bandits who are preying on one of the world's busiest sea routes.
Obama appeared to move up the piracy issue on his agenda, saying the United States would work with other nations.
''I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks,'' Obama said at a Washington news conference.
The nighttime rescue operation of Richard Phillips was praised abroad but it was uncertain how far Obama wanted to go to engage the pirates.
The United States was considering such options as adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate ''mother ships,'' according to military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.
Some military strategists believe it may ultimately be necessary to attack the pirates' bases in Somalia. But few international allies have the appetite for another land operation in Somalia, where a U.S. military foray in the early 1990s ended in humiliation. And the cost in civilian casualties would probably be high, some warn.
''That would be nuts,'' said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism specialist. ''These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You're talking about wiping out villages.''
The chief mate aboard the US-flagged Maersk Alabama was among those urging strong U.S. action.
''It's time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis,'' Shane Murphy said. ''It's a crisis. Wake up.''
In Burlington, Vt., Phillips' wife, Andrea Phillips, made a tearful public appearance, her first since the rescue Sunday of her husband. She thanked Obama, who approved the dramatic sniper operation that killed the pirates holding him.
''You have no idea, but with Richard saved, you all just gave me the best Easter ever,'' she said in a statement read by the family's spokeswoman.
On the other side of the world, the 19 crew members on the Alabama celebrated their skipper's freedom with beer and an evening barbecue in an area cordoned off from journalists, said crewman Ken Quinn, who ventured out holding a Tusker beer — a popular brew in Kenya, where the ship was docked.
New details emerged Monday about the standoff.
Fearing the pirates' lifeboat was approaching the Somali shore, where they could escape, the USS Bainbridge rammed it back out toward sea, said a spokesman for Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the Navy's Fifth Fleet. That happened before the Bainbridge put a tow line on the lifeboat to help it navigate the choppy sea.
The four pirates that attacked the Alabama were between 17 and 19 years old, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
''Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,'' Gates told a group of students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. ''Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that.''
U.S. officials are considering whether to bring the fourth pirate, who surrendered before the sniper shootings, to the United States or turn him over to Kenya. If he is brought to the United States, he would most likely go on trial in New York or Washington.
Both piracy and hostage taking carry life prison sentences under U.S. law.
MOMBASA, KENYA: President Barack Obama vowed Monday ''to halt the rise of piracy,'' while shipmates of the rescued American freighter captain called for tough action against Somali bandits who are preying on one of the world's busiest sea routes.
Get the full article here.
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