Bangladesh asks for US help getting Somali pirate hostages released. State Department suggests they pay the ransom.

The US State Department has become an embarrassment under President Obama and Hillary Clinton. Bangladesh asked for help getting hostages released from Somali pirates. They were told to pay the ransom!

(bdnews.24) — The US government has suggested that the government should negotiate with the Somali pirates by paying ransom for the release of 26 Bangladeshis on board the hijacked ship MV Jahan Moni.

The state department also told Dhaka that the Somali pirates would be interested in releasing the captives with comparatively less amount of money as it’s a “lean season” for the captors.

Washington also revealed that “money was the sole objective” behind the hostage taking.
The state department made the suggestions as Bangladesh government sought US support for the release of the hostages.

Note to Stupid Pirates: Do Not Attack a US Warship

Saturday, six Somali pirates made the mistake of attacking the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland. As evidenced by the above picture, the inevitable result occurred.

A U.S. warship captured six suspected pirates ...

A statement by the U.S. Navy said the suspected pirates began shooting at the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland...

The Navy said the Ashland returned fire and the suspected pirate skiff was destroyed. All six people on board were rescued and taken aboard the Ashland.

Somali pirates use London informants

The Somali pirates have friends in London.

MADRID (Reuters) - Somali pirates are planning attacks on shipping using detailed information telephoned through by contacts in London, according to an intelligence report cited by Spanish radio on Monday.

The pirates have built up a network of informants in London with access to sensitive data from shipping companies about vessels, routes and cargoes, according to a European military intelligence report that Cadena Ser radio said it had seen.

The pirates receive their information by satellite phone and use sophisticated equipment to locate their targets, Cadena Ser said.

The intelligence report also said that the pirates seem to avoid attacks on ships of some nationalities, including British ships.

It listed several attacks in which the pirates had surprised crew with detailed information of their prey, including the nationalities of those on board.

Cadena Ser did not provide any more details about where the report originated, identifying it only as "European."

Strangely, the Somali pirates seem to avoid attacking British ships or those with British nationals on board. The pirates are currently holding about 20 vessels with nearly 300 hostages, according to monitoring groups.

Obama stalled Captain Phillips rescue

President Obama delayed dispatching the seal team to rescue Captain Phillips for thirty six hours because they didn't want to use lethal force. Then, the White House rejected two rescue plans offered up by the Seal commander. They imposed very severe rules of engagement on the seal team. If a pirates had not pointed his AK-47 at Captain Phillips, he might still be held hostage. Of course the White House, liberals and most of the Main Steam Media gave Obama credit for the rescue. The truth is he was a hindrance to the rescue effort.
WorldNetDaily is reporting,

WASHINGTON – While Barack Obama is basking in praise for his "decisive" handling of the Somali pirate attack on a merchant
ship in the India Ocean, reliable military sources close to the scene are painting a much different picture of the incident – accusing the president of employing restrictive rules of engagement that actually hampered the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips and extended the drama at sea for days.

Multiple opportunities to free the captain of the Maersk Alabama from three young pirates were missed, these sources say – all because a Navy SEAL team was not immediately ordered to the scene and then forced to operate under strict, non-lethal rules of engagement.

They say the response duty office at the Pentagon was initially unwilling to grant an order to use lethal force to rescue Phillips. They also report the White House refused to authorize deployment of a Navy SEAL team to the location for 36 hours, despite the recommendation of the on-scene commander.

The White House also turned down two rescue plans offered up by the Seal commander on the scene and the captain of the USS Bainbridge.

The SEAL team operated under rules of engagement that required them to do nothing unless the hostage's life was in "imminent' danger.

Pirates fire rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at a U.S.-flagged cargo ship, then flee when U.S. Navy shows up

Somali pirates attacked another US ship Tuesday. This ship was also carrying food aid. Fortunately, the USS Bainbridge was nearby and they pirates were scared off. I wonder why the USS Bainbridge didn't track the pirates boat down and sink it. Perhaps, the rules of engagement they are operating under won't allow them to do that. According to cnn.com,

(CNN) -- The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship bound for Mombasa, Kenya, was attacked Tuesday by Somali pirates, according to a NATO source with direct knowledge of the matter.

"The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel, which sustained damage," said a statement from New York-based Liberty Maritime Corporation, which owns the vessel.

The ship was carrying U.S. food aid for African nations, the statement said.

The pirates never made it onto the ship and the vessel is now being escorted by a coalition ship, still bound for Mombasa, officials said.

Two senior defense officials said the Liberty Sun was being escorted by the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge. It is the ship carrying Richard Phillips, the captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked last week. Phillips spent days as a hostage of the pirates before being rescued Sunday.

Obama's teleprompter fails again

When speaking about Somali piracy today, President Obama said , "We are resolved to halt the rise of privacy in that region." That will terrify those evil pirates.

President Obama: Hold pirates accountable(video via YouTube)

Capt. Richard Phillips wife said he thinks the military are the "real heroes" of his ordeal

This will be a huge disappointment to the Main Stream Media and Barack Obama's supporters. Here is the story from breitbart.com.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The wife of sea Capt. Richard Phillips says her husband praised the military for rescuing him and called them the "real heroes" of his ordeal.

Andrea Phillips held a news briefing at a Burlington, Vt., hotel, where a spokeswoman for her husband's employer read a statement on her behalf.

Andrea Phillips says the hardest part for her was not knowing what her husband was enduring. She says she is proud of her husband and thanks everyone for giving her "the strength to be strong for Richard."

This image provided by the U.S. Navy taken from video made with an unmanned aerial vehicle shows a 28-foot lifeboat from the U.S.-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama on Thursday, April 9, 2009 in the Indian Ocean. In a daring high-seas rescue Sunday April 12, 2009, U.S. Navy SEAL snipers killed three Somali pirates and freed the American sea captain who had offered himself as a hostage to save his crew (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

In this image made from video provided by the U.S. Navy, Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, right, is welcomed aboard the USS Bainbridge on Sunday, April 12, 2009 after being rescued by U.S. naval forces off the coast of Somalia. Philips was held hostage for four days by pirates. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy)

Hillary Clinton thinks piracy is funny

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton can't help laughing when talking about Americans being held hostage by pirates. President Obama is unwilling to speak at all. How can a few pirates in an over sized row boat thumb their noses at the U.S. Navy? The reason is that we have Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as our leaders.

Here is the video of Hillary laughing; plus some background.(video via YouTube)

Obama's teleprompter declines comment on Somali hostage crisis

President Barak Obama refused to comment on the hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia. He wanted to talk about housing. Housing is much more important than our security. According to a reuters.com report,

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama declined to answer reporters' questions on Thursday on a hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia, where a U.S. ship captain is being held captive by pirates.

Obama was asked to comment on the situation several times by reporters at a White House event on refinancing for homeowners. Obama, however, stuck closely to the script and replied that he wanted to remain focused on housing.

Somali pirates run after American crew resists

Somali pirates breifly hijacked an American crewed container ship off the coast of Somalia today. Reportly, the crew overcame the hijacking and most of the pirates ended up in the sea. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration mumbled meaningless words about “watching closely” and “assessing a course of action.” Thankfully, the crew was more proactive. The Captain is still being held off ship in a small boat. The crew is negotiating for his release.

Hijackers on cargo ship: 'They ran' (video)

The American crew on board a U.S.-flagged cargo ship overcome by pirates off of Somalia takes back the vessel, but the captain is apparently being held hostage in a smaller boat. (April 8)

The French turn over captured pirates to Somali government. Good bye hands? (video)

The Somalian punishment for piracy, under sharia, is the removal of heads, arms, or other appendages. I guess these pirates careers are coming to an end. I have no sympathy for them.

Video of pirates being turned over to Somali government.

Five Somali pirates drown with their loot

I don't know if this was the work of God or Mother Nature, but I approve. There is a certain amount of justice to this story. It is good to have the bad guys get what they deserve for a change.

FOXNEWS.COM HOME > WORLD
5 Somali Pirates Drown With Share of $3M Ransom
Saturday, January 10, 2009
AP

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday.

Pirate Daud Nure says the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday. Read more here.