President Obama Determined To Halt Piracy

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Post Update THREE: Somali Pirates/US Captain Hostage Situation

Post Update THREE:
3 Somali Pirates Dead, One Pirate Wounded/Captured
Once Hostage Captain Phillips
Safe and on Navy Ship
What a Great Easter Day for All Americans!!!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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File Photo of the Maersk Alabama Container Ship
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* FOXNews.com brings us this GREAT report this early Sunday afternoon…
Ship Captain Rescued From Somali Pirates
American sea Captain Richard Phillips was safely rescued Sunday from four Somali pirates, who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a U.S. intelligence official said… Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said…Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation…
Read the full report from HERE

About above photo: Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips, right, stands alongside Cmdr. Frank Castellano, Commanding officer of USSS Bainbridge (DDG 96) after being rescued by Navel Forces off the coast of Somalia. Phillips was held hostage for four days by pirates.
US Navy Photo

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Obama Praises U.S. Military Rescue of Maersk-Alabama Captain
Sunday, April 12, 2009
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President Barack Obama praised the U.S. military’s rescue of the kidnapped captain of the Maersk-Alabama cargo ship on the waters off the coast of Somalia today.
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U.S. naval forces freed Capt. Richard Phillips five days after Somali pirates took him hostage.
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“I am very pleased that Captain Phillips has been rescued and is safely on board the USS Boxer,” Obama said in a White House statement. “His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew.
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“I am also very proud of the efforts of the US military and many other departments and agencies who worked tirelessly to secure Captain Phillips’ safe recovery,” he said. “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.”
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Navy Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, commended those involved in the rescue.
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“This was an incredible team effort, and I am extremely proud of the tireless efforts of all the men and women who made this rescue possible,” Gortney said in a U.S. Navy release. Gortney said Phillips’ actions, and those of the Maersk-Alabama crew, were heroic.
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“They fought back to regain control of their ship, and Captain Phillips selflessly put his life in the hands of these armed criminals in order to protect his crew,” he said.
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Following the rescue, Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge before being flown to the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer, where he contacted his family, received a routine medical evaluation, and is resting comfortably, according to a U.S. Navy statement.
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Three pirates were killed during the rescue operation, and U.S. military forces have one pirate in custody, the statement said.

From a DoD’s American Forces Press Service News Article that was written by John J. Kruzel

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Here’s a report by Fox News that sheds a little better light on just how this hostage standoff finally ended…
Navy Seals Kill Pirates, Rescue American Hostage
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The Washington Post reports it this way… The operation to rescue Capt. Richard Phillips involved dozens of Navy SEALs, who parachuted from an aircraft into the scene near dark Saturday, landing in the ocean. The SEALs were part of a larger group of Special Operations Forces involved in the effort, according to military officials…
Read the full report at link below…
How SEALs Carried Out Their Mission
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Embedded video from CNN Video

Read more at CNN.com
Pirates vow to kill U.S., French sailors

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.This Post now Closed –
Check top of this Blog for latest updated Posts.

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American HEROS All!
All 20 of those brave American crew members, their Captain… and all those who helped bring this capture to a safe end for the Captain and Crew… are Heroes in my book!
God bless them all…
And again…
Don’t Mess with Americans - Ever!!!
AubreyJ………

Post Update Two: Somali Pirates/US Captain Hostage Situation

Post Update Two:
Somali Pirates/US Captain Hostage Situation
Pirates Continue to Hold Captain Phillips Hostage - Demand $2 Million Ransom
Saturday, April 11, 2009
File Photo of the Maersk Alabama Container Ship
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* FOXNews.com gets us up-to-date with the following report this early Saturday morning. It starts off like this… The intensifying scene of a pirate standoff with the U.S. Navy is a bleak case study in the lawless dynamics of the piracy problem off the coast of Somalia… The captain of a U.S.-flagged ship hijacked this week by a band of pirates attempted to escape Friday but didn't make it far, as the pirates fired gunshots and recaptured him. They then proceeded to demand a $2 million ransom, according to a Somali negotiator… The Navy has sent the USS Bainbridge to the scene, and the pirates reportedly have called in reinforcements as well, seeking help from other bands of pirates on hijacked ships in the region… The Navy is also moving a huge amphibious ship closer to the scene of the pirate hostage standoff off Somalia… Defense officials say the USS Boxer will be nearby soon. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive ship movements… The Boxer is the flag ship for a multination anti-piracy task force. The Boxer resembles a small aircraft carrier. It has a crew of more than 1,000, a mobile hospital, missile launchers and about two dozen helicopters and attack planes…
Read the full, lengthy report at link below…
Tense Standoff Between U.S., Pirates Mirrors Lawless Trend Off Somali Coast
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Behind the Headlines

About this FOX News Video: A Freelance Journalist provides a closer look at the Somalia Piracy issue
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* Reuters.com has this report posted on their website early this Saturday morning… Pirates on a German ship with 24 foreign hostages said on Saturday they had returned to the Somali coast after failing to locate the scene of a standoff involving an American captive on a drifting lifeboat… The pirates had hoped to use the hijacked 20,000-tonne container vessel, Hansa Stavanger, as a "shield" to reach fellow pirates holding American ship captain Richard Phillips far out in the Indian Ocean. U.S. naval ships are close to the lifeboat… "We have come back to Haradheere coast. We could not locate the lifeboat," one pirate on the German ship, who identified himself as Suleiman, told Reuters. "We almost got lost because we could not find the bearing of the lifeboat."…
Read the rest at link below…
Somali pirates in German ship fail to find comrades
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* AP has this report this morning… U.S. warships are trying to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain is being held hostage as the high-seas standoff off Africa's eastern coast entered a fourth day Saturday…
Read the rest at link below…
US ships block help for pirates holding US captain
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* BBC.co.uk reports… Somali pirates holding US Captain Richard Phillips hostage have warned that the use of force to rescue him could result in "disaster"… The pirates said they hoped to transfer him to a bigger vessel, as US and other naval ships made their way to the area…
Read this report in full at link below…
Pirates caution against US rescue
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* AFP reports it this way this morning… Somali pirates holding a US captain hostage warned Saturday that using force to free him would end in "disaster" as they prepared to move him following a deadly French raid on a separate boat…
Read the full report at link below…
Somali pirates issue warning over US hostage
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* BBC News put this report up just after 11:00am this morning…
Somali pirates have hijacked a US-owned tugboat in the Gulf of Aden with 16 crew members on board - 10 of them Italians, reports say… Maritime industry sources say the tug was towing two barges at the time of the attack at 0800 GMT… The crew are said to be unharmed. The US and Italian governments have not confirmed the hijacking… Meanwhile pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in "disaster"…
Read the rest at link below…
Pirates hijack second US vessel
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* AP had this take on this latest news…
Somali pirates hijacked an Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew Saturday, a NATO spokeswoman said, as U.S. warships closely watched a lifeboat where an American captain was being held hostage for a fourth day.
The tugboat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast as it was pulling barges, said Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO's Northwood maritime command center… The Foreign Ministry in Rome confirmed 10 of the 16 crew members are Italian. The crew members also include five Romanians and one Croatian, according to Micoperi, the Italian maritime services company that owns the ship…
Read the full report at link below…
Pirates seize Italians on tug as US ships converge
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Pirates Defy U.S. Navy. More Pirate Ships Reinforcements On The Move

This CNN News Video posted on YouTube by MiddleEastNews
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* ABC News brings us this BREAKING NEWS:
* 12:34 CDT *
Safe Harbor: Hijacked U.S. Cargo Ship Arrives at Kenya Port
Cheering and guarded by Navy Seals, the crew of an American ship reached a Kenyan port Saturday evening without their captain, still held hostage by Somali pirates in a lifeboat hundreds of miles from shore… Even as the Maersk Alabama pulled into port, the crew of an Italian-flagged tugboat was being held by pirates who seized it in a new attack… When asked by a journalist how it felt to arrive in Kenya, a member of the 19 remaining crew who did not give his name said it was "terrifying and exciting at the same time." Asked about his captain, he said: "He's a hero."… "He saved our lives," another crew member said…
Read this report in full at link below…
US Ship Reaches Kenya Minus Kidnapped Captain
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Formerly Hijacked U.S. Cargo Ship Arrives in Kenya

This CNN News Video posted on YouTube by NewsPoliticsNews
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This Post now Closed –

Check top of this Blog for latest updated Posts.

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An American HERO in the making
In fact… all 20 of those brave American crew members are Heroes in my book!
God bless them all…
And again…
Don’t Mess with Americans - Ever!!!
AubreyJ………