Four Americans killed on hijacked Yacht...

[Thomas Rogers]

Be careful Jerry and others that are indicating that the victims share some responsibility here.



I've come to one clear conclusion on this website while discussing things with folks here, and that is, that there are many folks here that are critcally challenged by "black and white" thinking. The concept of "partial blame" seems lost of them, for the most part. Sure, the pirates are ultimately to blame here, and no one deserves to die. But, if putting onesself in harms way contributed to this happening then there is some level of blame towards the victims.



We don't live in a perfect world. But there are things we can do to protect ourselves.



I could die in an auto accident tomorrow when hit by a drunk driver. Clearly, (assuming I was doing nothing wrong), the accident and my death would be the drunk driver's fault. He is to blame. But, let's say that I wasn't wearing my seatbelt. Let's further say that the accident was such that had I been wearing my seatbelt I probably would have lived (maybe I died from blunt-force trauma due to vehicle ejection). Am I then partially to blame for my death? I sure am! That doesn't exhonerate the drunk driver. That fictitious situation is what it is. I am partially to blame and would probably be alive if I had taken the steps to protect myself from harm.



Did these victims do what they needed to do to protect themselves from harm? If not, they are partially to blame, with the pirates ultimately to blame. It's a brutal, unsafe world we live in.



TJR

 

[TomT]

Sorry but I agree that the victims DO share some responsibility. It would be like my wife and I vacationing to Ciudad Jurez Mexico.

 

[Bud Williams]

I agree that if you venture where trouble usually lurks, it ill often find you...

Straying closer to the coast and away from the Naval flotilla was a very costly choice fo the four sailors. They should have had mounted 50 cals on each side of their yacht!

 

[H D]

The arrogance of many westerners really amazes me. Arrogance or ignorance are the only reasons one would put themselves in that situation for nothing more than a pleasure cruise. I assume someone wealthy enough to go around the world in a yacht are not so ignorant of world matters, so it must be arrogance. I am sad that it resulted in the loss of their life, but I think it should serve as a reminder to people that our affluent little bubble in the Western world does not extend over the entire globe.



Ultimately the pirates are to blame but giving them opportunities is the only way they have any power. Don't go anywhere near the area just to get your kicks, unless the possibility of a pirate raid is exciting and adventurous to you. But then, I don't really want to hear a sad story about how a romantic adventure went awry because, to me, it just sounds like an arrogant display of wealth providing a false sense of security. If you are in the area for business, plan accordingly. The degenerates can only get away with the opportunities they are given.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Being fair, I will agree that the victims carry so of the weight of the end result.



They were there by choice and the area is known to be an area of concern. With those types of risks comes the potential for bad things.



I still feel they did not "deserve" to die, but can't say they were totally innocent in their death...

 

[Kevin Lang]

Wait, where does it say that the Yacht broke away from a naval escort? The article is ridiculously prolix, but it says that the Yacht was traveling in concert with a bunch of other yachts, and broke off from them. That's far different than breaking away from a naval escort.

The forces responded after a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a U.S. Navy ship about 600 yards away -- and missed

Four U.S. Navy warships were involved in the response force -- an aircraft carrier, a guided-missile cruiser and two guided-missile destroyers, according to the statement.

Wait, we let terrorists get within 600 yards of ANY of those?! :banghead:

[U.S.]Forces had been monitoring the Quest for three days

So, I'd bet that even the aircraft carrier can go twice the speed of the Quest. Why'd they have to wait 3 days to make their move? I'm sure we knew of the terrorists taking the yacht, so why'd we have to wait until our naval ships were attacked to respond.



If the terrorists had never fired upon the USN, would we have ever responded?!

They should have had mounted 50 cals on each side of their yacht!

These people sail around the world, and many countries have proscribed guns. According to an esteemed guide for bluewater sailing, Malaysia has cheerful signs reminding marina patrons that the penalty for having guns is death. (The book also goes on at length to justify why it believes that sailors should be unarmed; wonder if that stance will change?) M2 machine guns mounted on the decks would be a little hard to camouflage.



For thought, could a large, essentially stationary, yacht with a couple of M2s be able to destroy all the terrorists before being boarded/sunk?



(BTW, the book referenced is Beth Leonard's The Voyagers Handbook; I sadly no longer have a copy of my own, or I'd scan the picture.)

 

[TrainTrac]

Almost a week has passed since these Americans were killed, and still no response from our gov't to this senseless act of terror.



And without any decisive response or leadership from our gov't demonstrating that we and the rest of the civilized world will not tolerate these acts on the high seas, it continues.:banghead:

Somali Pirates Capture Danish Ship With Seven on Board



Published February 28, 2011 | FoxNews.com



Somali pirates seized a Danish yacht with seven people on board, including three children, the Danish foreign ministry said Monday.



The ship was captured while traveling through the Indian Ocean, AFP reported.



It is now being sailed toward Somalia, the Ministry told the wire service.

 

[Kevin Lang]

Wow, that is ridiculously brazen piracy.



It has been said that the Somali Pirates are the only opposition to radical muslem groups in Somalia, but I really don't care any longer. Time to drop the hammer. It's naive thinking, but Somalia is just down the block from our Middle East forces. Have the Air Force fly in, raze the docks, and be back for golf. :haveabeer:



Time to pack heat on your ship and at least go down fighting, as the pirates are going to kill you anyhow.



The Barbary pirates used piracy mainly to instill fear for tribute from World Powers. These Somali idiots aren't demanding tribute, they're doing it for chump change and kicks.

It is now being sailed toward Somalia, the Ministry told the wire service.

What money can they get for the ship & whatever piddling goods are aboard? I fear for the fate of those children, human trafficking is rampant.



We can't just use the threat of force, we have to crush them outright. The Somalis remember our "threat of force" in the Clinton fiasco. They're probably still laughing at us. :banghead:

 

[TrainTrac]

It has been said that the Somali Pirates are the only opposition to radical muslem groups in Somalia, but I really don't care any longer.

That's horse-squeeze. The pirates are radical Muslim terrorists, committing acts of jihad on the high seas.



<A HREF="http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/what-piracy-this-is-the-same-old-jihad/">What Piracy? This Is the Same Old Jihad</A>



<A HREF="http://townhall.com/columnists/douggiles/2011/02/27/somali_pirates_more_like_jihadists_with_sea-doos">Somali Pirates? More Like Jihadists With Sea-Doos</A>

 

[Kevin Lang]

That's horse-squeeze. The pirates are radical Muslim terrorists, committing acts of jihad on the high seas.

I don't mean to imply that the pirates aren't radical muslems. I was referring to the oft-mentioned bit that the pirates and the other muslem groups viying for power in Somalia are at odds.



Is that true? I don't know nor care. The pirates certainly aren't better than a fully sharia somalia. :angry:



Let's finally give the Navy something to do. Let's let them actually do it right, unlike the aborted Falujah attack or the Clinton Somalia "Peacekeeping Mission". No need for the other 4 branches to cool their heels on this either.



(I hate to remember seeing the Navy forced to "combat" piracy with thier hands tied. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ojiNkn_3eM&feature=related#t=09m58s">When a crewman on the aforementioned vessel said that the tactic of stopping pirate vessels with the wake of an encircling cruiser should go down in USN history</a>, I died a little.)



BTW, someone has uploaded the entire farce that is our government's piracy task force to youtube. Link below.