I think it may be that he was comenting on the bleached state of the Somali Pirate in that computer sim.

BINGO!

If NBC is gonna go to the trouble of making a CG rendition of events, they should try and get it correct.

Actually, come to think of it, I'm surprised that the NBC pirate didn't have a peg leg, a parrot, and a cartoon bubble saying "AARRRR!".

Do any of those ships have armed crews?


Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009- ... 184581.htm

Communist Dolphins?

None of the photos shows the dolphins between the pirate boats and the Chinese ships. Sounds more like a jounalistic flight of fancy.

Need to mount a few of these in a hidden mount...FUN!

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_4c ... et_pic.jpg

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_4cm-56_mk12.htm

BINGO! It's too bad that the media got a hold of any of this story. I would've preferred that the whole thing went down without any of the public knowing....just take 'em out, save the hostage, and move out. This publicity will without a doubt put the other people being held hostage in (more) danger (How many ships/people are being held by other somali pirates right now?). The media was quoting other pirate "spokesmen" as stating that the US is now their number one enemy, that "we'll be the ones crying", etc. What a bunch of BS.

I do, however, get a warm-fuzzy just thinking about the operation that those SEAL's pulled off. Parachuting into an ocean half-way around the world in the middle of the night, getting into position and pulling off shots like that (plus all of the other details that we will never know). BRAVO! They are true heroes.

Not sure I buy that.

Sounds like just another way to bitch about Obama.

That account got debunked by the military a few days ago.

I checked several stories and they all gave the email from somebody's SEAL pals in Virginia Beach as their source of infomation. That email has been discredited on Snopes. The Snopes story is an interesting read.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/pirates.asp

There is also a story in The Washington Times if you want something that may be closer to the truth than internet rumors.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009...s-for-pirates/

Problem is.......There are still some important issues in all of this that are not in any doubt.

Obama sent in FBI negotiators to try to have this end without the use of violence.

He only would authorize the use of deadly force if the on scene commander determined that Phillips' life was in immediate peril.

While Obama may not have actually said the ROE was this or that, his desire to attempt negotiations and his order of when to use deadly force pretty much accomplished the same thing. He is the Commander in Chief of all US armed forces and as so every person in the military is bound to obey every lawful order he gives.

Bottom line...a bunch of rag tag dirtbags in a row boat holds off the United States Navy in the ocean for how many days??????

Give me a break, what will happen when a real threat happens??

Yeah......the guy who while in office (as an IL Senator), voted 130 some times as "present!"

He can't even decide yes or no!!!!

If Obama actually behaved as you said, then, he did exactly the right thing.

Funny how even though we got the right result, everyone is bitching.

This pirate "crisis" is a great little distraction. Sort of like this new Swine Flu "emergency".

FYI:

<p><img align="left" alt="maersk-life-boat.jpg" src="http://www.defensetech.org/images/maersk-life-boat.jpg" width="300" height="258" hspace="10" vspace="5"/></p>

<p>We've got some details trickling in about the specifics of the SEAL sniper shots on the pirates holding the Maersk-Alabama's captain, Richard Phillips.</p>

<p><a href="http://combatoperator.com/blog" target="_blank">The Combat Operator's</a> Jake Allen -- not a former SEAL, but a Marine infantry officer and private military contractor and security consultant with sourcing in the Teams -- had no detailed information on the actual shot, but described the overall techniques used by the SEAL team.</p>

<p>First of all, multiple sources indicate this was conducted by SEAL Team VI, aka Naval Special Warfare Development Group, aka "DevGru." This is the naval equivalent of Delta Force.<br />
Allen says the team likely were on the intel of the incident very soon after news hit the wires about the capture and were already well in advance of developing a plan to rescue Phillips before they deployed to the USS Bainbridge.</p>

<p>It's unclear why the team decided to parachute onto the scene under cover of darkness from a C-17 with rafts. One possibility is that this was a far more covert entry than simply landing on the destroyer via helicopter, or Allen says it could have been due to range restrictions...did the DevGru guys travel straight from Little Creek, Va.? Probably.</p>

<p>There was no rest and relaxation or getting rid of the jetlag for the team, Allen estimates, they were planning and rehersing shortly after arriving aboard the Bainbridge. Delay is, however, in their favor, Allen said, since food was running out, sleep was short and the weather was worsening for the ill-trained pirates who probably were beginning to realize they bit off more than they could chew.</p>

<p>Whether it was luck or planning, clearly the idea to tow the life boat behind the Bainbridge and reel it into closer range made a sniper takedown much more of a reasonable possibility than any other tactic, sources say. A shot of 80-90 feet -- even at night and in rolling seas -- is a cakewalk for DevGru SEALs.</p>

<p>"These guys can put three rounds onto the head of a quarter at that range," Allen told me.</p>

<p>And let's not get carried away with the sea state, says DT contributor <a href="http://www.joebuff.com" target="_blank">Joe Buff</a>. A multi-thousand ton destroyer is a pretty stable platform in any but the most tumultuous sea states and makes dialing in a shot on an admittedly tossing life raft more doable -- a smart platform for the Team to operate from.</p>

<p>We also have some information -- unconfirmed, though we're working on it -- about how the shots were taken and what was used. Our firearms expert Eric Poole who writes for <a href="http://www.tactical-life.com" target="_blank">Tactical-Life</a> posits that the snipers were using the <a href="http://www.knightarmco.com/images/sr25.html" target="_blank">MK-11 .308 sniper system</a> manufactured by Knights Armament Co. This weapons is awesome, by the way (I've shot it a few times myself) and, if this is indeed what the shooters used, would mark a major, high-profile departure from legacy thinking about sniping which holds bolt-action rifles as the Gold Standard or marksmanship.</p>

<p>Poole figures the DevGru frogmen removed the "overpowered" standard-issue Leupold scopes and opted for the <a href="http://www.aimpoint.com/products/aimpoint_product_lines/aimpoint_compm2" target="_blank">Aimpoint CCO</a> augmented by the PVS-14 night vision monocular. Though the SEAL version of the MK-11 Mod 0 is issued with supressors, it's unclear whether the operators used them, but I'd bet a million bucks they did.</p>

<p>One other question (among many) remains open...were there three shots or four? Poole reasons, and Allen and I agree, that someone had to shoot through the lifeboat window first, then fire the kill shots. My limited knowledge of ballistics leads me to believe the snipers could not rely on the effectiveness of the one window shot to actually strike the target where it was aimed based in the potential deflection of hitting that probably plastic (glass) window.</p>

<p>Poole, Allen and Buff agree that this operation was meticulously planned and flawlessly executed. The DevGru SEALs developed the situation (with their interagency partners in the FBI and other OGAs), planned an attack and executed when the opportunity presented itself (and I don't buy this "the captain was in danger" line the Pentagon and White House is trying to sell here...you mean to tell me Phillips hadn't had a gun pointed at his back anytime before this?)...It was a kick butt operation carried out by one of the best counterterrorist units in the world and they deserve a huge HooYah from all of us...</p>

<p>-- Christian</p>