Copacabana

Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly...

I think what happened in the Indian Ocean is phenomenal. The Captain of the Maersk ship is a certifiable hero and I'm inclined to give our White House all the credit in the world for stepping up and letting the high seas hooligans have a little taste of US Special Forces. And then Steph reminded me of the details of the tethering of the pirates' lifeboat and the ostensible negotiations that were going down. Hot Air ponders the same questions. As for me -- you terrorize a major shipping pathway for a year, take one our countrymen hostage and then point a gun at him while asking for $2 million ransom? -- pretty sure I'd lie to you with a great big trusting smile, tether your boat to make sure it was within sniper range, offer you some coffee before talks got under way (as Zimmer puts it) and then promptly eliminate your backup on the lifeboat and let you know the jig is up. I suppose flying the white flag as a ruse was ill-advised...Probably better just to go in and take em out without offering to negotiate at all. But that would sound too much like "We don't negotiate with terrorists" and that can't be right. Could it?

Hell, I don't know. But I know the extortionist thugs will think twice before mucking about with an American vessel again. And I'm cool with that.

posted by Lola @ 3:53 PM