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Looks like someone is a slow learner.

Somali pirates vow to hunt down, kill Americans

The Liberty Sun's American crew successfully blockaded themselves inside the engine room—the same tactic that the Maersk Alabama crew used to thwart last week's attack on their ship. They were not injured in the attack Tuesday night but the vessel sustained some damage, owner Liberty Maritime Corp. said.

One of the pirates whose gang attacked the Liberty Sun said Wednesday his group was specifically targeting American ships and sailors.

"We will seek out the Americans and if we capture them we will slaughter them," said a 25-year-old pirate based in the Somali port of Harardhere who gave only his first name, Ismail.

"We will target their ships because we know their flags. Last night, an American-flagged ship escaped us by a whisker. We have showered them with rocket-propelled grenades," boasted Ismail, who did not take part in the attack.

Two points: first, these guys aren't that smart. Just well armed.

Second, Congress should immediately vote to exempt our merchant sailors from any stupid international law that prevents them from arming themselves. One good laser-guided weapon, in the hands of a trained sailor, would convince Ismail he should have sailed on a whaler, not a pirate ship.

Having merchant seamen plying the waves without the ability to defend themselves other than cower in the engine room of their ship is a policy that defies common sense. It will not take resourceful pirates long to figure out how to "unlock" an engine room.

Being civilized does not mean that you sign a suicide pact.

Isn't it time we came up with a strategy that assigns intelligence assets to the Somali ports to provide info that would guide our gunboats, aircraft or whatever to pirate vessels, so that the minute they make trouble for someone, we puncture their hulls, so to speak?

Thanks Be to God, Navy Seals

Just a brief note of thanks to God, and the U.S. Navy Seals for rescuing Cpt. Richard Phillips from the clutches of the Somali "pirates," And to President Obama for authorizing the use of force.

It was the first pirate operation against a U.S.-flagged ship since Stephen Decatur and the Marines took care of the Barbary pirates "on the shores of Tripoli" early in the Thomas Jefferson administration. Apparently the pirates of the world have forgotten why no one messes with a boat carrying the American flag. With three of the four pirates gone to explore the mysteries of the afterlife, perhaps those still living will now remember.

Someone also needs to remind Navy Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, who worried at a news conference today that the successful rescue might have a ripple effect causing more violence.

No, Admiral Gortney. Failure to rescue Cpt. Phillips would have had a disastrous ripple effect. Pirates firing AK-47s are already committing violence; apparently they aren't accurate shooters. The pirates who failed in their attempt to hijack the Maersk Alabama, and in kidnapping and ransoming Cpt. Phillips, not only did not collect millions of dollars in ransom money, they no longer can enjoy the booty of previous exploits. This is no longer, as some idiot proclaimed over the weekend, a "successful business model." Hard times have set in, at least for the moment. Other pirates will take notice.

Another thing: can we please, please, please stop calling these pirates "criminals"? Piracy, while it involves criminal activity, goes beyond into a level all its own. You do not subpoena them and haul their sorry selves, and their parrots, into court for arraignment and trial. Hillary Clinton's remarks about finding a 21st Century remedy to 19th Century crime is about the stupidest sentence to come out of the mouth of a secretary of state in U.S. history. In the end, we did what Mr. Jefferson opted to do: send in the experts to administer an ancient remedy proven effective against pirates of any age.

Finally, it was rather interesting the parallel between Cpt. Phillips ordeal and that of Jesus. Phillips, a Catholic from Underhill, Vt., gave himself up in exchange for the safety of his crew, knowing full well that he might not survive. After spending Good Friday, and Holy Saturday in captivity, he was freed on Easter Sunday. Some might even say allowed to start life anew.

The best any of us could ever hope for is to do our best imitation of Christ. I'd say that Cpt. Phillips has done it well.

Pirates an 'Annoying Distraction'?

Did you know that the pirate attack on a U.S. flagged ship is an "annoying distraction" to President Obama?

So says an analysis piece by Reuters.

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters) - Ragtag teams of modern-day Blackbeards are posing an annoying distraction for Barack Obama, forcing him to add Somalia to an already long list of foreign policy challenges.

American presidents are told to expect the unexpected, and Obama is seeing that this week. First it was a North Korean test of a ballistic missile last weekend. Now comes a swashbuckling high-seas standoff with armed renegades.

Obama so far has sent U.S. Navy ships to protect an American-flagged freighter that managed to repel a pirate attack but whose captain was taken hostage.

America's recent experience with Somalia has not been good, making caution a key element of U.S. policy in dealing with the country.

The Obama administration was careful not to give the crisis too much prominence, with delicate negotiations under way to try to secure the captain's release.

The article notes that Mr. Obama has declined to say anything about the situation for two days.

A couple of points.

First, Mr. Obama has yet to do anything about the North Korean missile launch. In the fast-paced diplomatic world, his dithering -- especially after issuing tough threats before the launch -- is a loss of face. Not sending a message has sent a message.

Second, the article refers to America's "recent experiences" with Somalia. Not so recent, actually. You have to go back 16 years to just before the Black Hawk Down incident where the Clinton administration decided to bail out of attempts to pacify the terrorist war lords. The Reuters language is a code phrase which translated says, "American progressives do not have the stomach for a tough fight."

If Mr. Obama wants to resolve this pirate crisis, he's going to have to abandon the wimpy progressive playbook. What he needs to do is tell the pirates that the United States is going to blow their homes off the map, with everyone and everything in them, if they do not release Captain Richard Phillips immediately. What we should do is promise only that we will not eradicate them if they comply, but promise them that not only will they be killed if the captain is harmed, but that their families will not survive either.

Some will call me a war monger. Nonsense. This is how you "negotiate" with thugs. You have to know what is important to them. This is how you prevent future acts of piracy, by forcing the pirates to go into a safer line of thievery, one that does not tread on the toes of America or, if you prefer, the Great Satan.

But relax. Mr. Obama will not abandon his nearly non-existent girly diplomacy.

"We don't want to go back there," said presidential historian Thomas Alan Schwartz, a professor at Vanderbilt University. "This may be one of those points where Obama is going to have to cash in some of his international chips and get the U.N. to go in there."

"Somebody needs to go into Somalia and govern the place," he said.

Democratic strategist Doug Schoen, who worked in the Clinton White House, called the crisis "a real test of national resolve" that the Obama White House and opposition Republicans need to work together to deal with.

Or, in short, the Obama people will look to the U.N. to cover their posterior, even though the U.N. couldn't govern its way out of a wet paper bag, or they will let the Republicans come up with a policy with a little backbone that, if it succeeds, they can take credit for and, if it fails, they can blame on the GOP.

Not exactly Profiles in Courage.