U.S. Navy Rescues American Captain Being Held on Lifeboat: Navy Did a Great Job

The American being held hostage by Somali pirates was freed earlier today, after he managed to escape them, and the pirates subsequently tangled with waiting U.S. Navy SEALs, who were itching for a fight with the pirates. Three of the pirates were killed in the shootout, and the fourth was taken prisoner.

Captain Phillips was unharmed and thanked the SEALs and the Navy for rescuing him.

I'm very glad to see this crisis resolved, thanks to the professionalism of the Navy, and the willingness of President Obama to do what must be done to deal with these thugs.

The various world navies need rules of engagement that allow them to take action against the pirates.

The Law of the Sea Treaty seems to be hindering international action to secure the shipping lanes along Somalia's coast. Something needs to be done about this so that order can be restored on the high seas. It seems to me that long-held American objections to this treaty are justified, as the treaty's weaknesses are now on full display for the entire world to see.

I don't expect any U.N. action to be taken to correct the problem. They are less likely to agree on a course of action than ever before.

Navy Can Safely Disable Approaching Pirate Ships: Pirates Must Not Be Allowed to Make It to Shore With Their Hostage

The Navy is concerned that seized international ships that are manned by pirate crews are going to interfere in the ongoing hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia.

It doesn't have to be that way. I'd rather see the Navy shoot out the engine rooms of the pirate vessels and set them adrift too. Or blow off a screw with a well-placed torpedo. Then make them the same deal that they're currently offering to the pirates in the lifeboat.

The Navy cannot allow the pirates to succeed.

Trouble in India Will Mean Disaster Between Pakistan and India: Last Major Attack Almost Brought Two Countries Close to War in 2002

The huge terrorist attacks taking place in India will cause serious problems between Pakistan and India. The Indians have been looking for an excuse to put Pakistan in it's place for a while, and the headline-grabbing terrorism taking place in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) may well provide it.

Kashmir remains a problem between the two countries, and at least one terrorist has cited the troubled region as being the reason for his taking hostages. Terrorists launched an attack on India's government in New Delhi in 2001, and that attack caused over a million Indian and Pakistani troops to take up positions on either side of their shared border and square off for months.

If Kashmir is the cause of this, and it's directed at the government of India, they might turn their attention from Mumbai to Kashmir, and trouble will follow.

I'm getting the impression that there's more than one terror group involved here; one group took a Jewish facility, several others attacked hotels, and others attacked elsewhere. Some have targeted Americans and British citizens; others targeted Jews, still others targeted Indians. Some have released their Western hostages. It's really confusing. If it is one large group, they're hiding their goals quite effectively by going after so many different targets.

It's going to take a while to sort all of this out.

Iranian President Should Have Apologized to British Navy Members For Waylaying Them, Not The Other Way Around: SICKENING

News hit this morning that Iran was releasing it's hostages that it had taken nearly two weeks ago in the Persian Gulf, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was shown receiving the gratitude of the captive British sailors and marines, one at a time. It was a SICKENING display of manipulation on international television.

Ahmadinejad should have been the one apologizing for invading Iraqi waters and waylaying a British boarding party that was doing it's job under a United Nations mandate.

Sick and wrong.