Well, the only reason Somali Pirates took over that American ship was because the Somali ship wasn't eligible for 'cash for clunkers.'

I don't understand why people feel the need to get political with a topic like this, but I guess the addicts of political talk can never get away from it. It was a pretty compelling story that the Captain put himself in danger to save his crew. I see it as significant only because it is finally bringing more attention to a problem that has been going on for some time now. Somalia's pirates have been able to thrive without any type of national government for the last decade and a half. Maybe this incident well help other countries who do business in the region take a closer look at what is going on in Somalia.

Much respect goes to Capt Richard Phillips, basically giving his life for the rest of the crew, that takes big balls. I was glad to see U.S. Navy SEALS not mess around, and shoot to kill. Those pirate bastards do not deserve a trial. Also....funny how an American vessel was never taken over by Somali pirates until Obama came to office.

they just took 4 more ships hostage...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/14/international/i00 4934D49.DTL&tsp=1

Seems like this issue is far from resolved.

Glad to hear that Captain Philips was rescued. Are those Seals something or what?! They had at least four variables to deal with, two rocking boats, wind, and distance. The result…three shots right into their heads. Nice job boys.

There is little the US Navy can do about this in international waters, but there is allot more the President could do knowing that there is a serious problem starting to implode that region! It is very hard for any Navy to intervene when Civilian people are involved both as the offenders and captives!!! I believe that the US president should be talking to the countries in and around that region. Policing through a joint task force would be an effective way to not only build up relations, but also send a clear message to Pirates!!

Good to see this ended with all of our guys safe. Maybe pirates will have cause to reconsider their occupation based on how this turned out, or at least maybe they'll leave US ships the hell alone.

Wingers are having conniption fits.

The captain was supposed to die so the 'liberal' Commander-In-Chief could be blamed.

These pirates better watch out. If they piss Obama off, he will run to the U.N. and tell on them!

I hope it's not a big, significant event in 2009. It can be minimized if our Commander-in-Chief searches deep and finds some testosterone. What is called for is a resolution which discourages other "pirates" from attempting to board ships flying the American flag lest they face the danger of their dingys being vaporized by a US Navy warship. If we appear weak or incapable of utilizing proportionate force, we can expect every two-bit pirate to take his chances. Negotiating with barbarians like this seldon ends well. It's a fair test for the Community Organizer-in-Chief, who assured us he is up to the task.