WASHINGTON—The piracy crisis over a lone hostage in the Indian Ocean took on the familiar air of a cops-and-robbers standoff, with the U.S. Navy seeking advice Thursday from seasoned FBI negotiators.
Their goal: Resolve the incident without military force.
As the FBI joined the delicate negotiations, the shipping company Maersk said that the safety of Capt. Richard Phillips is its No. 1 priority. Barack Obama, facing one of the first national security tests of his presidency, declined comment Thursday when asked about the standoff.[+]
So our Naval fleet, instead of using force to ensure this humanitarian aid ship can get on with its business, is enlisting the help of FBI negotiators.
Instead of being overly tolerant of moron “pirates” who fancy themselves heroes, kill them with long-range sniper attacks and salvage what you can of the vessel. Discouraging this activity with a few examples of brute force usually clear the waters, so to speak, for normalcy to return.