US Ship Re-Captured by Pirates

Somali pirates recaptured American ship captain Richard Phillips Friday after he made an escape attempt from the life boat where he is being held hostage.

Sometime overnight, captain Phillips got away for a short period, and jumped off the lifeboat in an attempt to swim away, probably managing to escape through the lifeboat's backdoor. The drama was witnessed at some distance by the U.S. Navy, but it reportedly happened so quickly they could not provide assistance.

Also on Friday officials said other pirates sought to reinforce their colleagues by sailing hijacked ships with other captives aboard to the scene of the standoff.

The U.S. also was bolstering its force by dispatching other warships to the site off the Horn of Africa, where a U.S. destroyer shadowed the drifting lifeboat carrying the hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips.

The pirates on the lifeboat apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over Phillips — who was taken hostage in their failed effort to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday — and they hope to link up with their colleagues who are using Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages captured in recent days as human shields.

The situation with pirates is a very serious problem with international trade.  It is my hope that the Obama administration will act in a very forceful manner to end this problem.  Specifically, I expect them to meet with the UN Security Council and talk about reaching an agreement to create a harshly worded reprimand.  

That will put these guys in their place!