US Marines Retake German Ship from Pirates

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Looks like its back to the shores of Tripoli for the marines. love to see the looks on their faces when someone who can fight back shows up!
 
Terrific job and without firing a shot! Perhaps they have heard of the last pirates to go against the U.S. ... taken out by snipers... Reaction.."Me give up!"
 
Heard about this story on the morning news. Guess they don't act so tough when challenged by some real tough guys!
 
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Matt308 said:
Interesting that they were given permission to board a foreign vessel. That's a vote of confidence from Germany!
Click to expand...

I suspect that relatively few forces are trained for boarding ops. Obviously the USMC are, and also the Royal Marines, but I suspect the majority of elite 'regular' forces are not, and also perhaps the USMC were the closest forces on hand - better to let them get the job done than hang around bringing your own guys in from a long way off...
 

Yeah, but what's amazing is that someone had the political balls to give the okay. Lose a shipmate or passenger held as hostage and that would likely be political suicide. If Merkle was behind the decision, she's my new PM Thatcher on my totem pole of respect.
 
I think that the line against terrorism and piracy has hardened over the last decade and the authorization of deadly force, even at the risk of hostage's lives, is becoming more acceptable. On a related note, the Foreign Office has repeatedly refused to pay the ransom on two British citizens seized by pirates over a year ago, and both are now thought to be dead. There was a storm of media outrage, but the FO held fast to the line that it did not negotiate with terrorists and pirates (the two terms seem to have become interchangeable, and maybe they are with the crap that's going down in East Africa these days). I think losing innocent lives in the 'War On Terror' is becoming an acceptable price to pay...

PS. I say War on Terror because I think that certainly here in the UK, piracy has been bought under that banner, perhaps to make the govt stance more palatable to the public. And like I say, with the state of East Africa right now, these pirates could well be a front for Al-Qaida anyway.
 
Don't forget, the Marines are the guard troops on U S Navy ships. Aircraft carriers have a pretty good size contingent on board. Do we know if these troops were delivered by air?

Being a skinney 18 year old sailor at Subic Bay in the Phillipines in the early 60's, and housed in the Marine barracks, they took care of me pretty well on my stumbeling out of the Sky Club. Usually the MP's would throw me into the back of the pick up truck and deliver me safe and sound to my bunk. Well sometimes the delivery to the top bunk was a little over zelous, I often found myself on the floor the next morning. They were a good lot.
 
Thank you USMC ! Interesting that you didnt hear anything bin the german media, but this sucessful operation would be contraproductive to Mr. Guttenberg Plans to cut the German Forces into pieces.

T
 
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