Okay, home from the doctor so I can write more.
I cannot describe how sick how am. This hits so close to home for me and many of our friends. We have friends "out there" circumnavigating at the moment and hope to do the same some day.
I had stopped at Starbucks this morning near the doctor when I saw the news and posted above. I literally felt sick and threw my food in the trash... It's a terribly sad day, obviously for the family/friends of these four people, but also for the other sailors/cruisers out there.
My husband and I also cannot figure out why the Americans were killed. I think either we don't have the full story and they were killed during a rescue attempt, or as mystic speculated above by some pirates who were then killed by the other pirates, or maybe the hostages were able to grab a gun and kill two pirates -- and were fired upon themselves?
I applaud the US military for intervening. They were in a difficult situation: damned if they do, damned if they don't. If they stood by and did nothing, then they would be blamed for letting the pirates get the hostages to Somalia, meaning a ransom down the road. If they intervened -as they obviously did in some way - then there was the risk that lives would be lost in the process.
If anything good can come of such a tragedy, I hope it's that piracy is taken more seriously -- pirates killed on the spot, IMHO, and not just scared off and allowed to leave. It has gotten out of hand.
Rest in peace, dear crew members...
My first thought when I heard the story was that maybe the pirates thought the US Military was about to try and attempt a rescue, so they killed the hostages in response. But that does not fit with the 2 dead Somali's found onboard.
So maybe 2 pirates took it upon themselves to kill the hostages. I was afraid that might happen if the large supply of bibles were found. Maybe that triggered the violence. Isn't that considered a capital offense in some Middle Eastern nations?
The pirates from Puntland in northern Somalia are not hardline Islamists and the fact the Adams carry Bibles is not likely to be a problem. Pirates in Puntland are known to spend their ransom spoils on alcohol, drugs and prostitutes.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/116574098.html
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/nation/pirates-hijack-4-americans-us-mulls-responses-1266449.html
On Monday, two pirates had peacefully come aboard the USS Sterett to negotiate with naval forces for the release of the hostages, and remained aboard overnight.
But on Tuesday, pirates aboard the Quest unexpectedly fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Sterett. Shortly afterward, gunfire erupted inside the Quest cabin, and U.S. special forces responded, approaching the Quest in small boats and boarding the vessel, Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a Tuesday press conference.
Some pirates moved to bow and put up their hands in surrender. The U.S. forces killed two pirates in the course of clearing the vessel - one with a handgun and one in a close-combat knife fight. There were no injuries to U.S. forces or damage to U.S. ships, Fox said.
I was sickened when I learned of their killings. It is time for countries to storm that country and get the other hostages freed. The world does not need to learn of any pirates being captured. IMO
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The remains of two other pirates who were already dead for some time were also found. They appeared to have been killed by their fellow pirates, the military said.
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It is thought the hostages may have been slain after attempting to escape, or that the pirates may have decided to take violent action after being 'spooked'.
U.S. Navy officials were said to have been caught by surprise by the sudden breakdown of talks to try and free the seized sailors.
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Only minutes before the military said the four Americans had died, a Somali pirate told the Associated Press by phone that if the yacht was attacked, 'the hostages will be the first to go'.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...held-captive-yacht-hijaked.html#ixzz1EitIb8Nu