Breaking News of great joy on this Easter Day. Foxnews is reporting the rescue of Martine captain:
American sea Captain Richard Phillips was safely rescued Sunday from four Somali pirates, who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, a U.S. intelligence official said.
Three of the pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said.
Initial reports indicate Phillips jumped overboard for a second time and the military was able to take advantage of the situation.
Ed Morrisey writes:
Looks like we brought three of them to justice. The fourth will get more protection than he deserves, but at least we’ve freed the captain and delivered something of a message. We’re not going to let pirates run free, and if “elders” think we will, they found out differently today.
Update: Second time’s the charm. Phillips jumped overboard again, and this time, the Navy was ready to take out the pirates. Great work, Navy!
Glenn Reynolds writes:
PIRATE UPDATE: Official: US sea captain freed in swift firefight. About time. But though this may take the current story off the news, it doesn’t really solve the underlying problem.
UPDATE: Related: “Great news, and — yes, I’ll say it — tip o’ the hat to President Obama for signing off on the mission. Now I have two questions. What will we do with the prisoner? Do we believe that this action is sufficient to restore deterrence against piracy?” Indeed.
Into Stillness 