The Way it All Went Down

According to the New York Times, the kidnapping of Captain Richard Phillips was resolved thusly:

Just after dark on Sunday, snipers on the U.S.S. Bainbridge saw that one of the pirates was pointing an automatic rifle at Captain Phillips, and that the captors’ heads and shoulders were exposed from the capsule-like lifeboat. President Obama had previously authorized the use of force if the commander on the scene believed the captain’s life was in danger, so they fired, Admiral Gortney said. The lifeboat was about 100 feet from the Bainbridge when the shots were fired, a little after 7 p.m. Somalia time (seven hours ahead of Eastern time). The vice admiral said he did not know Captain Phillips’s location at the time the shots were fired, but given the length of the lifeboat, he was less than 18 feet from the snipers’ targets.

Some observations:

• I’m no marksman, but hitting a pirate in the head on a moving platform at 100′ from a moving platform sounds ridiculously difficult. Kudos to the skill of the professionals on board USS Bainbridge.
• Conservative hysteria aside, this is not a “walk the plank” scenario. If the USS Bainbridge executed the fourth pirate, who either surrendered or was conducting negotiations, then we’d have such a scenario. What went down, on the other hand, is much more akin to the resolution of a domestic hostage taking/kidnapping scenario.
• I don’t feel at all bad for the pirates. They were given ample opportunity to surrender and face trial, and under the circumstances they certainly must have understood that maintaining ransom demands could be fatal. An understanding of why pirates act (both to survive AND to get rich) cannot preclude law enforcement activity.
• I also wouldn’t have felt bad if the USN had guaranteed payment of the ransom, then simply arrested the pirates anyway. Payments to kidnappers and hostage takers in the domestic context is not seen as granting immunity; the police continue to investigate and conduct arrests even after the hostage is released. I don’t see why pirates should be treated with more courtesy.
• Yes, Victor Davis Hanson is a silly, silly man. I shouldn’t have to point out the silliness of arguing that pirates thrive on feminist theory and unrelated apologies from President Obama, but for some reason people insist on taking this man and his ilk seriously.