Thread: Four US Hostages killed by Somali Pirates

^Yep. It's a country in name only, and there is no central government, military or police to deal with. The hostages, most of whom are poor third world merchant sailors, are indeed in a world of hurt. The problem escalated to this level because of a total lack of response from Western powers for a very long time, leading the pirates to believe they could operate with impunity, and that they had found a major cash cow - which they had. I feel only sadness for the poor merchant marines who are in this situation. That said, I have little sympathy for wealthy westerners who sail in areas known to be dangerous, and then expect their governments to bail them out. I have even less sympathies for missionaries - of any religion. I fully expect that the next step will be their church or relatives filing suit against the USG for getting them killed.

^Well, I owe the family an apology. Rather than filing suit against the USG, the daughter has issued a press statement thanking all of the military personnel who put their lives at risk attempting to rescue her parents. In this case, it's nice to be wrong.