No Runny Eggs

(Headline courtesy EC at Ace of Spades HQ)

Hopefully you haven’t been in a cave the last 2 hours, because some very good news came across the wires in that time. Maersk Alabama captain Richard Phillips escaped his Somali pirate captors a second time, and this time, the US Navy was ready. The Navy plucked Phillips from the water unharmed, killed three of the pirates, and captured the fourth.

I personally wish they had put some lead into the fourth pirate’s last meal; piracy is not a capital offense anymore. Title 18, USC, Sec. 1651 proscribes life in prison for those convicted of piracy.

Revisions/extensions (3:46 pm 4/12/2008) – I’m listening to the Pentagon press conference with the CENTCOM naval commander, and a couple more details came out:

– The captured pirate was on the USS Bainbridge as part of the negotiations.
– The standing orders from the CINC (i.e. President Obama) were to engage only if Phillips’ life were in imminent danger.
– The commander of the Bainbridge saw that one of the three pirates remaining on the lifeboat had a weapon trained at Phillips, who was apparently still on the lifeboat tied up, determined that Phillips’ life was in imminent danger, and ordered the rescue.
– Snipers on the Bainbridge took out all 3 of the remaining pirates.

Bravo Zulu, Navy!

The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire reports that Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, the Republican and Democratic Presidential nominees (respectively), will be making a joint visit to the World Trade Center site on September 11. They issued a historic joint statement regarding that:

On September 11, 2008, we will join together to mark the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at Ground Zero.

All of us came together on 9/11 — not as Democrats or Republicans — but as Americans. In smoke-filled corridors and on the steps of the Capitol; at blood banks and at vigils — we were united as one American family. On Thursday, we will put aside politics and come together to renew that unity, to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and friends who lost loved ones. We will also give thanks for the firefighters, police, and emergency responders who set a heroic example of selfless service, and for the men and women who serve today in defense of the freedom and security that came under attack in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Never Forget!

(H/T – Kat)

Stars and Stripes gets the skinny from Col. Charles Preysler, commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. He corrects a couple of misconceptions:

– First, it was a temporary vehicle patrol base, not a full-up forward operating base.
– Second, while the Taliban got within hand-grenade range, and pressed very hard on a particular observation post, they didn’t get into the main position.
– Finally, it wasn’t “abandoned”; rather, it was already planned to be moved on down the line.

Also from the Stars and Stripes – a first-hand account of the battle. Go, read.

(H/T – Disgruntled Truck Driver)

Remember that uranium yellowcake reference in the 2003 State of the Union speech? Guess what – Iraq had a whole shitload of uranium yellowcake. Indeed, the US just got done transferring 550 metric tons found after the invasion to Canada in 110 shipping containers and 37 C-17 trips. That would be 550 metric tons not found properly disposed of by the Bumbling Twins, Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei.

I seem to be out of barbecue sauce, so you liberals are going to just have to eat that crow and your feet dry.

Revisions/extensions (5:38 pm 7/7/2008) – Ed Morrissey notes that the IAEA knew about this for the last 13 years, yet all they did was put a seal (which a commenter on the Hot Air thread notes wasn’t exactly fool-proof) on it, which was left unmonitored between the tail end of 1998 and the arrival of American forces in 2003. There are also a couple of other discrepancies in the comments.

(H/T – Zip)

Der Spiegel reports that the German KSK special forces assigned to capture a rather bloodthirsty Taliban commander simply let him walk away. The KSK and the Afghan troops they were working with conducted a brilliant surveillance, right down to the color of his turban. However, when it came time to take him down, they were spotted a couple hundred yards from their target. Because the KSK is under orders to not use lethal force unless fired upon, all the commander had to do was run, which he did.

The larger policy of not firing unless fired upon is causing some serious friction between the Germans and the remainder of the NATO force in Afghanistan. Quoting an unnamed British officer, “The Krauts are allowing the most dangerous people to get away and are in the process increasing the danger for the Afghans and for all foreign forces here.”

No wonder why most of the Taliban “resurgence” has happened in German-controlled areas. I wonder what the Germans would have done had the Soviets decided to charge through the Fulda Gap.

…there’s a lot of Che Guevara sightings. Do notice where Jim Hoft got his first batch of pics from – I’m shocked, SHOCKED that the Islamokazis look up to a Communist murderer.

(H/T – JammieWearingFool, though Allahpundit has a lengthier comments thread as usual)

Who here didn’t see this headline coming – Ex-Guantanamo inmate in Iraq suicide bombing? Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, late of Club Gitmo and released in 2005, recently blew himself up in a suicide bombing in Mosul. His cousin, Salem al-Ajmi, is missing only a single “shocked” in his reaction – “We were shocked by the painful news we received this afternoon … through a call from one of the friend’s of martyr Abdullah in Iraq.”

Allahpundit has a bit more of the story. Once again, I am left to surmise that “peace” is really “pieces”.

(H/T – Sister Toldjah)

CNN reports that, in response to the Danes’ arrest of three Islamokazis wishing to end the life of Kurt Westergaard, the creator of my favorite Mohammed cartoon, newspapers across Europe reprinted it. Since CNN is too much of a coward to do more than describe it, allow me to repost it:

ST also points to another pic from lawhawk, which I will dutifully swipe:

Revisions/extensions (3:08 pm 2/13/2008) – Michelle Malkin notes, as part of her reposting of the Mohammed cartoons, that the “human rights” complaint against Ezra Levant has been dropped.

R&E part 2 (5:00 pm 2/13/2008) – If you are away from work, and the kids are not near the computer, and you don’t mind a little raw animal humor, the Emperor has a very special pic to commemorate the occassion. I did say that the link is NSFW, didn’t I?

…and again, my friends. First up on the Global Domination and World Peace video tour is a look at what Al Qaeda in Iraq does with those that can’t fight back, and what happens to them when they encounter those with superior firepower. Since UJ has asked the video to be broadcast far and wide, far be it from me to defy him….

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dco8waoe9-4[/youtube]

Do note that no US troops were harmed in the making of this video, though the Jihadi quotient got decreased by a couple, which is just the way it should be. Bravo Zulu.

Next, the gang at Blackfive ask Ayman Zawahiri just what is up with the 72 goats they get when on the receiving end of various American arms like the two dead tangos ventilated above. Since there is a content warning on that, you can go to Blackfive to watch that one.