Somali Pirates: CNN Video Conflicts with Official Report

I'm trying to post this link quickly before the video becomes unavailable. According to CNN.com:

"MANAMA, Bahrain (CNN) -- U.S. Navy snipers fatally shot three pirates holding an American cargo-ship captain hostage after seeing that one of the pirates "had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," a military official said Sunday."

Yet visit the following link and watch this video, also from CNN.com.

Captain in 'imminent' danger

Skip ahead to about :30 seconds.
You will see two different pictures. They both show two very small boats right next two each other in the water. The boat in control has two men in fatigues with two or three other men. The other boat, the "Somali pirate boat," features four dark-skinned men with their hands raised in the air. The news reporter does not speak of the pictures as she is simply describing the situation with Captain Phillips and the pirates. The photos are said to be courtesy of the French Ministry of Defense.

If these pictures are from this affair, which I presume they are not, then why would the United States' SEALs have shot three of these pirates who were surrendering. Also, as per the official story, one of the pirates was aboard the US ship Bainbridge. So why are their four "Somali pirates" in this picture.

At 2:47 there are more pictures similar to those described above. One shows a third boat in which three or more "Somalis" also have their hands raised and on their heads. It would seem that the pictures are totally unrelated to rescue of Captain Phillips, yet why are they showing these pictures as they are describing the rescue?

Very curious in my opinion. Does anybody else think this report is a fabrication?

The French took back a yacht the other day and rescued 3 people. They captured several pirates in the rescue. That's a FRENCH zodiac. As far as I know there were no French forces involved in this rescue.

If you look there are actually at least 7 prisoners. There are three in one boat, and four in the other. There was NEVER a report of any more than four in this incident, so it has to be another incident.

[edit on 4/12/2009 by Zaphod58]

reply to post by NexGenRevolution


The credits for the photos in the video you referenced was the French Navy. The boat in the photo was not a closed hull lifeboat. This was an earlier French Navy operation that CNN had photos of and decided to use with the story.

reply to post by Zaphod58


For these reasons, it was clear that these photos were not photos of the the rescue of the captain. Now that we have established this, what are these photos doing accompanying the report of the captain's rescue, with no mention that they are from a different incident.

The photos are shown as the news reporter, Starr, begins her statement that US Naval forces moved in on the pirate's boat when they saw an imminent danger was present. If you look at this picture, it is clear that "Naval forces" are "moving in on" a group of "Somali pirates (dark skinned people)." I bet a great number of people saw this and assumed this was the rescue of Captain Phillips, and that was the goal of... well... you see where I'm going with this.

reply to post by NexGenRevolution


The most likely reason I can think of is that the US hasn't released any pictures, and they didn't want to just have Barbara Starr talking. So they took the pictures and slipped them in. They may not have told her that they were putting them in, so she didn't say anything. That way they had SOME picture of someone doing something about the pirates. I've seen them do it before with other stories, and thought it was just as stupid then as it is now.

The boat in the photo was not a closed hull lifeboat.

reply to post by pteridine


Yes thank you for your post I was just going to discuss this.

I just saw a nice little animation of the whole incident, complete with animated Maersk Alabama, animated USS Bainbridge, and animated USS Boxer. That orange "closed hull lifeboat" was also ejected from the Maersk Alabama in the animation and than a grainy picture of it was shown.

According to BBC:

Snipers determined that one of the pirates had trained an AK-47 on the captain and seemed about to fire, Vice-Adm Gortney added.

The snipers fired on the pirates for several minutes. Capt Phillips was unhurt despite being just a few metres away from his captors during the shooting.

So let me picture this: we've got anywhere from two to three (one is aboard the USS Bainbridge) pirates, plus Captain Phillips standing atop this closed hull lifeboat. One of these pirates has an AK-47 aimed at the back of Captain's head.

Are you telling me that US Navy SEALs could not have sniped these pirates at some time previous to the time they did? Why are these pirates standing on top of this lifeboat in the first place, especially if the Captain keeps jumping off? Finally, why is it that the SEALs needed to fire on the pirates for "several minutes" before killing them, if the SEALs are professionally trained snipers? According to Don Lemon, CNN, only three shots were taken (no source, live news broadcast) which should have taken no more than a few seconds.

Come on, this report just isn't adding up.

[edit on 13-4-2009 by NexGenRevolution]

reply to post by NexGenRevolution


Not all SEALs are trained as snipers. Yes, they're better shots than the average infantryman, but it's one thing to take a sniper shot with a weapon that has a scope on it, and a totally different story to take a long distance shot with an M-4 that has a red dot scope, at the range they were probably shooting at. Accuracy with a SAW type weapon, or a Ma-Deuce is even worse, as they were designed to spray a large number of rounds over a large area. The news calls just about anyone that shoots at any kind of range a sniper.

The initial reports that I heard were that the captain got loose again and jumped overboard. He was swimming towards the Bainbridge when they were preparing to shoot at him, and they opened fire.

reply to post by NexGenRevolution


More information will become available if it is deemed its release will not jeopardize future anti-piracy operations.
According to the latest press, the shooting distance was 100 feet, easily within accuracy limits of M-16 rifles for head shots, but was made difficult by ship and lifeboat motions. Two pirates exposed head and shoulders; one was inside the cabin but visible. Danger to the Captain was deemed to be high and the OIC made the call. The SEALs completed their mission in an exemplary fashion.
Now, the pirates spokesmen are saying they will retaliate and kill French and US crewmen when future ships are captured. This will result in military action at the pirates bases which will put a serious damper on piracy.

The initial reports that I heard were that the captain got loose again and jumped overboard. He was swimming towards the Bainbridge when they were preparing to shoot at him, and they opened fire.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Well this obviously was not the case, as seen below:

One of them held his AK-47 in the back of the captain. We were always concerned about the imminent danger to the captain.

CNN

Why is BBC saying that the snipers fired on the pirates for "several minutes" (above) but CNN says:

Three gunshots. All three fatal. Fired in the dark by three specially trained U.S. Navy SEALs as the pirates' boat rocked in the water off Somalia.

Finally, this from the same article above:

In the minutes after, a special operations team shimmied along the tow rope to the lifeboat, confirmed that three pirates had been killed, and took Phillips back to the Navy ships that had gathered nearby.

How ridiculous is this? Why wouldn't they float a small boat up? If the pirates weren't dead, this "special operations team" would be sitting ducks shimmining along a tether. I can't even imagine a pirate ship would agree to be tethered to a US warship that is attempting to get an American captain back from them, for the very reason that ended this "confrontation." And only twenty five yards away from the ship?

Interesting, I just heard pirates forces deemed as the number 1 enemy of the United States.

Originally posted by NexGenRevolution
How ridiculous is this? Why wouldn't they float a small boat up? If the pirates weren't dead, this "special operations team" would be sitting ducks shimmining along a tether. I can't even imagine a pirate ship would agree to be tethered to a US warship that is attempting to get an American captain back from them, for the very reason that ended this "confrontation." And only twenty five yards away from the ship?

Just becaue you can not imagine it, does not refute or infer that it did not happen.

Interesting, I just heard pirates forces deemed as the number 1 enemy of the United States.

Link it.

I seriously dout they will give away operational procedure just for the news.

It will probably end up as a film anyway, and the official story will be promoted. Who cares about the truth.

What ever happened we just know the captain is safe, why it took so long for them to get him, is anyones guess.

I just wonder why we even have this problem in todays world, it is quite bizarre that those shiping lanes, are not protected if its that bad.

Who cares about the truth.

reply to post by andy1033


You should. Everyone should. For this reason:

Obama Vows to Combat Somali Pirates

If this report is a fabrication, which I am outright suggesting that it is, then I do not want to see it used as justification for military action or otherwise to be taken against Somalia or its people. We don't want another Gulf of Tonkin or 9/11 to justify another intervention by the United States into the affairs of another state. The whole point of this thread was to point out the discrepancies in the report of Captain Phillip's kidnap and rescue in an attempt to dissolve the false reality created by it.


edit: fix link

[edit on 13-4-2009 by NexGenRevolution]

reply to post by NexGenRevolution


Or......and this is a really stupid idea........which means it'll get flamed beyond belief.......

They've been changing the information given because they were having to go by third hand accounts and waiting for the official press releases about what happened.