From a Seattle Times story on the rescue from pirates of American container ship Capt. Richard Phillips:

Two of the captors had poked their heads out of a rear hatch of the lifeboat and the third could be seen through a window in the bow, pointing the rifle at the captain, who was tied up inside the 18-foot lifeboat, senior Navy officials told The New York Times. It took only three shots — one each by snipers firing from a distance at dusk, using night-vision scopes, the officials said.

Within minutes, rescuers slid down ropes from the Bainbridge, climbed aboard the lifeboat and found the three pirates dead. They then untied Phillips.

First of all: Go Navy!

Second, this incident was widely viewed as the first test of how President Obama would deal with international terrorism. I have to say I’m impressed with Obama’s order to the Navy to attack if it appeared the Capt’s life was in danger. Very un-Clinton.

As a matter of fact, if Clinton hadn’t pulled our troops out of Somalia in 1993 after a single losing firefight (which became known as “Black Hawk Down”) history in that country might have taken a different course, preventing the anarchy we are seeing there today.

Good on ya, Mr. President…Obama, that is.

(For more on the captain’s rescue and aftermath, see Mickey’s post below.)