LATEST PIRATE UPDATE - AT 10:30 P.M. ET:  From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — A high-seas drama unfolded off the coast of Africa on Wednesday, as Somali pirates seized a United States-flagged cargo ship and held 20 American sailors hostage. The crew managed to retake the ship within hours, but not before the pirates had spirited away the ship’s captain and held him for ransom.

The unarmed container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was the first American vessel to be captured in a wave of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa, one of the most notoriously lawless stretches of international waters.

COMMENT:  It's reported that ransom talks are going on.  A U.S. destroyer is now on the scene.

This is just musing, and I stress that I have no direct evidence to back up the thought.  However, this is the first American-flagged ship to be seized by pirates in 200 years.  Do you think it would have happened if George Bush were still in the White House?  After all, pirates have been operating off Somalia for years.  But I must share the idea that, when the president of the United States goes abroad and flashes weakness, weakness, and more weakness, this is bound to happen.  Even pirates can assess risk factors.  Now let's see what this government actually does.

April 8, 2009