Navy SEAL Feared Captain Phillips Could End Up With Terrorists 😳
A Navy SEAL commander describes how he responded to the 2009 hijacking of Captain Phillips off Somalia, expressing concern that pirates could hand over American hostages to al-Shabaab terrorists. He overrode initial Pentagon resistance and coordinated military response options from the White House Situation Room.
Summary
The speaker recounts receiving an urgent alert in early 2009 after President Obama's inauguration about a ship hijacking off Somalia involving pirates. He explains the strategic threat: pirates operating 40-50 nautical miles from al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization based in Somalia with financial resources, could potentially transfer American captives to the terrorist group. This prospect alarmed the speaker, who recognized the dangerous implications of Americans ending up in terrorist hands. When he brought the concern to a Marine three-star general in the Pentagon basement, the general dismissively stated they would take no action. The speaker then escalated the issue to the White House, insisting that military leadership prepare contingency plans for the threat. The situation subsequently became known as the Captain Phillips case, which the speaker personally managed from the White House Situation Room.
Key Insights
- Pirates operating off Somalia were positioned only 40-50 nautical miles away from al-Shabaab, creating a potential trade opportunity where pirates could transfer American hostages to the terrorist group for profit
- A Marine three-star general initially refused to take action on the Captain Phillips situation, responding derogatorily that the Pentagon would do nothing about the hostage crisis
- The speaker escalated the matter by directing the Pentagon to prepare military courses of action for the piracy threat, invoking White House authority
- The speaker personally managed the Captain Phillips situation from the White House Situation Room rather than leaving it to standard Pentagon procedures
- The speaker received notification of the ship hijacking at 3:00 AM via BlackBerry during Obama's first month in office in January 2009
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] Obama came in January of '09. My BlackBerry's going off at like 3:00 in the morning, and I saw that there was a guy who was hijacked on a ship off of Somalia. You've got pirates who want money, and then 40, 50 nautical miles away, you have al-Shabaab, the terrorist group, sitting in Somalia with money. If pirates can bring Americans to [music] Somalia, there's a really interesting trade for both those parties. And we have Americans in the hands of al-Shabaab. And I'm like, we cannot [music] let that happen. I go over to the basement of the Pentagon. There was a Marine three-star general, and he very [0:31] derogatorily said, "Commander Hayes, we're not doing anything…
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