Somali Pirates Hijack U.S.-flagged Ship with 20 American Crew Members Onboard

Oh No They Di'nt!!!!!!

Look for this to dominate the news for a while-- perhaps give Obama some chance at a dramatic military operation.


UPDATE: Or not. They are saying the ship has been retaken:

NAIROBI, Kenya – The American crew of a hijacked U.S.-flagged cargo ship retook the vessel Wednesday from the Somali pirates who seized it far off the Horn of Africa, Pentagon officials said. Capt. Joseph Murphy, an instructor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, told The Associated Press that he was called by the Department of Defense and told the crew, including his son Shane, the second in command, had regained control.

It's not clear what the Pentagon has to do with all of this if the crew took back the ship?!

UPDATE2: The ship apparently "belonged to a U.S. Department of Defense contractor with "top security clearance," which does a half-billion dollars in annual business with the Pentagon, primarily the Navy. The ship was being operated by an "all-American" crew -- there were 20 U.S. nationals on the ship." That same article gives some interesting background on why the pirates are pirating: they are fisherman upset over foreign ships taking their fish.