Let us give thanks for Capt. Philips safety, and for the skills of the Navy SEALs who freed him.

In our thanksgiving, we must not lose the larger point: A line has been crossed, a taboo has been violated. An American merchant ship has been seized on the high seas, her captain held hostage in an extortion attempt. This cannot stand.

It is an assault on America herself. This threat must be destroyed, the cost be damned. It must be made clear that the response to such acts will not be measured. It must be swift and deadly, and those who carry out or support such acts will be held to account, preferably with precision guided weapons on land, or appropiate arms at sea.

The Romans in the century before Christ, cleansed the Mediterrain region by essentialy starting at one end, and systematicly killing every pirate they came across, and burning to the ground the cities that supported them, as they moved to the other end. The result contributed to two centuries of Pax Romona (Roman Peace).

The Colonial Powers (Britain, Spain, France) in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries conducted summary executions at sea to stamp out piracy.

In 1975, an American Merchant ship, SS Mayaguez, was illegally seized 180 miles off Cambodia. Granted, it was seized by the Cambodian Khmer Rouge, and not by pirates. However, President Ford's response was to send in the Marines to free the crew and retake the ship. The operation

I am concerned the Alabama is considered a "crime scene". I would think a clearer message would be to float the idea we're considering the region a "free fire" zone.