I decided to blog on this crisis, because I felt like everyone was going to be blogging on the recent flood crisis in Valley City, North Dakota. On April 8 a big crisis story broke out. An American captain of the container ship was taken hostage by pirates on a lifeboat. His crew had managed to recapture the ship after it was hijacked, but Capt Richard Phillips was seized by the armed pirates who had stormed the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama after a five-hour chase 400 miles north-east of the Somali capital Mogadishu. The ship attempted to out maneuver the pirates but failed.

The destroyer USS Bainbridge travelled to the lawless shipping channel off the coast of Somalia. The US warship was in sight of the ship the first with an American crew to be taken by pirates off the Horn of Africa as crew members negotiated with the pirates for the return of the captain. As dawn broke, it was not clear what the military crews would do. Options could include negotiation, backed by the threat of force. But any military action could risk the lives of the Americans, especially the captain being held hostage. This story made headlines all over the world and country, it was breaking news on all stations both television and radio stations.

What I did find very intriguing about this whole situation is the fact that people all over the world are being captured everyday in dozens and are held for ransom and all this goes unheard of. We in the United States, have no clue what is going on around us in the world. All we ever hear is when this crisis occurs with and there is an American involved then it becomes a big deal or better said a crisis situation that gets immediate attention and solution. I feel like we should be more involved in crisis situations that need urgent attention and help even if there is no American involved since we have the resources and capabilities to provide some sort of help. This crisis with the American captain involved ended with the U.S Navy snipers taken out the 3 men on the life boat that were holding the captain ransom, I feel like the attention this crisis received with just one American captured, the same kind of attention should be given with any crisis situation all around the world regardless of the nationality of those being affected.