Proud to be an American

US Navy rescues American sea captain and kills three pirates

The American sea captain held hostage by Somali pirates for four days was freed unharmed on Sunday after a daring rescue operation by the US Navy.

Capt. Richard Phillips, right, standing alongside Cmdr.Castellano of the USS Bainbridge after being rescued by U.S. Naval Forces off the coast of Somalia

There are moments when I'm simply proud to be an American. And politically correct or not, this was one of them. This ship captain, by all accounts a courageous guy, who offered himself as a hostage so the pirates would leave his ship and crew, spent 4 days at gunpoint aboard a lifeboat. Piracy has been a problem in this part of the world for years. But this was the first American Flagship to be captured since the 1800's. The terrorist captors demanded $2 Million in ransom for the American Captain. Instead the pirates each received a bullet to the head, courtesy of Navy Seal snipers.

I love that there was no negotiation with terrorists. I love that there won't be a court date. I love that America will send an entire navy to rescue one citizen. I love how that captain sent his crew to safety, trusting his country to rescue him. I love the military leader with the guts to give the green light. I love the Seals who each took one shot, at night, from one rocking boat to another. I love how the captain must've felt when his gun-wielding captors simulataneously collapsed dead all around him.

Now, you're likely to hear a wave of discouraging news about how this act of violence could somehow escalate the situation, and may endanger more lives in the future. And there may be some truth to that. But the bottom line is pirates will think twice before they ever go near an American ship again. And some things are just black and white. At the end of the day, good is good, and bad is bad. Today the good guys won. And the bad guys were killed. And I for one, couldn't be happier.