US facing difficult choices in Somali pirate standoff

The Pentagon Friday was mulling difficult choices to rescue a merchant captain held captive by Somali pirates, after an attempted rescue by French forces in another pirate confrontation led to the death of one hostage.

"One of the options of last resort is for the military to exercise combat force to try and rescue Captain (Richard) Phillips," retired US commander Kirk Lippold told AFP.

"If it appears that negotiations aren't going well, (the pirates) are probably going to attempt to use the hostage as a shield to try and get away," he added.

A second, helicopter-holding US warship has joined the destroyer USS Bainbridge in the tense standoff in the Gulf of Aden, raising pressure even further on the four pirates who are holding Phillips on a small lifeboat.The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer is also in the region but further away than the other two vessels.

The pirates earlier in the week stormed the freighter Maersk Alabama, later losing control of the ship but taking the captain hostage.

The heightened military presence against the small band of pirates backs up the efforts of military and FBI experts attempting to negotiate Phillips' release.

Once cornered, the pirates have asked for a ransom and demanded safe passage to the Somali coast before they would consider releasing their captive.

But the Pentagon has so far been reluctant to cede to their demands, arguing that any concessions would only encourage other would-be pirates."Should the US come into custody of pirates, you can be assured a component of our strategy is to hold these individuals accountable for their crimes," said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.

The US Navy in recent weeks has handed over several suspected Somali pirates to Kenyan authorities for trial.The presence of an American hostage, however, complicates the situation - with any attempted rescue operation putting the captive seaman's life in peril.

(AFP)