Obama Vows to Fight Piracy After Captain's Rescue

In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, Maersk-Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, right, shakes hands...

In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, Maersk-Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, right, shakes hands with Lt. Cmdr. David Fowler, executive officer of USS Bainbridge after being rescued by U.S Naval Forces off the coast of Somalia on Sunday April 12, 2009. (AP Photo/ U.S. Navy)

(AP)

President Barack Obama vowed Monday "to halt the rise of piracy," while shipmates of the rescued American freighter captain called for tough action against Somali bandits who are preying on one of the world's busiest sea routes.

Obama appeared to move up the piracy issue on his agenda, saying the United States would work with nations elsewhere in the world.

"I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks," Obama said at a Washington news conference.

The nighttime rescue operation of Richard Phillips won praise abroad but it was uncertain how far Obama wanted to go to engage the pirates.

The U.S. was considering options including adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate "mother ships," according to military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.

Some military strategists believe it may ultimately be necessary to attack the pirates' bases on land in Somalia. But few international allies have the appetite for another land operation in Somalia, where a U.S. military foray in the early 1990s ended in humiliation. And the cost in civilian casualties would likely be extremely high, some warn.

"That would be nuts," said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism specialist. "These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You're talking about wiping out villages."

The chief mate aboard the US-flagged Maersk Alabama was among those urging strong U.S. action.

"It's time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis," Shane Murphy said. "It's a crisis. Wake up."

In Burlington, Vt., Phillips' wife, Andrea Phillips made a tearful public appearance, her first since the Sunday rescue of her husband. She thanked Obama, who approved the dramatic sniper operation that killed the pirates holding him.