The thinking behind it is
that if the government officially caves and pays a ransom, it creates a precedent and leaves itself open to future expectations of ransom paying.

I propose sending in the special forces to covertly drop a big box full of kitten on the pirate ship. That way the pirates will be distracted by the fluffiness, and the hostages can quickly escape.

The downside is, of course, the hostages themselves may be overwhelmed by the kitten love and thus not be able to make a break for it. Its swings and roundabouts, really.
(Spleep Shit, or get off the internet., Tue 2 Feb 2010, 10:03, Reply)