Another Pirate Attack on the High Seas

As I write this, the standoff is still going on between pirates who boarded the merchant vessel Maersk Alabama about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia, and the US Navy destroyer, Bainbridge. The captain of the Maersk Alabama is also the former skipper of the USS Cole. He put himself in the position of becoming the only hostage for the pirates so that his crew could take back their ship and sail on to their destination. So now we have a standoff between a handful of pirates in a small boat, who are holding the captain, and the USS Bainbridge with remote support from the hostage negotiators of the FBI.

So I wonder, how long is the Bainbridge expected to to remain on station, waiting for the FBI to negotiate with a handful of third-world criminals for the safe return of the Maersk Alabama's captain, who has already proved himself to be an officer and a gentleman? Who makes that decision? The FBI? The ship's insurance company? Or the pirates? Putting aside any tactical considerations, such as snipers being able to make precision shots on the pirates from the rolling deck of a ship, why are we waiting? Where is the downside in shooting dead all the pirates clustered around the captain? This situation needs to be brought to an end very quickly. The longer it lasts the less control our people will have over it.