Fri 10 Apr 2009
Piracy on the high seas
Posted by smallville_411 under Balkers
[16] Comments
I know it sounds like a movie; but we are the “best of the best” not to sound too egotistical, just honest… Our seals should be (because they’re the elite in this concert) swimming up underneath the Somali pirates as we speak, and “diffusing” the situation in their method. Wouldn’t that broadcast a message to the pirates? Just a thought…
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I also would not think it will be long before the standoff is over. The
pirates know we’ll try to save the merchant ship captain they took hostage, otherwise they’d never risk the response from a U.S. or any Navy vessel in the area.
Let’s hope a Seal operation foils them. After that, some kind of interdiction effort may be necessary – it should be fairly easy to identify ships not known to be legitimate merchant marinecraft.
Welcome aboard smallville_411!
Maybe countries are going to have to do what was done in WWII, do convoys escorted by warships when ships have to travel these waters. If several countries coordinated their efforts, they could protect shipping and take down these pirates.
If pirates attack, the warships should torpedo them. If the pirates pretend to be a boat in distress have warships check it out. Being loomed over by a destroyer with guns aimed at them should cool their piracy.
This isn’t an insurmountable problem if various countries would only work TOGETHER. It’s not like we’re facing a heavily armed or well organized opponent.
Welcome Sarah D! Latest I read tonight is the ship they tried to hijack
is back in port, guarded by Navy Seals, while the captain is still hostage. These must be some resourceful pirates…
It’s unfortunate but will probably save more lives and vessels from being taken. Pirates are not diplomats the only way to beat them is to increase the risk to their business. No more million dollar ransoms.
Just heard that the SEALS went in and killed three of the pirates, captured one and got our guy back unharmed…GO NAVY
Woody Weir, Winston, OR
Well, I was partly right; I actually kind of surprisingly had no doubt he would get freed… OOhRah for our NAVY, I love though how everyone on the news blogs are touting Obama when he was busy with housing issues. He really didn’t have nor was he needed to deal with this, just saying… But while I was blogging on the news-post, and this just added to the topic: We should be arming our private sector ships was the topic. My answer to that: This is/was donated supplies for Kenya/Somalia. In the future, as should have been in the past, If they want and need the goods, come get ‘em. I.E meet us in our protected waters. I even have a simple method to make it easier: Much like exchanging a propane tank, we give them a ship to do it initially. I know this doesn’t necessarily protect THEM, but they can arm themselves, as ours has to do with international law and private sector issues, etc. Problem solved. Now, for the other countries…What to do for their hostages? Funny how interest drops off now that our ONE American is freed, while hundreds of other countrymen are still captured. This is where Obama could be trying to give us a better light in the world AND help them out!
Welcome aboard to Woody!
May have taken a while, but a great outcome to save that hostage captain. One of the pirates had gone on to the Navy ship to negotiate, during which time snipers got the other 3.
So then his role on the ship changed a little. He was taken into custody… ;^)
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The ‘pirates ‘are wrong to kidnapp ,,but we are wrong first , we suck the oil out from these countries , pollute the land and water, arm them with weapons, this is how we have subjagated the entire world ,and now when our economy crashes because of war and waste and corruption , we continue to ignore the cause and keep on building war,,,doeas anybody know why these ‘pirates’ are operating ? My guess is that they are impovershed, and we are stealing some natural resource from them,
,,,I know a Navy Seal ,he was in Viet Nam, war kills humanity , it tears the soul apart, but it makes profit for the ‘complex’ and entertains the masses,,
I likewise suspect we’re not getting much of a backstory on Somalia
from mainstream American media. I’ve heard “failed state”, and little
else. Although on NBC on Sunday, Jim Miklaszewski maintained that Navy protection for merchant ships, is a job that spans a million square miles
of “pirate-infested” waters. Golly… ;^)
And they’ve generally presented it as something big, bad and ominous. Today they had lead stories about pirates threatening “retaliation” now.
I would think satellite or drone surveillance, could pretty much identify ships that come out onto open sea from Somalia without registered itineraries or other merchant credentials. Those ships might be interdicted by a Navy ship, or helicopters dispatched from a carrier maybe.
I think it’s necessary to deal with proven threats like this or gihad strongholds in Waziristan, etc. Thugs can’t be allowed to just run roughshod over the world IMO. But I do share the concern of the U.S. footprint on it all. These problems are better addressed by international coalitions, as a last option after diplomacy fails and innocents are being killed. Those most eager to advocate military solutions, usually have
never been in war themselves.
Here is the Wikipedia history on Somalia;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia
Get a cargo vessel, instead of the regular crew, it will be manned by Marines, Seals and any other special ops person, let the bastards get close to the ship or even board it and then cut them down, then take their boat back to the mother ship and sink it. Unfortunatley some soldiers may perish but it would be far more honourable a death then being blown up in Iraq by an enemy you can’t see.
Welcome aboard Chris! I would think Navy people are planning several moves of this type to foil the piracy. At least the decoy part.
Hillary made remarks yesterday about the international illegality of it,
and shutting it down with some naval power – expanding on a coalition
they already have set up guarding those waters. They’re already down
the road on it, but you may not hear much about that from an alarmist
U.S. television media.
And they are expecting some burden-sharing by the shipping industry
of course, as well as coalition nations. Good / we’re out of money here
in the U.S… ;^)
Here are her remarks;
Announcement of Counter-Piracy Initiatives
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Our arrogance on this subject is remarkable.
As far as the US media is concerned, the piracy issue began and ended when it was a US ship. Since then, similar action against the pirates has been taken by troops from France, Russia, the Netherlands, UK, Spain, etc. etc., and that’s just in a few weeks!
Sorry – I forgot to say:-
Most of the commentators I’ve heard on the most serious, international programs…most of the ones with a real knowledge of Somalia and East Africa have said that a large contributor to the problem has been the large scale illegal fishing of developed countries in Somali waters…
Essentially, many people have said that these were the fishermen and their families. It doesn’t justify hoolding people for ransom, but I find it interesting how that issue is very rarely discussed, so that as ever, threats just seem to emerge out of nothing…
Would even be noble had all this military assistance for the shipping companies been spent for the sake of the Somali fishermen back before piracy became the only game in town. I certainly do not agree with piracy but i don’t agree with the commercial fishing companies from other countries illegally taking advantage of a people without any real governance or defense soley because they can. The thing about morales and character is you have to have them before you can use them.
And we’re not mentioning the toxic waste dump that Somalia’s coast has become.
Welcome to Balkingpoints Ari & Steve! Good remarks both.
I’m sure the Somalia situation goes deeper than what gets reported by U.S. major media. Excellent topic for a Balk (…should you decide to accept it!)
Only Americans of a certain age, will get that line… ;^)
word is bond