US Held at Bay by Four Somali Pirates

[Debray]

Here we go looks like we have to have UN permission now before we act, I saw this quote this morning.

"Moreover, any military action is best done in consultation with the United Nations to gain the support and cooperation of other countries."

Were talking about four pirates, what are we going to do if a real problem arises?

They also said, " the ship is staying out of the pirates range."

I would think if we had four good snipers on a ship behind sand bags within range it would change the pirates minds or scatter them.

I also read the following.

"U.S. rules of engagement prevent the Americans using their vastly superior fighting power to engage the pirates if there is any danger to civilians."

When did this come into effect, there has never been an engagement that didn't endanger civilians that I can remember.

They said there is a Mother ship that drops off the smaller pirate attack boats.

You would think with all the advanced surveillance available they would be able to take out these ships before there are hostages involved.

The Captain seems to be the only one with guts.

Maybe this is part of our new Government statigy, they can tell the pirates we will lead the way reducing our defence system and only use BB guns, they will do like wise and the Captain can swim away with only a few bumps and bruises.

Debray

 

[DocBoCook]

I'm sorry, but the laws of international waters state if it was american (i.e. flying our colors) before the highjacking, it is sovereign US territory and we have the Right, unabridged to act. only under Maobama would be bow to the UN on this. morons

 

[rockwerks]

pretty sad when the FRENCH take a harder line than the USA!

 

[DocBoCook]

pretty sad when the FRENCH take a harder line than the USA!

on a more serious note, they surrendered shortly thereafter. lol

 

[Debray]

Doc

We can’t even ask the Israelis for help now that Oboma has taken the Palestinian’s side and offered to move them over here and condemn the Israelis for attacking after they have been constantly attacked.

I have another idea maybe we could offer the pirates some Carbon Credits.

Debray

 

[gogriz91]

If this is what we're left with dealing with 4 Somali pirates Obama's lucky Bush dealt with Saddam Hussein. Whether you supported the war or not, you can't argue Saddam would much rather have dealt with someone like Obama than Bush.

 

[fuhr52]

According to Fox News the US Navy rescued the Capt. this morning killing three of the four pirates.leasantry:

 

[wolfhunter]

It's about time.

 

[HK4U]

Taken care of.

 

[gogriz91]

3 head shots by three SEAL snipers, can't wait for the left to make hay out of this one, it'll be interesting.

 

[Scarecrow]

3 head shots by three SEAL snipers, can't wait for the left to make hay out of this one, it'll be interesting.

just heard about that.. shot at the same time from what I heard.. very nice! well done.

 

[Debray]

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Navy SEAL snipers on the fantail of a destroyer cut down three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued an American sea captain on Easter Sunday. The surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas ended a five-day standoff between a team of rogue gunmen and the world's most powerful military.

Just think what they could do if the seas weren't choppy.

Now they need to go in and finish the job and put an end to this nonsence.

Debray

 

[Debray]

In Washington, President Barack Obama appeared to move the piracy issue higher on his agenda, vowing "to halt the rise of piracy" and 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 news conference Monday.

Is this guy starting to show some guts or is this just another ploy for Global togetherness.

The US doesn't need help.

If he wants it done right he needs to turn it over to our Military and get out of the way

If you arn't part of the solution you are part of the problem.

Debray

 

[toreskha]

In Washington, President Barack Obama appeared to move the piracy issue higher on his agenda, vowing "to halt the rise of piracy" and 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 news conference Monday.

Is this guy starting to show some guts or is this just another ploy for Global togetherness.

The US doesn't need help.

If he wants it done right he needs to turn it over to our Military and get out of the way

If you arn't part of the solution you are part of the problem.

Debray

This piracy thing is a big deal for the administration primarily because it affects trade. The last thing they want during a period of poor economic growth is some raggedy pirates scaring away billions of dollars in shipping trade.

Actually though, we do need a lot of help on this. Patrolling the entire western portion of the Indian Ocean is not the primary role of the US Navy. It's a good job for a bunch of different navies that have shipping interests in the area. Many nations can probably spare a gunboat or two to hang out in the area and look for suspicious-looking speedboats.

In any case, all the force in the world won't solve this. Somalia is basically a lawless cesspool run by gangs of criminals. Even bombing it to ashes wouldn't solve the problem, because ships need to go through the area without obstructions. Someone needs to take the place over, bulldoze the corruption and most of the buildings, and start with a clean slate.

 

[wolfhunter]

One Navy LHD and a battalion of Marines = 0 Somali pirate problem.
Last time around, in 1805, this tactic stopped pirate attacks on US flagged ships.

 

[toreskha]

One Navy LHD and a battalion of Marines = 0 Somali pirate problem.
Last time around, in 1805, this tactic stopped pirate attacks on US flagged ships.

During the Barbary Wars, we were able to twist the arm of an actual government that had an organized pirating operation. Now we're dealing with many different independent operators. There's 9.5 million people in Somalia, and every one probably wants to be a pirate. That would be quite an impressive helicopter assault, and a boon for the ammo industry. The sheer quantity of metals (brass, copper and lead) being imported into the country would be the biggest introduction of commodities to Somalia in a long time.

The best way to solve this problem is to first get someone in charge, and then make them do what we want. The problem is that no reasonable person wants to be in charge of Somalia, and anyone who is "in charge" could expect to be killed and eaten by an angry mob in an hour. Maybe in lieu of that, we could pick the largest gangs, and support their brutal consolidation efforts. Once we end up with two or three big ones that are cooperative, deal with them and forcibly get them to quit the piracy crap.

 

[wolfhunter]

Propping up the "larger gang" is how we got Noriega and Sadam.

 

[toreskha]

Propping up the "larger gang" is how we got Noriega and Sadam.

The only complete military solution I can think of would be to set fire to the entire place and execute the survivors - assuming we don't consider nuclear weapons as an option.

 

[wolfhunter]

Some guys named Sherman and Sheridan thought that was the way to accomplish US security...