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| Africa Horn |
| WFP seeks urgent navy escorts for Somalia food aid |
| 2008-07-19 |
| The United Nations said on Friday food shipments to Somalia were grinding to a halt as few vessels were willing to hazard the country's pirate-infested waters, and it called on governments to provide naval escorts. Peter Goossens, Somalia director for the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), said the agency had received no offers of naval protection since late June, when a Dutch frigate brought a WFP vessel safely into Mogadishu. "I have 80,000 tonnes (of food) sitting in South Africa to urgently go into Somalia and so far I've only been able to find one ship of 8,000 tonnes that is willing to do this," he told a news conference. "When you speak to shipping operators or agents, the first question you get is: 'Are there escorts?'" |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #13 OP; never heard of any A-10 on a boat, but the characteristice of the bird lend itself to that, if you ran into the wind at max knots. Deck launch is the only option so that first guy off ( like Doolittles B-25 raid on Japan in WWII) needs bo have big brass ones. I would not expect any recoveries aboard the CV however. |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2008-07-19 22:34 |
| #12 Attn: World. This is what your life will look like if the US Navy pretty much disappeared from the high seas. Not just food ships, but oil and other major commodities would become 'hit and miss' as enterprising individuals would quickly take advantage of your inability to float something just as effective and far reaching as the Americans. You think the world economy is jeopardized by sub-prime paper, you ain't seen nothing yet. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-07-19 18:58 |
| #11 Somalia is a failed state. Aid should be channeled through Ethiopia. |
| Posted by: Claviling Protector of the Lichtensteiners9205 2008-07-19 17:29 |
| #10 It WOULD be nice if South Africa agreed to escort a couple of ships of foodstuffs to Mogadischu, with a US carrier battle group just over the horizon, obeying strict communications silence. Let the pirates attack (I doubt the SA Navy would stop them), then let the US do some damage both to their mother-ship and their little toy boats. Too bad you can't operate A-10s from carriers - or can you? |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-07-19 16:10 |
| #9 Well, Peter, you're approaching this matter bass-ackwards. Until they learn some basic manners (like don't shoot at people who are trying to help you or killing aid workers tends to make them want to leave, not help you), I think they're pretty much screwed. And no one gives a damn about how that just doesn't fly in their "culture", or if they weren't so jacked up on khat they would be gentle as lambs, either. |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields 2008-07-19 13:54 |
| #8 Not interested. Get a good country to do it. The evil USA is busy. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2008-07-19 10:46 |
| #7 Is this the food that is being seized by the OICs and Warlords to feed armies and recruit soldiers? If so, Sink it. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-07-19 10:19 |
| #6 Exactly: getthe Germans and other bums to do it. The US is tired of doing the heavy lifting for the resto fo the world's lazy asses, especially when all we ever get is criticism and slander. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-07-19 09:26 |
| #5 And don't forget the buffet line. Thats gonna be their next question. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-07-19 09:05 |
| #4 "When you speak to shipping operators or agents, the first question you get is: 'Are there escorts?'" Don't UN 'peacekeepers' ask the same question, or do they just go for the little boys & girls instead? |
| Posted by: Raj 2008-07-19 07:51 |
| #3 Q-ships are the answer. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-07-19 06:13 |
| #2 Tell the Brits, French and Germans to send a ship full of diplomats and social workers. They can talk to the pirates to see how they feel, and maybe get at the root cause of why they are pirates. |
| Posted by: Rambler in California 2008-07-19 03:00 |
| #1 Criticize the holy crap out of Uncle Sam until you need his help. Typical UN. |
| Posted by: gromky 2008-07-19 00:26 |