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| Africa Horn |
| Pentagon says force not the answer to surge in piracy. |
| 2008-11-21 |
| The Pentagon said Wednesday a military approach was not the answer to a surge of piracy off the Horn of Africa and suggested that shipping companies do more on their own to protect their vessels. "You could have all the navies in the world having all their ships out there, you know, it's not going to ever solve this problem," said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary. "It requires a holistic approach from the international community at sea, ashore, with governance, with economic development," he told reporters. This isn't the first time something like this has ever happened. We've got virtually all the navies in the world on the scene, and their actions are apparently absolutely uncoordinated. We've got a restricted area for ship movements, which is why the pirates are having a heyday. I'm not a navy guy, know nothing about sea tactics, but I suspect the "Pentagon" spokesman who put this out is an Army guy, too. This seems like an occasion for forming convoys at either end of the Gulf and escorting them with warships. The pirates show up, they become a hole in the water. Morrell said at least 18 ships are currently being held for ransom by Somali pirates, along with 330 mariners taken hostage. This year there have been 95 attempted ship seizures by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, 39 of them successful, he said. Not only has the incidence of piracy increased, but pirates are going farther out in the high seas. A US-bound Saudi supertanker carrying two million barrels of crude oil worth 100 million dollars was captured Sunday by pirates some 450 miles off the Kenyan coast. "Trust me, this subject is being dealt with at the highest levels of this government," Morrell said. "It is a real concern. And we are constantly evaluating what the best approach is." The live fire exercise! Put to sea and go KILL THEM! "I'm just trying to get you to think beyond the notion of, 'The answer is strictly kinetics. We've got to board more ships. We've got to fire on more pirates.'" The White House said President George W. Bush had been briefed about the seizure of the Saudi supertanker. "Ensuring the safety and well being of the crew is of paramount importance in preventing or dealing with issues of piracy," said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "And the goal would be to try to help get this ship to safety, secure the crew, and then work with our international partners to try to alleviate the piracy problem, full stop," she told reporters. Perino said Washington was "working with other members of the Security Council right now" to work out how "to more effectively fight against piracy." Double Yawn, no, triple yawn. "It's a very complicated issue. There's a lot of international laws that factor into these efforts," she said. Very much the lawyer answer. Morrell urged that the UN Security Council extend a resolution that authorizes anti-piracy activities. But he said commercial shipping companies also should stick to safer sea lanes away from shore and invest in protective measures, including technical devices and armed guards. You mean like hire their own navies. "The shipping companies, also have an obligation to secure their ships to prevent incidents such that we've been seeing at alarming rates over the past several months," he said. The State Department convened a high level group of officials to examine the issue, but spokesman Sean McCormack called it "an international problem" that the United States was not going to solve alone. Of course the Department of State would want to study it at length, consult with the UN, visit other countries, and shy away from a military role at all costs. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #42 The Pentagon is right. Love, not force, is the answer. Arms are for hugging. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-11-21 21:22 |
| #41 Um, actually i was thinking ARCLIGHT... :) |
| Posted by: Abu do you love 2008-11-21 20:56 |
| #40 "It requires a holistic approach ......... wid economic development" > TRUE ENUFF. THese Pyra-a-ates exists mainly due to the absence of any efective andor trustworthy public authority + lack of econ prosperity. Unless the UNO, AFRICAN UNION, + OTHER REGIONAL ORGS CAN GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER AND CHANGE THINGS FOR THE BETTER, INSTEAD OF MORE PDENIABLE FAILURE, THE BOYZ WILL JUST CONTIN TO MOUNT WHAT CAN ASCRIBED AS A "MARITIME JIHAD" + RAMPAGE FROM REGION TO REGION, ETC. UNLESS SOMEBODY STOPS THEM. Not unlike Radical Islam, we should not be surprised iff they desire to one day "go Nukular" = procure WMDS/CBRNS. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-11-21 18:47 |
| #39 In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson sent USS CONSTITUTION to the Mediterranean Sea as flagship of the third Mediterranean squadron. The mission was to attempt to force the Barbary pirates from their renewed policies of aggression against U.S. merchant shipping. With Commodore Edward Preble initially in command, USS CONSTITUTION and other ships of the squadron mounted five attacks against Tripoli. While she's still a commissioned naval ship I don't think she's up to the task anymore - and who in today's navy could sail her or fire her guns? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2008-11-21 18:28 |
| #38 Pompeius Magnus cleared the med with wooden ships... |
| Posted by: Snavirt Scourge of the Weak6536 2008-11-21 18:16 |
| #37 Pompeius Magnus cleared the med with wooden ships... |
| Posted by: Snavirt Scourge of the Weak6536 2008-11-21 18:09 |
| #36 Originally The Marines were created specifically to deal with Pirates Not exactly, their 1st duty was to protect the ship's captain from the crew. |
| Posted by: .5mt 2008-11-21 17:42 |
| #35 Prolly end up costing us a fortune. Do a cost/benefit analysis and get back to us Thing. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-11-21 17:41 |
| #34 Back in the days of the pirates of the Caribbean, crewmen had an average lifespan of one year after turning pirate, I've read. Officers tended to last a bit longer, but still. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-11-21 17:39 |
| #33 Nuke. Now I win. ttanker was 450 nm off the coast. We coulda nuked it. I've always wanted to drop an asteroid on Somalia, to see if anyone would notice any difference. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2008-11-21 16:19 |
| #32 I think the evil Bushitler is staying away from this one because if he jumped in, it would be yet another case of (the evil white imperialist) Man's inhumanity to the black man. Better for the Indians to get involved. Maybe the Saudis will jump in, since it's one of their ships that got taken, and it's in their neck of the woods. Heck - the Gyppo's should be all over this one. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2008-11-21 15:56 |
| #31 Any Chinese ships been hijacked there? In Asia it's widely believed Chinese crews would fight back. Whereas Western owned/crewed vessels are under orders not to resist pirates. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2008-11-21 15:42 |
| #30 Nuke. Now I win. ttanker was 450 nm off the coast. We coulda nuked it. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2008-11-21 15:26 |
| #29 I know y'all are thinkin' it, so let me say it first: MOAB. I win, they lose, y'all drink up. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-11-21 13:38 |
| #28 Whack the home ports. Sink every vessel. Hard to be a pirate when you're swimming. |
| Posted by: mojo 2008-11-21 13:27 |
| #27 "Originally The Marines were created specifically to deal with Pirates" And I thought one of the original missions of SEAL teams were to gain control of hijacked shipping. But anyway, check this out: BLACKWATER - the US governmentÂ’s prefered private military contractor in Iraq - is considering ambitious plans for a small fleet of two or three anti-piracy vessels, each able to carry several dozen armed security personnel ready to undertake any legal operation. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2008-11-21 13:08 |
| #26 If Blackwater or Aegis wins a security contract there will be very significant decline in this buggery. As it should be I suppose, but unfortunately none of their successes will be made public. Floating headless torso's of |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-11-21 13:03 |
| #25 What, no one can find where they are storing 17 SHIPS? Everyone coordinate and pay ransoms for hostages at once, then go in there and clean house. |
| Posted by: JustHitEm 2008-11-21 13:01 |
| #24 What about sending bounty hunters after them for big rewards financed by the companies who are getting hit? Then you have a whole counter industry springing up around killing off the pirates for profit. |
| Posted by: Dave 2008-11-21 12:48 |
| #23 I am actually starting to admire the pirates. They are the only ones with the bravado to do something while the rest of the world wrings their hands. Shit... if they get away with it for much longer, I might be tempted to sell my house, go to the region, live life like a man should - women, drink, booty (of both kinds). They are living life by quality, not quantity - which has a lot of merit behind it. I'm sitting here on my ass in a cube. My biggest worry is what I'm having for dinner and paying off my credit card bill. These dumb bastards honestly have more of a real life then any of us reading about them now. They are living life while we are reading about it and playing armchair general. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2008-11-21 12:25 |
| #22 Somalia is a failed state. Err.. no longer a state. The people have been lawless for 30+ years... Sounds like a good testing ground for BZ gas... Can we turn pirates into flower children with just some gas? National Enquirying minds want to know. Description of BZ |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-11-21 11:54 |
| #21 Originally The Marines were created specifically to deal with Pirates |
| Posted by: Albert Spusotch7979 2008-11-21 11:51 |
| #20 The sooner the world starts paying more attention to derelict states like Somalia the sooner problems like these will abate. This will actually cost a lot less than increasing the military presence to guard ships. ...trinbagonian2dbone@live.com |
| Posted by: Trinbagonian 2008-11-21 11:32 |
| #19 Pentagon says force not the answer to surge in piracy Pascal: "Law, without force, is impotent". |
| Posted by: Thealing Borgia 122 2008-11-21 11:29 |
| #18 I thought the Israelis had developed a non-lethal repellant horn, sound that made pirates violently ill? It would disable them long enough to get a clean shot off. The insurance companies should require some sort of preventative measures. I know many aren't insured and take their chances, but surely they have the right to self-defense. And if the Saudi supertanker was heading to the US, it is a national security issue to protect oil shipments and trade. The Europeans have to decide if commerce is vital enough to protect and take care of their own interests or they can cave to Islamists and pay the price. Giving the UN control over the seas is certainly not the answer, either. The "holistic approach of the international community" hasn't achieved diddly squat with the Iranians, or anyone else for that matter. If they had been effective in Somalia years ago, we wouldn't be in this mess. I still say J-DAMing the entire mess is the most cost-effective solution in the long run. |
| Posted by: Thealing Borgia 122 2008-11-21 11:27 |
| #17 So we've gone from Jefferson's age of Wooden Ships and Iron Men to the UN age of Iron Laws and Wouldn't Men. Disgusting. If they built modernized Butler Class DE named the William Eaton I would join to fight pirates, f'nA. Couldn't they just build a machine to run across the deck railing like an Roomba and fire a blunderbuss downward, all controlled by camera from the bridge? |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2008-11-21 11:22 |
| #16 The somali pirates and their handlers got quite a business plan going. They are dealing with a bunch of wimpy dumsh*ts who are willing to pay large ransoms. So far only a few pirates killed. What a business model. To save time, how about hiring a shipping agent and prepaying a ransom/transit fee through the area, and the ships will not have to stop. After all, time is money. I think that the world will have to go through this piracy madness in order to straighten itself out. Just like this country will have to have this leftist virus run its course to straighten out, if the host isn't killed in the meantime. Man! Ima sure glad that bureaucrats don't run doctors, or we would be in trouble. OOPS! Bad example..... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-11-21 10:53 |
| #15 and women should cover themselves in black sheets so men are not excited. |
| Posted by: Jeremiah Omuck5913 2008-11-21 10:53 |
| #14 the feel goods control the pentagon now. what kind of drivel is this? Of course military action is the answer, it has always been the answer for piracy. |
| Posted by: Jeremiah Omuck5913 2008-11-21 10:52 |
| #13 oops |
| Posted by: sludge 2008-11-21 10:29 |
| #12 In other news, India plans to increase naval presence in the area. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7741287.stm |
| Posted by: sludge 2008-11-21 10:27 |
| #11 Why does this remind me of the late 60s and the touchy feely law enforcement approach by the pseudo intellectuals that rationalized increases in crime by blaming society and poverty for sociopathic behaviors? It only resulted in an even greater spread of crime. The same intellectually bankrupt people are obviously in charge again. Call me when they implement 'Operation Harry Callahan'. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-11-21 09:36 |
| #10 Pretty soon our military will be the distributors of CARE packages. |
| Posted by: hammerhead 2008-11-21 09:22 |
| #9 Piracy is not covered (and privateering is outlawed) by international law. That is to say that pirates can be killed, their boats destroyed without fear of legal reprisal == unless American progressives have something to say about it. |
| Posted by: Balthazar 2008-11-21 09:04 |
| #8 "I have not yet begun to |
| Posted by: WilliamMarcyTweed 2008-11-21 08:43 |
| #7 Anyone in DoD who uses "holistic" not in reference to a sucking chest wound should immediately have a sucking chest wound. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-11-21 08:17 |
| #6 Last Breath, a good old Ma Deuce or three would do the job a lot cheaper. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2008-11-21 08:08 |
| #5 Mr. Morrell graduated with a B.A. in Government from Georgetown University in 1991. The following year he received a M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. While in graduate school, he worked as a desk assistant, production assistant, and researcher for ABC News in New York. He began his journalism career with ABC News as an intern in the Washington bureau in 1990. Georgetown, then Columbia, then ABC? Koff koff... |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2008-11-21 08:08 |
| #4 The Liberians(don't they flag most commercial ships?) need to go shopping at the great American arms manufacturer Dillion Aero. Very little training needed to get off a few hundred thousand rounds from one of their recoilless Gatling guns. Low maintenance too. |
| Posted by: Last Breath Farm Resident 2008-11-21 02:31 |
| #3 "commercial shipping companies also should stick to safer sea lanes away from shore and invest in protective measures, including technical devices and armed guards." I can agree with that. Shipping companies want to externalize their costs as much as they can. Hiring Blackwater to guard their ships would be expensive. Why do that when you can just pick up the phone and whine to the US Navy ("somebody should DO something!"). They should bear some responsibility for their own security. Sure, it would cost them money. And they would need to decide which is more expensive: taking risky routes with a hired security force or taking a less risky route that burns more fuel and takes more time. But the bottom line is that these people *do* need to take bear more responsibility for their own security. Any Chinese ships been hijacked there? |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2008-11-21 01:34 |
| #2 Pirate free waters equal lower oil prices. Killing pirates is worth the OpTempo hit. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2008-11-21 00:51 |
| #1 So its been what? 24+ hours since the Indian Navy put a pirate ship on the bottom and there have been exactly how many protests? None that i have seen or read about. Seems like some nations that have navies could read something in those tea leaves and get a clue; like maybe the whole civilized world thinks its really OK to splash the bastards! and since India went first, the next guy to do so wouldn't even be getting a cherry..... a whole bunchaballessphucks... |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2008-11-21 00:48 |