Article

2008-10-22 Africa Horn

Navy commander admits: no rules on Somalia pirates

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Posted by tu3031 2008-10-22 11:23|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ] Top

#1 he was aware of where the pirates were operating, there was little he could do militarily to stop them and that guidelines on how to take them on -- including whether to shoot -- were still in the works. "

Once again, its not a military problem. It's a political problem. It comes down to WILL. The pols have absolutely no will when thugs don't play by the rules. Just check your local neighborhoods, be it Chicago or Newark where the thugs rule. The city fathers of Chicago don't want you to have a gun, but they're absolutely useless in providing real protection or of going after the thugs that do. Why should Somali pirates be any different.

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-10-22 11:48|| 2008-10-22 11:48|| Front Page Top

#2 I would like to see rules along the lines of:

If they surrender, bring them in.
If they try to run, fire a warning shot. If they give up, bring them in.
If they still run after warning shot or try to fight, sink their ass. Pick up any survivors.
If you catch them in the act of piracy, instant sinking of offending vessels. Pick up any survivors.

Posted by DarthVader 2008-10-22 11:52|| 2008-10-22 11:52|| Front Page Top

#3 NATO is as useful as tits on a boar hog

Posted by Yosemite Sam 2008-10-22 11:53|| 2008-10-22 11:53|| Front Page Top

#4 i thought pirates could outright be killed, sure would solve the problem. Or let me guess that wouyld go against Somali law, if there are any

Posted by chris 2008-10-22 12:40|| 2008-10-22 12:40|| Front Page Top

#5 Take, burn, sink or destroy.

Posted by Grunter 2008-10-22 12:40|| 2008-10-22 12:40|| Front Page Top

#6 Here are some rules for pirates, esp. Somali pirates that hang out in that non-state of Somalia.

1. Sink the pirates and their vessels.

2. Interrogate the pirates.

3. Go to Step one.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2008-10-22 14:45|| 2008-10-22 14:45|| Front Page Top

#7 4) Decorate your yardarm as appropriate.

Posted by CrazyFool 2008-10-22 15:27|| 2008-10-22 15:27|| Front Page Top

#8 "How do you prove a guy's a pirate before he actually attacks a ship?

B/c he carries an RPG in his boat?

Posted by General_Comment 2008-10-22 15:37|| 2008-10-22 15:37|| Front Page Top

#9 When did the Anglo American naval forces, not to mention the Viking Danes, turn into wusses? They need instructions from Nato to suppress pirates? Sheesh. These guys need a little less legal supervision.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-10-22 16:02|| 2008-10-22 16:02|| Front Page Top

#10 Christ. Look -

A) Announce a state of martial law in the seas off Somalia.
B) Offer to register vessels & their crews at designated points, take an inventory of weapons on board, and issue them papers & get biometrics on the individuals authorized to captain the vessels.
C) After an announced period of time, start boarding every vessel encountered in the anti-piracy zone. Every one encountered, no exceptions.
D) Unregistered vessels are impounded if they've got more than one rifle on board. Make sure this is part of the initial announcement.
E) If a registered vessel is encountered with someone other than the biometric captain-of-record, impound the vessel and arrest the 'crew'. Pull them up before an admiralty court.
F) If a crew tries to run, open fire and arrest the survivors, bring them up before the admiralty court.
G) HANG THOSE CONVICTED BY THE COURT.
H) Promise to deposit any civilian smartasses who show up to push any idiot civilian-court-law interferences in the nearest Somali port, free to travel to the nearest civilian court to press their claims against the duly designated anti-piracy flotilla.

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2008-10-22 16:55|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2008-10-22 16:55|| Front Page Top

#11 Oh, and announce that any Somali port town which refuses to act as a registry and licensing point for the flotilla will be shelled until it complies.

Then do it. In the end, the best way to bring a pirate coast under control is to burn out the towns that harbor pirate bands. It isn't necessary to bring such a coast under imperial control, but if you don't, then a policy of regular sackings of the lawless towns is the only long-term solution to piracy.

Alternatively, you can let it go & quarantine the area until the pirates start turning on the local "authorities". At some point, the pirates will whittle each other down until one or more of them will graduate from piracy to tyranny & assert a monopoly on violence which will effectively end the crime-wave, having nationalized the piracy industry.

But don't be surprised if Somalia turns into the 21st Century equivalent of the Barbary Coast.

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2008-10-22 17:02|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2008-10-22 17:02|| Front Page Top

#12 There are LOTS and LOTS of Great White Sharks in the Indian Ocean (wink wink nudge nudge)

Posted by James Carville 2008-10-22 21:07|| 2008-10-22 21:07|| Front Page Top

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23:31 USN, Ret.
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