Article

2011-02-22 Africa Horn

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Glenmore 2011-02-22 10:20|| || Front Page|| [11136 views ] Top

#1 If the hostages are all dead - meaning that no good guys are any longer at risk - then I do not understand why our National Command Authority should allow any Somali pirates within ten nautical miles of the yacht to remain breathing.

But - with Obambi calling the shots - I suppose that's an unlikely outcome. Hey Barack - how's the skiing, while your fellow citizens are bleeding out on the deck of a ship somewhere?

Unbelievable .....

Posted by Lone Ranger 2011-02-22 10:34|| 2011-02-22 10:34|| Front Page Top

#2 Why are we taking prisoners?

Posted by Spaising Thaiting6528 2011-02-22 10:43|| 2011-02-22 10:43|| Front Page Top

#3 ..because of lawyers and the ruling caste.

Posted by Procopius2k 2011-02-22 10:58|| 2011-02-22 10:58|| Front Page Top

#4 Condolences to the families.

So when will we let the remaining 13 ~~murderers~~ Pirates go?

After all, aren't they all just misunderstood 'freedom fighers' according to Hollywood?

Posted by CrazyFool 2011-02-22 11:13|| 2011-02-22 11:13|| Front Page Top

#5 I guess Obama will send a strongly worded letter.

I'd prefer carpet bombing of all Somali pirate villages.

Posted by Keystone 2011-02-22 12:19|| 2011-02-22 12:19|| Front Page Top

#6 So...are we through playing games with these people?

Posted by tu3031 2011-02-22 12:37|| 2011-02-22 12:37|| Front Page Top

#7 "It's a black day for us and also the Americans, but they lost bigger than us," a pirate who said his name was Bile Hussein said Tuesday. "If they still want a solution and safety for their citizens in the oceans, let them release our men they arrested."

How about we kill 'em and air drop them on Bile's lawn?

Posted by tu3031 2011-02-22 12:39|| 2011-02-22 12:39|| Front Page Top

#8 Time to bomb their nests and be done with them. And what about the C-17 that the Argies have impounded. Have we stopped the drone zapping in Pakistan over "Ray Davis?" Are totally phuchecing inept? Come on Washington, get off your asses.

Posted by Besoeker 2011-02-22 12:57|| 2011-02-22 12:57|| Front Page Top

#9 From CBS...

On Monday, two pirates had peacefully come aboard the USS Sterett to negotiate with naval forces for the release of the hostages, and remained aboard overnight.

But on Tuesday, pirates aboard the Quest unexpectedly fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Sterett. Shortly afterward, gunfire erupted inside the Quest cabin, and U.S. special forces responded, approaching the Quest in small boats and boarding the vessel, Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a Tuesday press conference.

Some pirates moved to bow and put up their hands in surrender. The U.S. forces killed two pirates in the course of clearing the vessel - one with a handgun and one in a close-combat knife fight. There were no injuries to U.S. forces or damage to U.S. ships, Fox said.

Posted by tu3031 2011-02-22 13:10|| 2011-02-22 13:10|| Front Page Top

#10 The U.S. forces killed two pirates in the course of clearing the vessel - one with a handgun and one in a close-combat knife fight.

WTF! Have we now been relegated to pistols and cutlasses?

Posted by Besoeker 2011-02-22 13:15|| 2011-02-22 13:15|| Front Page Top

#11 Have we now been relegated to pistols and cutlasses?

I take it you've never had experience in boarding a ship, or know about the effects of weapons inside a vessel.

Shotguns are preferred. Pistols are acceptable. Automatic weapons are a no-go.

And yes, knives.

Posted by Pappy 2011-02-22 13:36|| 2011-02-22 13:36|| Front Page Top

#12 or know about the effects of weapons inside a vessel.

"Effects of weapons inside a vessel".... in this case 4 dead. But no, I have no experience aboard sea going vessels, nor do I want any.

Posted by Besoeker 2011-02-22 13:41|| 2011-02-22 13:41|| Front Page Top

#13 I guess these guys were kind of weak on the whole 'chain of command' thing.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-02-22 14:11|| 2011-02-22 14:11|| Front Page Top

#14 ...killed two pirates in the course of clearing the vessel - one with a handgun and one in a close-combat knife fight. There were no injuries to U.S. forces...

So - some Somali pirate decided to attack some SEALS with a knife?!?!? I'll bet he thought he was going to carve up some American fightin' man. I guess maybe he bit off a little bit more than he could chew .... heh....heh

Some SEAL is going have a good bar-room story to tell - about the Somali who tried to off him with a knife. I wonder how many nanoseconds that "close combat" session lasted????

Posted by Lone Ranger 2011-02-22 14:11|| 2011-02-22 14:11|| Front Page Top

#15 Blow all these phueckers to hell--take no prisoners. A waste of time.

Posted by JohnQC 2011-02-22 14:12|| 2011-02-22 14:12|| Front Page Top

#16 Looking at pictures of the yacht I imagine it has a lot of spaces where you couldn't carry a shotgun or carbine (or cutlass) and use it effectively.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-02-22 14:16|| 2011-02-22 14:16|| Front Page Top

#17 Pappy, you remind me of the story my Dad told about the only time he discharged his firearm during WWII: He was an engine room officer on a merchant ship when their convoy was attacked by U-Boats. One of the crew refused orders to stay at his station and my Dad fired one (sidearm) shot - which bounced around what seemed like forever, and fortunately never hit anyone or anything that mattered. The crewman did return to his post.

Posted by Glenmore 2011-02-22 14:33|| 2011-02-22 14:33|| Front Page Top

#18 A pirate who said his name was Muse Abdi said killing hostages "has now become part of our rules," and he referred to a pirate who was sentenced in a New York court last week to 33 years in prison for a 2009 attack on the U.S. cargo vessel the Maersk Alabama.

"From now on, anyone who tries to rescue the hostages in our hands will only collect dead bodies," he said. "It will never ever happen that hostages are rescued and we are hauled to prison."

Appears they've upped the ante. Might be time to get preemptive and start killing them first.

Posted by tu3031 2011-02-22 14:51|| 2011-02-22 14:51|| Front Page Top

#19 "Hey, Ryan, be careful what you shoot at. Most things in here don't react too well to bullets."

-- Captain Ramius - The Hunt for Red October

Posted by CrazyFool 2011-02-22 15:29|| 2011-02-22 15:29|| Front Page Top

#20 I would think some of the "frangible rounds" would minimize ricochet problems.

Posted by JohnQC 2011-02-22 15:55|| 2011-02-22 15:55|| Front Page Top

#21 Dunno how authentic it was but I liked the character in the Master and Commander series who would go on boarding parties with a meat cleaver.

Posted by Ebbang Uluque6305 2011-02-22 16:19|| 2011-02-22 16:19|| Front Page Top

#22 Crowley's words sure to have pirates ~~not~~ shaking in their boots.

The only thing I can imagine is that the various agencies involved think there is some political advantage to them to be beating around the bush this way.

Cut their budgets if they think they have so much extra money to play with.

Blast the fuc&ers out of the water and be done with it.

Q-ships. Reapers. Deck-mounted 50-cals on commercial ships. No prisoners.

Posted by gorb 2011-02-22 16:50|| 2011-02-22 16:50|| Front Page Top

#23 Prosecution? Crowley's an idiot.

Posted by JohnQC 2011-02-22 17:02|| 2011-02-22 17:02|| Front Page Top

#24 If Obama does not seek the death penalty, that would be typical. However, it could be an opening for whatever GOP candidate runs for the presidency in 2012. In the larger scheme of things, the death of the hostages could serve as a metaphor for the Obama administration.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2011-02-22 18:14|| 2011-02-22 18:14|| Front Page Top

#25 They still have to transport the pirates back to land. Of course, the sea is a dangerous place. People fall overboard all the time. By the time you realize their gone, it's usually too late to pick them up.
I mean, these pirates could just be up on deck, and a rogue wave comes along and carries them overboard. Real tragedy and all. The Navy would of course search for them, but they probably can't swim, and what with the sharks and everything... It would be a great tragedy.

Posted by Rambler in Virginia 2011-02-22 19:06|| 2011-02-22 19:06|| Front Page Top

#26

Somali pirates are now raiding 1700 miles off their coasts. The more money they collect in ransoms, the greater their range gets. The circumference of the earth is 25,000 miles.

The problem with shooting pirates on sight is that the targets encountered at sea are uncertain, often you don't know exactly who or what you're shooting at until hostilities commence, giving the advantage to pirate sneak attacks. I don't imagine Somali pirates fly the Jolly Roger to make themselves easy to identify.

If the rest of the world decided to simply blockade the Somali coast (an act of war), then anything floating away from the Somali shoreline would be fair game for sinking. That seems a fair response for what has been going on. I strongly suspect that by now, the pirates have bases far away from Somalia, so piratical expeditions would continue even if the Somali coastline was blockaded.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-02-22 19:15|| 2011-02-22 19:15|| Front Page Top

#27 "often you don't know exactly who or what you're shooting at until hostilities commence"

One would think that a fast boat approaching with guys holding RPGs would be a dead giveaway.

If they are raiding 1700 miles off the coast, then it is time to start taking more active defensive measures. It doesn't take a lot of technology or money to develop an apparatus to squirt a stream of gasoline onto a boat attempting to land a boarding crew on a ship. A ten second squirt of fuel followed immediately by a signal flare brings their attempt to a spectacular end.

These people must be in radio communications with someone ashore or at least each other to the "mother ship". It shouldn't be too difficult to locate these people by electronic means and make preemptive checks on them.

There is much that could be done, but apparently we prefer to react rather than act.

Posted by crosspatch 2011-02-22 19:58|| 2011-02-22 19:58|| Front Page Top

#28 "often you don't know exactly who or what you're shooting at until hostilities commence"

Create a shipping lane and any boat not authorized to be in the shipping lane should be eliminated. After a few boats are sunk (while being filmed) and a good marketing plan; I suspect no unauthorized boats will venture into the shipping lane.

Posted by airandee 2011-02-22 20:51|| 2011-02-22 20:51|| Front Page Top

#29 Blow all these phueckers to hell--take no prisoners. A waste of time.

Not until they're drained of every speck of intel.

I would think some of the "frangible rounds" would minimize ricochet problems.

Not really if up close. Just creates a lot of shrapnel. We did practice firing in passageways and into compartments (using paint balls). Highly effective if you know what you're doing, but it's usually not recommended due to the various piping that's found.

Posted by Pappy 2011-02-22 20:58|| 2011-02-22 20:58|| Front Page Top

#30 The only advantage I can think of now is that the pirates have quite a number of ships under their control, which translates to several hundred actual humans being held hostage.

This is why you don't let these ba$tards get a toe-hold.

Posted by gorb 2011-02-22 23:30|| 2011-02-22 23:30|| Front Page Top

#31 As Pappy has said, time to follow the money. Ask the eternal investigative question: Cui Bono?

Also, trace these back to their village and demolish any and all boats in that area, dock facilities, and anything resembling a maint or repair shop. Revisit every 30 days or so for a few months. Message: you support pirates, your seagoing ability will be erased. Be sure to take out the motherships.

Posted by OldSpook 2011-02-23 00:02|| 2011-02-23 00:02|| Front Page Top

00:02 OldSpook
23:45 gorb
23:44 gorb
23:30 gorb
23:23 CrazyFool
23:19 Barbara Skolaut
23:17 CrazyFool
23:10 Broadhead6
23:08 Broadhead6
22:45 USN,Ret
22:25 USN,Ret
22:22 JosephMendiola
22:21 CincinnatusChili
22:16 Procopius2k
22:16 tu3031
22:12 Procopius2k
22:00 GK
21:53 JosephMendiola
21:50 JosephMendiola
21:41 JosephMendiola
21:33 OldSpook
21:32 JosephMendiola
21:24 JosephMendiola
21:20 swksvolFF