Posted on 04/16/2009 6:29:27 AM PDT by george76
Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman says it's time the U.S. took more aggressive action on the seas. He recommends arming merchant ships with military personnel.
Coffman says the pirating problem is only going to get worse.
"They may be less interested in taking hostages when the situation may be somewhat precarious for them to do so," Coffman said. "I think they are going to be more aggressive in their actions."
Coffman says arming American merchant vessels with military personnel is also nothing new.
"We did that in World War II, we posted military personnel on U.S.-flagged merchant vessels to provide protection. We need to do the same today," Coffman said.
Coffman says he sees the pirate attacks as an act of war.
"It doesn't take much, but I think weakness invites aggression and we've had a very weak policy in responding to the pirates ...
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs4denver.com ...
Hire Blackwater to do it. I think they’ve got a lot of spare people since Iraq booted them.
He doesn’t recommend arming them (which I think is the best idea)....he recommends putting troops on the ships.
I say let the crewmen carry GUNS!
There is nothing in the law that stops them.
It’s the companies themselves that don’t want to do it because of the possibility of being sued by an injured ‘terrorist’.
They don’t want to take the chance.
Why hire Blakwater? Isn’t that what the US Marines were created for and they are trained for the job. Just put Marines on the US Flagged ships as they enter the area where the pirates operate and pull them off after they leave. That is exactly what we pay taxes for!!!!
Grant amnesty and let BlackWater handle it.
True
The marines are trained for a lot of things, and putting them on a ship waiting for something to happen negates most of what they're trained for. Besides they're kind of busy elsewhere at the moment. Blackwater trains guards, ships need guards, perfect match.
My husband used to be a merchant seaman, and he says arming the crewmen is a terrible idea. They are always getting into fights and are very hotheaded at times. There is a lot of drinking and just like in the movies, they break the tops of bottles, and try to kill each other with the jagged edged bottles.
Having armed guards or military police would be a better idea.
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