> a small Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker <
Ships often fly Liberian or Panamanian “flags of convenience” to avoid taxes and safety regulations.
I get the importance of keeping the sea lanes open. But once again the US is left with the bill. Since this ship was flying a Liberian flag, maybe let Liberia go rescue it. You made your choice, ship owner. Now live with it.
Can you detail the additional cost, please. The destroyer would be in the water anyway, sailing on the blue water and all personnel on board gets paid whether they lend a hand or not. In addition, the destroyer’s crew receives a real life experience in real time.
“I get the importance of keeping the sea lanes open. But once again the US is left with the bill. Since this ship was flying a Liberian flag, maybe let Liberia go rescue it. You made your choice, ship owner. Now live with it.”
Your comment reminds me of a remark a boss once made in the late 70’s when there were no wars going on. A B52 from a nearby airbase flew over us. And his remark was “Just why do they need to fly those things and waste all that fuel when there is no war going on?”
The obvious answer is to keep the crews trained and ready and the aircraft fully functional. Can you imagine a war cropping up, needed or not, then have to unmothball the B52’s from the desert and get the crews back into uniform and hurry up and go bomb something?
The same applies to this destroyer. The crews are getting valuable experience in dealing with an enemy. It all costs. it’s all worth it. This little skirmish readies them for the bigger ones. Not to mention showing China we can still deal with terrorists while their warships look on.
—> I get the importance of keeping the sea lanes open. But once again the US is left with the bill
Agree.
And risked American lives to do it.
Pirates become more experienced and able when they prosper; and if they prosper they will also become better equipped, and then bolder. That in turn will make them more successful.
It will affect us and definitely freedom of the seas, just as surely as when Democrat run cities failing to deal with crime spills over onto rural areas and generally lessens the nation’s standard of living, not just those cities that fail.