Posted on 04/08/2009 3:42:47 PM PDT by Cindy
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"Sure the Pirates lost the American Ship, but the real problems remain"
ICC-CCS.ORG
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Click on the link above for more piracy-related information.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=table&tableid=26&calculations=0&Itemid=82
Live Piracy Report
The IMB Live Piracy Report (replacing the Weekly Piracy Report) displays all Piracy and Armed Robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre in the last ten days. Click on the map for more details.
Incident Details: Location Map
06.04.2009: 0300 LT:Posn: 01:51S – 055:25E, About 630 nm SE of Mogadishu, Somalia.
Armed pirates chased, boarded and hijacked a fishing trawler underway. Information available indicates that the fishing vessel was then used to try to hijack other fishing vessels in the vicinity. Pirates later directed the vessel towards the Somali coast.
06.04.2009: 0620 UTC: Posn 12:33N - 049:02E, Gulf of Aden.
A bulk carrier was attacked and hijacked by Somali pirates whilst underway. The ship is proceeding towards Somali coast.
06.04.2009: 1900 UTC: Posn: 15:13.47N – 067:15.1E Arabian sea.
A bulk carrier underway, detected on radar speed boats approaching from the stbd bow/port bow at a distance of 12nm. The speed boats increased speed and approached closer with a CPA of 0.01nm, master increased speed, all crew mustered, activated fire hoses, switched on all lights, sent distress signal, made evasive manoeuvres and succeeded in preventing the boarding.
04.04.2009: 0530 UTC: Posn: 02:40S – 048:03E, About 315 nm SE of Mogadishu, Somalia
Pirates attacked and hijacked a container ship underway. The pirates sailed the vessel to an undisclosed location in Somalia.
04.04.2009:0641 UTC: Posn: 09:24.52N - 058:15.42E: Off Somalia.
Six pirates in a speed boat chased a container ship underway. Master contacted the piracy reporting centre who informed the coalition forces. Pirates armed with AK47 opened fire on the vessel causing damages. Master took evasive manoeuvres which prevented the pirate boat from closing in.
02.04.2009: Posn: 05:22.6N - 056:12.3E: Somalia.
While underway, a mother vessel launched two skiffs / colour blue which chased and fired upon a container ship. Master made evasive manoeuvres and prevented the boarding.
02.04.2009: 1300 UTC: Posn: 13:51.1N – 051:14.2E, Gulf of Aden.
Two speed boats, blue and white in colour, with 3 or 4 persons onboard approached a bulk carrier underway at over 20 knots. The speed boats came as close as 0.40 nm. The Master sounded the general alarm and whistle. An Indian warship was informed. Two helicopters from Japan and India responded and the pirates aborted their attempt on sighting the helicopters.
01.04.2009: 0510 LT: Posn: 02:30.10N - 104:24.20E, 6 nm NW of Pulau Aur, Malaysia.
Five pirates with masks and armed with knives boarded a tug towing a barge underway. They stole crew cash and personal belongings and escaped.
30.03.2009:1614 LT: Posn: 09:45N - 058:50E: Off Somalia.
Pirates in speed boat chased and opened fire on a bulk carrier with guns and RPG. Ship made evasive manoeuvres which prevented the pirate boat from closing in. Later, the boat retreated and proceeded towards mother vessel which was nearby.
30.03.2009: 0045 LT: Posn: 10:42N – 106:44E: Ho Chi Minh port, Vietnam.
Six robbers in a wooden boat boarded a bulk carrier from the bow. They stole ship’s properties and escaped. Incident was reported to local authorities and police boarded vessel for investigation.
29.03.2009: 2123 LT: Posn: 11:50.2N - 044:53.3E Gulf of Aden.
Pirates in a speed boat approached and attempted to board a chemical tanker underway by using metal hooks and ropes. Alert crew prevented the boarding and informed duty officer on bridge. Vessel made evasive manoeuvres and escaped from the pirate attack.
28.03.2009: 1555 LT: Posn: 07:21.7S - 046:44.4E: 420 NM off Dar es Salaam port, Tanzania.
A high speed boat launched from a mother ship chased a container ship. The vessel increased speed and commenced made evasive manoeuvres. The speed boat came s close as 3 cables to the ship but stopped, probably due to engine problem. Ship continued passage.
28.03.2009: Approx. Posn: 09S – 047E, Off Seychelles islands / off Somalia.
A yacht with seven crew departed from Seychelles. Pirates boarded and hijacked it. On 01.04.2009 the master contacted the owners to inform that the yacht had been hijacked. The pirates are believed to be sailing the yacht to the Somali coast.
26.03.2009: 2220 LT: Lagos anchorage, Nigeria.
Ship’s crew onboard a chemical tanker at anchor noticed a boat with several persons armed with machine guns rocket propelled grenade launchers and machetes attempting to climb onboard with the use of a rope. All crew alerted and alarm raised. Upon seeing the alert crew, the robbers aborted the attempt and escaped.
24.03.2009: 1000 LT: Posn: 06:40N- 099:14E, Off Koh Tong (Tong island), Satun province, Thailand.
Three robbers armed with knives and a hammer attacked and boarded a yacht. They assaulted and killed the skipper and threw his body overboard. The skipper’s wife was also injured. The Satun marine police was notified and sent patrol boats to search for the dead body. When the police arrived at the yacht area, three men were on the life raft. The police detained all three men who were Burmese. The police said that the three Burmese suspects had earlier escaped from a fishing boat by jumping off the boat and headed to the yacht. The body of the skipper was later recovered and sent to the forensic department for further investigation.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,513258,00.html
“Clinton Seeks End to ‘Scourge of Piracy’ as U.S. Navy Races to Hijacked American Ship”
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
SNIPPET: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Wednesday for world action to “end the scourge of piracy” as U.S. warships raced to confront pirates who hijacked a U.S.-flagged ship off the coast of Somalia.
American crew members aboard the hijacked ship were able to regain control of the vessel Wednesday, but the ship’s captain still is being held hostage on a smaller boat.
“We are deeply concerned and we are following it very closely,” Clinton said.”
ON THE INTERNET:
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The Daily Blast also briefly covered the power grid situation so let’s throw out some key words for you to click on for review:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/powergrid
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/electricalgrid
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/electricitygrid
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Yeah, the real problems remain and here’s one of them...
—
Merchant crews aren’t supposed to fight pirates, short of using high-pressure hoses to try to stop them from climbing aboard, said John F. Reinhart, president and CEO of Maersk Line Ltd.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97EH7HG1&show_article=1
—
The crew will probably get fired now for taking control of the ship back...
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53843
Pirate Attack Foiled by Ship’s Crew, Defense Officials Say
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2009 – A ship taken by pirates off the coast of Somalia this morning is now presumed to be under the control of its crew again, Defense Department officials said.
The cargo ship Maersk Alabama was attacked by pirates early this morning and presumed hijacked, according to information provided by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The vessel was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was assaulted about 300 miles off Somalia’s coast, officials said.
The Maersk Alabama is home-ported in Norfolk, Va., and has a crew of about 20 U.S. nationals, John Reinhart, president and CEO of the ship’s owner, Maersk Line Ltd., told reporters today.
Reinhart said his company is contacting the crew’s family members. He declined to confirm the ship’s retaking by its crew, or to release the names of crew members.
The Maersk Alabama’s crewmembers were trained to deal with pirate attacks, Reinhart said.
Pentagon officials noted there were four would-be hijackers, at least one of whom was captured by the ship’s crew.
Pirates who attack merchant ships traveling off the coast of Somalia are difficult to deter because of the large area in which they operate, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today that he didn’t want to comment on possible actions that could be taken in response to the Maersk Alabama’s apparent hijacking.
However, Whitman said the piracy issue “is not going to be something that is solved in a purely military way or in international waters.”
“This is going to have to be something that is addressed broadly by the international community,” Whitman continued, “It’s going to have to be addressed diplomatically, militarily (and) legally.”
The complexity of the piracy issue requires taking “a very broad approach to addressing it,” Whitman added.
Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have attacked five vessels over the past week, according to news reports, not including today’s attack on the Maersk Alabama.
Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain that oversees anti-piracy efforts in the region, provided an updated advisory notice to regional merchant shipping in a news release issued yesterday.
“We synchronize the efforts of the naval forces deployed to the region,” Gortney said in the release. “However, as we have often stated, international naval forces alone will not be able to solve the problem of piracy at sea.”
Piracy “is a problem that starts ashore,” Gortney added.
And, despite the increased naval presence in the region, Gortney’s notice said, because of an area of water that’s four times the size of Texas, ships and aircraft are unlikely to be close enough to provide support to vessels under attack.
In view of the pirates’ activity, merchant mariners should be highly vigilant when traveling through Somalia’s coastal region, the release stated.
The release noted that a number of merchant vessels transiting the waters off Somalia have successfully employed evasive maneuvers and other defensive tactics to thwart attempted pirate attacks.
For example, a Panamanian-flagged vessel employed evasive maneuvers and fire hoses to thwart an attempted pirate attack, according to the release.
Biographies:
Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, USN
Rear Adm. Michelle Howard, USN
Related Sites:
U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet
U.S. Navy Second Fleet
Related Articles:
Two Dozen Nations and Maritime Security Conference Enhance Interoperability
Multinational Task Force Targets Pirates
Crews who are armed to the teeth would stop this crap, instantly!
I say we just mine their harbors for starters, drop a few very smart undersea weapons that lie in wait and then attack by sound or magnetic signatures, revive the J-boats, camouflaged vessels with superior firepower and armor rated to withstand an RPG.
Our wonderful Navy has some very nasty underwater attack devices that are often hybrids of mine/torpedoes and other interesting types of weapons.
Piracy “is a problem that starts ashore,” Gortney added
If enough pirates “failed to return to shore”, the word would get out pretty quick.
Armed crews, ready and able to use them, is the only answer. Diplomacy in Somalia is a joke. UN sanctions are a joke. Soot them right out of the water.
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THE COVERT RADIO SHOW: “The Daily Blast”
“It is Short and Sweet Folks - SOMALIA”
(April 9, 2009)
#
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025599.php
(WALL STREET JOURNAL)
April 9, 2009
“Somali pirates double cross good faith negotiator, hold on to hostage”
#
ON THE INTERNET:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/somalia
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/somalis
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/somali
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/piracy
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/pirates
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http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/jihad
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53859
Navy Crew Arrives to Assess Pirate Situation
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 9, 2009 – Pirates still hold the captain of the Maersk Alabama on the waters off Somalia, but the Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge has arrived on the scene, a Defense Department spokesman said today.
“There’s intense interest in this, and I appreciate that, but I must ask that you appreciate the fact that this is an on-going and unfolding situation,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said to reporters at the Pentagon today. “For those reasons, I will not talk in any detail of what the military aspect of this may or may not be.”
Somali pirates assaulted the American ship yesterday. They briefly took the vessel, but the 21-member crew took it back and captured one of the pirates in the process. News reports say the remaining pirates kidnapped the American captain of the ship. The American crew reportedly attempted a trade with the pirates, and the effort failed.
U.S. Navy assets have arrived in the vicinity and are assessing the situation, Whitman said. “This is something that more than the United States Defense Department is interested in working on,” he said. Stopping piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden requires interagency and international responses, he said.
Pirate attacks in the region have spiked over the last few weeks. Part of this is because the pirates are responding to pressure placed on them by Task Force 151, a U.S. 5th Fleet unit combating piracy in the region, officials said. Also, officials added, improved weather in the region has allowed pirates to operate farther off shore. The Maersk Alabama was 300 miles off the coast when the pirates boarded.
Task Force 151 operates in a 1.1-million-square-mile region. “That is part of the challenge,” Whitman said. “It is a large area and you can’t be everywhere at once.”
Previously, Whitman cited economic problems as the driving factor for Somali pirates. They live in a failed state, he explained, and piracy is a way to feed their families. While Somalia does have an al-Qaida presence, the ship hijackings do not appear to be part of the terror network, Whitman said.
Defense Department officials are in almost constant contact with officials aboard Maersk Alabama, Whitman said.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53875
Pirate Hostage’s Safe Return is Primary Concern, U.S. Officials Say
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 9, 2009 – The safe return of the American maritime captain being held captive by pirates off the coast of Somalia is of primary importance, senior U.S. officials said here today at the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial.
Following ministerial discussions on Afghanistan, U.S. engagement in Asia and other topics, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met with reporters. They told reporters the captain’s safe return is of paramount importance and that the situation is being monitored closely.
“We obviously have a naval presence in the area and other assets and we obviously are looking at our options,” Gates said. “But, foremost in our minds is the safety of the captain.”
Clinton, Gates and Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Australian Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon met with reporters after the group discussed mutual security concerns at the ministerial.
Armed pirates attacked the cargo ship Maersk Alabama yesterday. The vessel was about 300 miles off the Somali coast. The unarmed ship’s crew eventually regained control of the vessel, but the captain offered himself as a hostage to forestall violence.
The captain is now being held by four pirates in a small boat that’s adrift at sea, as the U.S. Navy monitors the situation. The Maersk Alabama is headed to Mombasa, Kenya.
Concerning piracy committed off the Horn of Africa, Clinton said the State Department has taken the lead in establishing an international maritime task force, including vessels and participation from China, South Korea and Japan, to help confront the problem.
The coastal waters off Somalia encompass “a very large expanse of water,” Clinton pointed out.
“We’ve had some success from contributions from this naval task force,” Clinton said. “But, we also understand that the instability in Somalia is a contributing factor to those who take to the seas in order to board ships, highjack them, intimidate and threaten their crews and then seek ransom.”
If there’s good news, Clinton said, it is that no one so far has lost their life as the result of the Maersk Alabama incident.
“And so, like Secretary Gates said, we are following this carefully and monitoring it,” Clinton said. “We have an American citizen who is currently being held hostage by a group of individuals in a lifeboat.
“So, we are watching this and intend to do everything we can to ensure there is no loss of life,” Clinton said.
Also today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that President Barack Obama is “staying appraised of the situation” involving the captive American captain and the pirates.
The president’s primary concern “is for the safety of the captain and the rest of the crew on the ship,” Gibbs said. “And he will continue to receive those updates.”
The White House has an interagency group on maritime safety, Gibbs said, that includes interagency participation by the departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Energy, Justice and the FBI, State, Transportation, and the Defense Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“The interagency maritime group has had a number of meetings and conference calls about this,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, the Navy and the FBI are to some degree on the scene with their resources, and so the resources of our government are deployed in ensuring the safety and security of the captain and the crew.”
Clinton, Gates, and the Australian officials also turned to other topics they’d discussed during the ministerial such as the status of their cooperative efforts in Afghanistan as part of the campaign to defeat extremism, as well as U.S. engagement in Asia.
“Australia has been there with us throughout; has been there in the thick of the fighting and has lost too many of its sons,” Gates said of that nation’s years-long participation in Afghanistan security and stability operations.
The Australian foreign minister thanked Clinton and Gates for “the very positive and constructive and substantive conversation we’ve had today.”
The 60-some-year-old Australia-U.S. security partnership “remains an indispensible part of Australia’s security, strategic and defense arrangements,” Smith said.
Like the United States, Smith said, Australia, too, is concerned about nuclear-proliferation issues with regard to Iran and North Korea.
After hearing details of Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan, the Australian defense minister said his government is considering providing more assistance for U.S.-coalition efforts there.
“We did have, also, a very productive discussion about Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Fitzgibbon said. “Of course, the discussion today gave both Minister Smith and I a greater appreciation of the new (Obama) strategy and how it will work.
“And, we again came out of the meeting with the conclusion that this is a good strategy, it is a welcome strategy and Australia certainly supports that strategy,” Fitzgibbon said.
The United States and the Afghans “can use all the help we can get,” Gates said. “What Australia is prepared to do is clearly up to the Australians.”
Related Articles:
Navy Crew Arrives to Assess Pirate Situation
BLOG:
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April 09, 2009
“(Captain Phillips Hostage Situtation Update) Somali Pirates: “Please Pray For Us””
SNIPPET: “Naturally Reuters are in direct contact with the arseholes holding Captain Phillips hostage:
[...]Reached by Reuters via satellite phone, the pirates on the lifeboat sounded desperate as they watched a US warship and other foreign naval vessels close to them. “We are surrounded by warships and don’t have time to talk,” one said. “Please pray for us.”[...]
Sorry aresholes, my prayers are for the captain.”
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2225937/posts
Bush Administration Had Issued Plan for Pirates in December
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 04-09-09 | PETER SPIEGEL
Posted on April 9, 2009 4:16:51 PM PDT by GOP_Lady
WASHINGTON — In the waning days of the Bush administration, the National Security Council issued a detailed yet little-noticed plan for combating piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The 14-page blueprint, issued in December, committed the U.S. government and its military to securing the sea lanes of the Gulf of Aden — through which, the plan noted, nearly 12% of the world’s oil is transported — and laid out more than a dozen specific policy initiatives that the White House would take to make sure Somali pirates did not choke off the world’s commercial shipping.
But the vast majority of the tasks laid out in the plan either were aimed at making sure pirates never reached commercial vessels — encouraging ships to travel at night, increasing intelligence sharing, destroying vessels that appear outfitted for piracy — or ensuring that there were consequences for pirates that were ultimately caught.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2225963/posts
Al Shabaab shut down radio station in southwest Somalia
GAROWE ONLINE.com ^ | April 9, 2009, 11:35 am | n/a
Posted on April 9, 2009 4:46:44 PM PDT by Cindy
Last Updated: Apr 9, 2009 - 11:35:04 AM SOMALIA “Al Shabaab shut down radio station in southwest Somalia” 9 Apr 9, 2009 - 6:46:36 PM
SNIPPET: “BELED HAWO, Somalia Apr 9 (Garowe Online) - Islamist hardliners in Somalia have shut down an independent radio station, with the station’s owners saying they were not told why the radio was targeted, Radio Garowe reports.
The station, Maandeeq FM, is based in the town of Beled Hawo in Gedo region near the borders with Ethiopia and Kenya.
Mr. Hassan Mohamud Halane, the director of Mandeeq radio station, told reporters that the radio officials held a meeting with Al Shabaab officers in Beled Hawo town.
“Our meeting with Al Shabaab ended without success, because they refused to tell us why they shut down the [radio] station,” Mr. Halane said.”
SNIPPET: “Al Shabaab is a powerful Islamist faction that controls many regions in southern Somalia. The group has previously shut down independent HornAfrik Radio in the port city of Kismayo and Markabley radio station in Bardhere, Gedo region.
The U.S. government has placed Al Shabaab on the terror list and accuses the group of ties to Al Qaeda.”
(Excerpt) Read more at garoweonline.com ...
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=46383
“Administration’s Comments on Piracy Left to State Dept. Spokesman Thursday”
Thursday, April 09, 2009
By Susan Jones, Senior Editor
(CNSNews.com) –
SNIPPET: “Wood said the current hijacking shows the importance of “working with all of our partners.” He also talked about “some mechanisms in place” and the effort “to try to develop other mechanisms to deal with the question.”
“We do not negotiate with terrorists,” Wood told a reporter, but he did not answer a question on whether pirates are terrorists. “I don’t want to talk about what we may or may not do with this particular case.”
As for the instability and chaos in Somalia, Wood said, “We’ve been trying to provide support for the transitional government there; we’ve encouraged others to do so…but this is a question for the entire international community to deal with...”
President Barack Obama on Thursday refused to answer questions about the hostage situation off the coast of Somalia.
The president was asked about the incident as he met with U.S. homeowners to discuss refinancing mortgages. At the close of the White House event, the president was asked by a reporter if he was concerned about the piracy incident.
Obama responded: “Guys, we’re talking about housing right now.”
Reporters were then ushered out of the room as they usually are after such events.”
A Look back...
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2226151/posts
Somali Pirates Tied to Jihad
Intellectual Conservative ^ | April 8th, 2009 | Jim Kouri
Posted on April 9, 2009 10:59:58 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The latest crisis off the coast of Africa where Somali pirates hijacked a US flag ship is not something that suddenly materialized out of thin air. I wrote about it in 2005, in a column for NewswithViews.com. Below is the column:
In spite of the news media distancing the recent attack on a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia from global terrorism, intelligence experts believe this is just the latest operation initiated against the United States and the West by Al-Qaeda.
Recently a failed assassination attempt on the prime minister of Somalia, as well as the attempt to hijack a luxury American cruise ship, has intensified apprehension and fear that the shaky Somalian government is losing to Al-Qaeda and Wahhabi terror groups.
Three people were mortally wounded in a terrorist attack on the Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi,while he was visiting the war-torn capital of Mogadishu. He survived the deadly encounter which entailed an explosion set off near his convoy, according to security experts. Mr Gedi was merely visiting since his government is in quasi-exile in Jowhar. The danger in the Somali capital is so great that the transitional government must avoid setting up their headquarters there.
Since 2003, Somalia has witnessed the growth of a brutal network of Jihad with strong ties to Al-Qaeda. In fact, when the US forces faced a bloody battle in 1995 during what became known as the Black Hawk Down incident, it was Al-Qaeda joining with a local warlord who killed and wounded US special operations soldiers.
Somalia has been without a functioning national government for 14 years, when they received their independence from Italy. The transitional parliament created in 2004, has failed to end the devastating anarchy. The impoverish people who live in the ruined capital of Mogadishu have witnessed Al-Qaeda operatives, jihadi extremists, Ethiopian security services and Western-backed counter-terrorism agents engaged in a bloody war that few support and even fewer understand.
In an incident that gained American press attention, Somali-based terrorists armed with rocket-propelled grenades launched an unsuccessful attack on Seaborn Spirit as it rounded the Horn of Africa with American, British and Australian tourists on board. For unexplained reasons, the attack is being treated as an isolated incident and the terrorism link is being all but ignored by journalists. The term “pirates” is routinely used with only a few reporters calling the attackers “terrorists.”
The ship came under attack during the early morning hours when the heavily armed terrorists in two speedboats began firing upon the ship with grenade launchers and machine guns. They assailents were repelled by the ships crew who implemented their security measures which included setting off electronic simulators which created the illusion the ship was firing back at the terrorists..
According to passenger accounts of the attack, there were at least three rocket-propelled grenades or RPGs that hit the ship, one hit a passenger stateroom without inflicting injuries.
There are now some counterterrorism officials who wish to deploy a naval task force to try to prevent attacks, and kill or apprehend these modern-day pirates in Somali waters. Most travel advisories issued by nations throughout the world recognize this area as being among the most dangerous in the world.
There are some who oppose this combative approach fearing the opening of a new front in the war on terrorism. But these opponents of using force have no suggestions for dealing with these dangerous terrorists and thugs who prey on people on land or at sea.
During the 1990s, a group of Saudi-educated, Wahhabi militants arrived in Somalia with the aim of creating an Islamic state in this dismal African country. Also, the renowned Al-Qaeda established an operations base and training camp. They would routinely attack and ambush UN peacekeepers. In addition, they used Somalia to export their brand of terrorism into neighboring Kenya.
Leading members of Al-Qaeda continue to operate, mostly in secrecy, in Somalia and have built up cooperation with some of the warlords who control food, water and medicine. And the people of Somalia starve, mourn and die.
Thanks to Ernest at the Beach for the ping to this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2226616/posts
“U.S. Naval Institute CEO: Hit the Pirates at Their Bases in Somalia”
U.S. Naval Institute ^ | April 10, 2009
Posted on April 10, 2009 2:27:07 PM PDT by Saint X
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