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 ...