Posted on 10/29/2007 1:57:33 PM PDT by decimon
The destroyer USS Porter enters port at Souda Bay, Greece, in 2006.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. Navy warship fired on and sank two skiffs used by pirates Sunday to hijack a merchant vessel off the coast of Somalia, U.S. officials said Monday.
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At the request of Somalia's government, a second U.S. warship, the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, is now shadowing the merchant ship inside Somali waters, the officials said.
In recent years, warships have stayed outside the 12-mile limit when chasing pirates.
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(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
But fun.
Think of it this way: Target Practice. ;o)
>> I resent that we use our Navy on request of Somalia’s government.
Think of it as “live target practice”. You know... a drill. Keeps all hands sharp!
See #44 — G. M. T. A. !
They had ALREADY hijacked the ship before their “skiffs” had been sunk...
I agree that it reads that way. Have to wait for some update to be sure.
WOOHOO! Go Navy! America’s finest! Thanks for the link on this thread to the other story, null and void.
5 inch gun crew needed some live fire exercise training.Hell, I think they have a 5 inch deck gun.We need to dig out WW2 destroyer and turn em loose.
The question is whether or not we care (or have the stomach for) being the World’s Policeman.
Because if we don’t, then who does (or has the capacity to do so)? Otherwise the question merely boils down to whether or not we want one or two Big wars per century (aka WWI & WWII) instead?
Because that’s what WILL happen if we don’t step up and act in that capacity.
Perhaps we should just let all these little “Somalia” incident/situations just fester until it’ll cost 500,000 lives later its all said and done for the next 30 years or so.
What I’d like to know is whether we, or the world, would be better off without Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan. And if not for those “policing events” where would be we be right now?
Certaintly conventional wisdom holds that the world would be a better, kinder, gentler place and the Pol Pot’s, Rwanda’s and Idi Amin - two A’s, two I’s and a gun - Dada would merely be figments of somebody’s horribly askewed nightmare.
If you should take a cruise ship someday you might think differently about our guys taking our the sea pirates!
I think 'river rat' (post #37) is probably right in saying it sounds like the pirates succeeded in the hijack. Could be interesting.
Right on!
They owe is one.
Well stated, raygun. Thanks for the ping.
I wouldn't want to trade .50 cal rounds, let the 3" Mount do it's job. No sense risking the sailors by making it an "even fight".
...err, that would be a 5”/54 caliber gun... not a 3” gun.
Ron Paul would say it's unconstitutional. But Thomas Jefferson and I approve.
And a bottle of zinfandel.
Our “Leaders” Republi-Con and DEMON_Crat alike have created a situation of Perpetual War for Perpetual Profits.
They are not interested in smothering this sort of stuff. Neither are they interested in dealing with it in a cost efficient manner.
2 Skiffs cost what 10-15 thousand dollars? On the High Side?
The AB burns up that kind of coin in a few min..Those skiffs cost millions to sink.. that is one way to lose a war. Go broke fighting it. Every time you see the US GQ Generals sending F16s with $100,000 JDAMS out to kill three Taliban or AQ you are watching the enemy win a fight. The WOT will break US unless someone learns that we are not made of money and if we spend ourselves into the poorhouse AQ and Taliban will win by default.
W
Cheaper to set a couple guns and a Squad of PS personell on all US Merchant Ships.
Other Nations can do the same at their expense or they can pay US to do it at a fair rate of compensation..That is unless you think the US Taxpayer thru the use of the US Navy should subsidize profits margins for Loyd’s of London Merchant Ship Insurance.
Not for free.
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