[decimon]

We're the Somali Coast Guard.

[Paleo Conservative]

I sure hope the US Navy left any survivors for the sharks.

[B-Chan]

[PGalt]

WOOHOO! Go Navy! America’s finest! Thanks for the link on this thread to the other story, null and void.

[raygun]

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.

[Larry Lucido]

We're the Somali Coast Guard.

Ron Paul would say it's unconstitutional. But Thomas Jefferson and I approve.

[rmlew]

Waste of a $1.2 Billion destroyer.
This is what frigates are for. The Oliver H. Perry's becoming less valuable as the SM-1M (RIM-66) cannot hit many low-flying cruise missles. However with a Phalanx, a 76mm canon, 4 .50 m2 machine gins, and a Mk-13 launcher for missles including Harpoons, this would be very effective. Moreover the Two Seahawks it carries can fire Hellfire anti-tank and penguin anti-ship missiles.
We could eaily deploy 3 Perrys for less than 2 Burkes.

[BigBlueJon]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917901/posts

If these are the same pirates that were involved with this Japanese ship, it seems like it’s not just a case of us following the request of the Somali government, but the U.S. coming to the aide of our Japanese ally.

[Phsstpok]

From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli...

We got into the power projection business under TR to deal with Barbary pirates. The tradition continues.

Plus, it provides some warm up for the navy for dealing with the Iranians in the gulf. Our tactics if we go after Iran over their nukes will be:

1. B2 and F117 (or are the F117s all retired?) strikes on key parts of the Iranian nuclear program along with Revolutionary Guard and Al Quds infrastructure
2. Anti runway cluster bombs taking out all of their air capability, including commercial
3. Sink every one of their boats in the gulf "with extreme prejudice"
4. Seal their ports
5. Destroy their gasoline refineries
6. Repeat as necessary
   

And then we sit in the gulf and wait.  If they try to attack with missiles we take out the entire area where they launch from with area denail weapons.  The main thing we have to fear is if they've managed to obtain a nuke, say a left over from the break up of the Sovient Union, and can place it as a mine someplace like the Straights of Hormuz, waiting for one of our carrier battle groups.

[nw_arizona_granny]

Ping.

[RDTF]

not sure about that title

here is the current one:

U.S. destroyer pursuing hijacked ship in Somali waters, military says

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/10/29/somalia.pirates/index.html

[shadowcat]

Any pictures of the flotsam?

[krb]

At the request of Somalia's government

Somalia has a government?