Posted on 09/26/2008 9:52:08 PM PDT by HAL9000
Excerpt -
MOSCOW — A Russian warship on Friday rushed to intercept a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 battle tanks and ammunition that was seized by pirates off the Horn of Africa — a bold hijacking that heightened fears about the surging piracy and high-seas terrorism.~ snip ~
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Not really. At least when US forces are attacked by technicals, disabling them can be accomplished with a pistol.
Not so much with tanks.
The Ukranians have 7 ROROs in their merchant marine.
Bingo, that’d be it (you saved me the trouble). All it has to do is pull up to a standard commercial dock, and the tanks can just drive off.
We probably have forces in the area. I wonder what it’d be worth to them to get their stuff back? Maybe keep their hands off the oil pipeline valves?
You’re assuming the Russians have a naval unit that can deal with them. Remember, the Moskva, their current Black Sea flagship, was *heavily* damaged by RPG fire from small Georgian gunboats.
Re What were the tanks to be used for in Kenya. One is going to be Obama’s half-brother George’s new house.
In recent years? Clancy had them using one in "Red storm Rising", which was the second book he wrote. Right after "Hunt for Red October". "Storm" was first published 22 years ago.
Soviet Naval Tactics by Milan N. Vego, Published by the Naval Institute Press in 1992 describes Soviet use of them.
Is everyone who sails the Red Sea so damned dumb that they can’t carry a contingent of soldiers/sailors to kill the pirate bastards?
Our guys can only fire warning shots at 400 yards. Shit, my son was a qualified M249 sharpshooter at a range of 1000 yards. He got a few terrorists in Iraq. No warning shots, only kills. That’s the way it should be.
When are we going to get some balls and take out these SOBS?
They might AirDrop some special forces in on them.
I’m talking about Russian export sales. I know they used them for military deployments, but IIRC the use of ROROs to ship their tanks to customers is somewhat new.
Why is it, the more I hear and learn about Somalia — the more kindly I regard ethnic cleansing?
And boy, are those pirates' arms tired!
According to the BBC, the tanks were to be transited through Kenya to Southern Sudan. I suspect they were intended for the SPLA forces which currently are under a fragile ceasefire with the Khartoum government. If that is the case, there may be more to this story than is presented.
International “Law of the Sea”
Not just a good idea, it’s the LAW. (well, signed but not ratified)
http://www2.spfo.unibo.it/spolfo/SEALAW.htm
Considered bad manners just to up and shoot at folks don’t cha no.
And what were the tanks to be used for in Kenya?
Dictators like their toys.
Whats nice about the KGB getting involved is that they can torture then kill every pirate.
Comrade Robert Fisk shall not utter a word.
Why were Russian tanks at sea off the coast of Africa?
Comrade Robert Fisk needs to be tortured and killed as well, the filthy bastard.
I agree. Those "pirates" might be US Navy SEALS intercepting Russian tanks.
If the "pirates" get away and the ship sinks under mysterious circumstances, it may have been some covert actions on our part.
Why were the Russian tanks at see, in a pirate zone, without troops to protect them?
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