Posted on 11/20/2008 4:29:56 PM PST by Mr. K
The battle with pirates operating off the coast of Somalia grew yesterday when raiders seized two more ships but lost one of their own in an uneven firefight with the Indian Navy. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) described the situation yesterday as “out of control”.
The surge in hijackings came as Saudi Arabia confirmed that a ransom demand had been made for the freeing of the Sirius Star supertanker, seized at the weekend with her crew of 25 and a cargo of oil worth $100 million (£65 million).
Two more vessels – a Thai fishing boat with a crew of 16, and a bulk carrier, believed to be Greek, with an unknown number of people aboard – were seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, bringing the total to nine vessels in 12 days.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
There, fixed it
Ah well, Barack Obama can see if there is any wisdom contained in Thomas Jefferson’s copy of the Koran to get us through this mess.
Perhaps the United States should build a Navy to combat this threat to international commerce?
The Russian Federation and the Republic of India have chosen to begin serious patrol of the waters around the coast of Somalia, as both the US Navy and the British Navy have abdictated their roles as world sea patrols.
Pirates aren’t out of jobs. I wonder if they have a good union.
Here is a little more on the response to the piracy, seems to be more hand wringing that action. http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnN20422156.html
Find whoever's job it is to control it and light a fire under their ass.
OK ... there was just another J-STARS contract let. Tell me there is a J-STARS/m (maritime) that has the software to filter out ocean waves. Get one or two flying figure-8’s over the region for an interval, mapping back who came from where and tracking where they went. Coalition forces then go in and scorch the erf. Surely someone has thought of this.
Time to kick the #### out of these scumbags. Why has this situation been allowed to deteriorate so badly? I know that it’s a vast ocean area to try to monitor, but I would think some commonsensical steps such as concentrating all commercial traffic in a few designated lanes with a special registry of points of origin and destination, traveling close to Yemen, etc. (so that pirates from Somalia have to cross hundreds of miles of ocean) and then prohibiting the approach of all smaller or non-registered vessels would mean that any vessels approaching the designated areas could at least be presumed suspicious — even if it’s not “shoot on sight” it would make it a lot easier to narrow down and focus upon which might be the suspcious “mother ships” for pirates, out of the thousands of ships which traverse the area.
Whassamatter, there is no such thing as radar, or satellite surveillance? By spotting out several arms of a task force strategically across the region, and maintaining air patrol to investigate suspicious activity, it should be rather a simple matter to pinpoint the source of these light boats used to make the direct assault on the targeted vessels, and with well-directed pursuit and strafing fire at the light boats, and surrounding and trapping the “mother ship”, it should be a matter of mere days before the blockade against the pirates proves successful.
Or the present situation may continue, where nobody takes the initiative and makes the decision of pursue.
DoD to Saudis, go pound sand. You towel heads make enough to fund a standing Navy and Army. Go get your own supertanker. Odds are it is rigged to blow. That is a lot of crude.
Time to withdraw The United States Marine Corps from Tripoli and redeploy them?
History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap. — Ronald Reagan
I’m wondering if he takes the oath on the Bible or the Koran - probably both for him.
Jack Sparrow....NOT
Time to carpet bomb the coastal areas of Somalia?
Most profound comment—what will he use to be sworn in?!
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