Freed sailors: 'Pirates are animals'

CNN ^ | 24th Nov., 2008 | CNN

[Paul R.]

Could be. I have to admit that despite having a few Indian business associates and friends, Goa is a place (Indian State) I know little about. Am reading up on it on Wikipedia now... :-)

[MyTwoCopperCoins]

Alister and Fernando are common names in India, among the Goan Christians.

[moreofthesame]

There are almost zero US merchant ships operating in that region.

[DouglasKC]

Okay, these are huge ships. Why not just have a guy on board the big ship with a RPG and then if they try coming up with their little boats lob a few their way?

[moreofthesame]

India will get 2 more indigenously built ACs in the next decade other then the Gorshkov. To handle piracy you dont need ACs, frigates like the INS Tabar are more then enough and Indian navy has sufficient numbers.

[AirForceBrat23]

I just found out I’ll be spending New Year’s Eve in Goa!

[JohnBovenmyer]

Yes, the indigenous ACs should better serve India’s needs, eventually. Frigates can handle individual pirates on the high seas, as India recently proved. But I’m not confident they can remove their land bases. I don’t know how they are equipped for surface bombardment. Somehow I don’t see India’s frigates pulling a Stephen Decatur, although I’d be delighted to be proven wrong on that. With a carrier they could apply Clinton’s anti-Serb strategy which would work if they were willing to take the PR hit. Although I’m still fond of hitting the pirates through their overlooked and vulnerable rear; interdict the khat supply. They’re all addicted, the plant only has a few day shelf life and it all has to be imported, mainly from Kenya. The PR would be much better and the bad guys would probably be more annoyed than if their nominally worthless neighborhood was destroyed.

[Paul R.]

Hey, that’s pretty cool. From what I read yesterday, it doesn’t sound like too bad a place. Rather interesting, in fact.

[moreofthesame]

“But I’m not confident they can remove their land bases. I don’t know how they are equipped for surface bombardment. Somehow I don’t see India’s frigates pulling a Stephen Decatur, although I’d be delighted to be proven wrong on that.”

Problem is not the lack of equipment. If its just a matter of hitting pirate harbors India's long range maritime aircrafts namely the IL-38s, Kamov helos and Tu-142 bears (the same used by Russians to scare UK) with ATGMs can do the jobs. Plus add to that the surface mounted Pj-10 brahmos missiles on ships. Not just pirates even the Somali navy would not be able to withstand a fullscale IN attack.

The real problem here is whether India would be willing to go that far with the UN, EU, international laws and the rest of the world breathing down their necks. Same applies for the US.

[JohnBovenmyer]

The real problem here is whether India would be willing to go that far with the UN, EU, international laws and the rest of the world breathing down their necks. Same applies for the US.

I've got a problem with international "laws" that give pirates any "rights." We need to revert to the legal status quo ante liberalism. Laws should deter crime. The death penalty is a good thing and saves lives, especially when guilt is obvious. Like caught in the act piracy. People need to be more afraid of the legal consequences of supporting piracy than of the pirates. Those openly making money supporting the pirates are guilty of conspiracy and legally deserve the same end as the physical pirates. Any hostages lost in the process are the sole responsibility of the pirates and are martyrs preventing greater future losses. The UN can go blow hot hair, which is all it ever does anywhere. The EU can shut up, stop paying pirates tribute and start doing something about the problem once a better solution has been demonstrated. Just as happened 200 years ago. And I suspect India is more motivated now than a week ago.