Defense secretary: Killed Somali pirates were "untrained" teenagers ("No Military Solution")

China View ^ | 4/13/2009 | Mu Xuequan

[tobyhill]

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Monday that three Somali pirates who were killed by the Navy's Seals to end a hostage crisis were "untrained" teenagers.

Addressing an audience at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Virginia, Gates said that the slain pirates, aged at between 17 to 19, were heavily armed but inexperienced.

They were shot dead on Sunday at the end of a five-day standoff with the U.S. military after they attacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship about 400 kilometers away from Somali and held an American captain as hostage.

"As long as you've got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small, there's really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids," Gates told students and faculty members.

[Leisler]

A lot of freepers still read the newspapers, watch MSM. Poor bastards, damaged for life.

[Mr. K]

You mean Bush ORDERED THE DEATH OF THESE POOR UNTRAINED CHILDREN?

I mean OBAMA?

(sorry, force of habit from the lamestream media)

[2ndClassCitizen]

If they grieve, we should be able to identify them and kill them.

[pissant]

And a green card and welfare to live in the US.

[Twinkie]

The Nazis who were trying to kill my Daddy back during WWII were about the age of the pirates, and I’m glad they didn’t succeed.

[Future Snake Eater]

No, something like this:

[OneWingedShark]

>Tar and feather maybe.

HOT Tar and feathers.

And maybe it’s time we “angry” & “bitter” gun-clingers start telling our ‘beloved’ ‘masters’ to f—ck off. (If the revolutionary war were fought today it would be called a domestic terrorist incident... maybe it’s time for the politicians to truly know Terror.)

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Is he related to the Gen Gates of the Revolutionary War ?
After the ( who took credit for the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga ) the battle of Saratoga, some in the Continental Congress ( the Conway Cabal ) wanted George Washington replaced and Gen Gates as CIC .....
But ? people forget ? Gen Gates capitulated in the battle of Camden and fled away from the battle field.

The Coway Cabal and aftermath

[trisham]

That’s a great scene. :)

[csvset]

Urban thugs are “untrained” as well. I see where they’re killing people daily. What’s his point ?

[jazusamo]

You’re correct, that’s exactly what Gates did.

I seriously doubt he’d feel that way if it had been him on the business end of those AK 47’s instead of Capt. Phillips.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Untrained? No practice pirating?

[Mr Rogers]

I’ve despised Gates for years. He sucked up to Congress and ignored most of the military advice he received.

This is further proof my instincts were right, at least on Gates. Here’s a hint for our SecDef - most of the bastards we fight in Afghanistan aren’t trained regulars, either!

Damn! My parents both grew up dirt poor. My Mom wasn’t allowed to wear shoes to school until after the first frost of the year. I don’t know why THEY didn’t grow up to be robbers, or terrorists, or pirates!

[bitterohiogunclinger]

“As long as you've got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small, there's really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids,” Gates told students and faculty members.”
Wrong, wrong and wrong. No amount of money dumped into welfare programs for these muslim asshats is going to make one iota of difference, and until the U.S. recognizes that these peoples religious brainwashing demands that they either kill infidels or make them slaves or pay tribute you are not going to control it. These people do not want to make nice, they want to make war. The answer is FU very much and bring it on. Gates is a moron as is the muslim in the white house.

[Tallguy]

I loved Rumsfeld because of the very reasons you mentioned. He is a true patriot and a brilliant man.

Critics often cited Rumsfeld's abrassiveness and (really) his decisiveness. They never thought that their views got a 'fair hearing'. Well, brilliant men are often hard to get along with.

[2ndClassCitizen]

In the absence of organized government in Somalia, who would provide training? Oh, since they are all muslims, the training would be provided by their racist bigoted piggish imams. Their training is crappy everywhere else, so why would it not be crappy in Somalia.

[trisham]

Critics often cited Rumsfeld's abrassiveness and (really) his decisiveness. They never thought that their views got a 'fair hearing'. Well, brilliant men are often hard to get along with

*********************

I remember the film of him helping get the wounded out of the Pentagon on 9/11. I hope he has some idea of how much he is appreciated.

Being brilliant, there must be times when the inability of others to understand a situation must be frustrating. Still, I would guess that in social situations he is probably quite charming.

[Seven plus One]

Nah, more like this.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

US History :

Horatio Gates:

( Gates planned to follow up by invading Canada, but Washington blocked the expedition.
A hero after Saratoga, Gates became Washington's rival, but in 1778 was discredited on the spurious charge that he had plotted with the “Conway cabal” to elevate himself over Washington.
Assigned to command the Continentals in South Carolina in 1780, he undertook a rash offensive with ill‐prepared troops and was disastrously defeated at the Battle of Camden by Gen.
Charles Cornwallis.
In 1783, he was associated with, but took no active part in, the officers’ aborted Newburgh “conspiracy” to coerce Congress into giving them backpay.
A novel combination of professional and populist, Gates managed short‐term militia unusually well, and was a generally competent, if ultimately flawed, commander. )

[slumber1]

here's really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids,

I'm all for that - let's get some boots on the ground to change the equation for these "kids"