Posted on 04/18/2009 12:01:06 PM PDT by zaphod3000
Senior Pentagon planners are debating a shift in military strategy to crack down on piracy off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.
Longstanding rules of engagement followed by the U.S. and other nations usually prohibit dramatic hostage rescues like the one that saved Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, unless military forces can overpower pirates with low risk to prisoners.
SNIP
Some Pentagon officials now want to formulate policy to encourage more daring commando raids, according to U.S. military officials. They say a mix of special operations forces and conventional Navy assets at sea would be able to pinpoint pirate gangs on land and attack them once they move into water.
"Whatever happened to punitive expeditions?" says a senior military official, who is involved in discussions about Somali strategy. "That used to be part of what we did."......
SNIP
The 20-odd warships from a dozen countries patrolling the Texas-size Gulf since October are deployed under United Nations resolution 1816, which authorizes "all necessary means" to deter piracy. But how to act "comes down to the individual nation's interpretation," Navy Vice Admiral William Gortney told a congressional committee last month.
SNIP
European Union officials say the U.S. wouldn't find many allies if it tried to coordinate commando operations to save hijacked ships. "We don't want bloodbaths," an EU official says.
Many U.S. military officials say that in the case of a high-seas hostage standoff, time is on the navies' side, because they can wear down the will of pirates, who aren't usually driven by ideology -- and have limited resources.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Just shoot anyone who says “AARRRGGGGHHHH”.
How about just blowing their seaside retreats into the water?
That is EXACTLY what we should be doing.
Their ships. Their crews. Their problem.
On the U.S. side, we need to ensure the pirates that there is only one thing to be won from hijacking a U.S. flagged ship:
The original source for this is "some of my SEAL buddies" so this needs to be confirmed.
If true, it is unbelievably irresponsible.
In such a situation, the most precious thing is time and you lose nothing by getting the assets you may need to the scene as fast as possible. If you end up not using them, you have only wasted aviation fuel. If you end up needing assets and not having them, you end up with another Clinton-style "Blackhawk down" fiasco.
In the year 2009:
“European Union officials say the U.S. wouldn’t find many allies if it tried to coordinate commando operations to save hijacked ships. “We don’t want bloodbaths,” an EU official says.”
In the year 1801:
“...The effectiveness of Tripoli’s corsairs had long since deteriorated, but their reputation alone was enough to prompt European maritime states to pay the tribute extorted by the pasha.... In May, 1801, the United States refused to succumb to the increasing demands of the Pacha of Tripoli; in return, the Pacha declared war against the States.”
Hanging them would be a start.
Raids on the bases I might support. I’m hearing in this discussion echos of Mayaguez and Desert One, both high-casualty and one a terrible failure.
Hunt them using decoys; it works with ducks and geese!
Parrot decoys would probably work better than plastic ducks and geese.
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