Pirates Bring German Ship Into US Stand-Off ( off Somali Coast)

Sky News ^ | 4:14am UK, Saturday April 11, 2009 | Sky News

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Pirates are moving a hijacked German freighter into position as a reinforcement in a stand-off with the US Navy over an American hostage.

The Hansa Stavanger is heading to the area in the Indian Ocean where cargo ship captain Richard Phillips was seized, a pirate source said.

The 20,000-ton ship, which was taken a week ago between Kenya and the Seychelles, has a crew of 24, of whom five are German.

Fox News correspondent Greg Palkot, who is in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, told Sky News: "What the pirates are saying they intend to do is transfer the American and the four pirates from the lifeboat onto this other boat.

"They think the Americans wouldn't attack one or the other because they would be afraid of killing people."

The pirates holding Phillips have demanded $2m (£1.6m) for his release and a guarantee of their own safety.

[PhilDragoo]

If you destroy the pirates' boats, if you destroy the pirates' bases, and--truth be told--if you kill enough of the pirates, I think that will have a deterrent effect.

God bless, John Bolton.

[Star Traveler]

Well, they might try to, but you’ve got to remember, the other countries have had their ships hijacked for quite a long while now, and there are several other countries involved in this thing.

The U.S. is a “Johnny-come-lately” to this hijacking thing, since they haven’t had any Americans taken hostage on these ocean-going-vessels before this particular incident. It’s all the other countries who have had their ships hijacked. So, I think they’ll be “on board” to do something about it, too.

I know that right now “America” is finally paying attention to the problem, but that’s only because it’s just happened to Americans. The rest of the world has had their ships hijacked “left and right” for quite a long while now. It’s really a “world problem” — especially when you look at a map and put the “dots” on the map for all the other countries and their ships involved...

[SuperLuminal]

Time’s up. Blast the lifeboat out of the water now. This is getting out of hand.

[Star Traveler]

You were saying — If you destroy the pirates’ boats, if you destroy the pirates’ bases, and—truth be told—if you kill enough of the pirates, I think that will have a deterrent effect.

—

Here’s the thing that I would like to know about this piracy thing. Why is it that the U.S. has to take care of it. I mean, once they get the captain back — why don’t all the other countries who have been having their own ships hijacked “left and right” for a very long time now — why don’t they do something about it?

Are they all just sitting around waiting for the U.S. to do all the hard work? It sure seems funny that it’s their ships that are “dotted all over the map” down there, and yet they just let it go on, over and over again, all this time — a very long time before now.

It’s like they expect the U.S. to do something about it. I personally would like to see those other countries do something about it.

One very easy thing for them to do, would be for those other countries to set up military jets, on call, for when a ship is threatened. During the time the ship is evading the pirates, the jets will have time to get there (either from a carrier or from a base, one or the other). Then the jets can blow the pirates right out of the water and sink their vessels on the open seas.

That’s what those other countries should have been doing over a year ago or more...

I guess too many of them want to wait around for the U.S. to do all the heavy-lifting... LOL...

[AmericanInTokyo]

This is Ron Howard's new world. You know, a world without "American militarism". This is precisely what you get. They will come out of the wood work in every corner of the globe. This Obama Presidency will be one of the most internationaly destabilizing factors of the early 21st Century. The Japanese are starting to recognize it and write it in columns and reports.

Soon (not yet though) the books praising Obama and slobbering all over him, even using his speeches to teach Japanese the English language, will be no where to be found in the book stacks at Japanese bookstores. Just a few more months........there is NO WAY they will continue to respect WEAKNESS if they figure it out and see it for what it is. (How long AMERICANS take will be another matter.)

[PhilDragoo]

It was John Bolton who said killing enough pirates would deter the attacks--from the linked FOX News video.

Other countries apparently pay the ransom as a cost of doing business.

There is no international community.

As John Bolton said, the U.S. Navy is the law on the sea.

[Star Traveler]

Yep..., it’s like I thought, everyone else in the world waiting for the U.S. to do the “heavy lifting”....

Those other countries should have taken care of it a long time ago, since it’s been their ships who have had the problems all along and not ours...

[AmericanInTokyo]

I am getting so SICK of this Administration, and we are only just three months into this folly. They are going to end up putting us in one serious world of hurt over the next few years. This is just the prologue.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

One more thing before I close down...from Flopping Aces:

Bubble about to burst on Somali high seas thuggery?

****************************EXCERPT**********************

Posted by: MataHarley @ 5:52 pm in somalia Apr 10

The Somali pirates - which is more akin to mercenary kidnappings to me - had become somewhat the norm in the int’l news. But it’s never burst onto the US scene en masse until it happened to a ship flying US colors, and manned by US crewman.

Yet this was on the radar for quite some time as inevitable. As I noted in my Dec 19th post, even John Kerry was advocating “cautious” hot pursuit on the heels of the UN Security Council giving it’s blessing for any and every willing and able country to wage war on the sea thugs… at sea, in the air, and with boots on Somali ground.

At the time of my December posting, I wondered what then Pres-elect Obama had planned for Somali pirates. Perhaps he put it to the back of his mind, hoping it would happen to anyone other than Americans, and focusing on other issues. But the US POTUS has no luxury to ignore such events… and now the time has run out to turn the cheek on the unchecked piracy.

Unlike previous seizures of ship, the unfolding of this particular event differs in ways beyond it’s American connections. The series of events have created a standoff like no other, and brought the piracy issue to what may be the breaking point.

First the crew - trained in combating piracy without arms (???… like, why no arms???) fought back, and regained control of the ship. The crew captured one scumbag, money grubbing mercenary/pirate, while the pirates held the Captain. Negotiating a trade with human filth never involves honor, so it’s no surprise that Captain Richard Phillips ended up trading his own safety for that of his 19 crewmembers.

Now, the situation is four cockroaches with one feisty and brave maritime captain in a lifeboat that is surrounded by US warships, thwarting any efforts of pirate reinforcements to come to the rescue.

The Bainbridge, backed by drones and surveillance aircraft, was standing guard a few hundred yards from the lifeboat, which had run out of fuel. The frigate USS Halyburton and the assault ship USS Boxer, armed with about two dozen helicopters and attack planes, sailed to the scene yesterday.

According to Bloomberg’s account today, the Bainbridge is constantly monitoring images from a drone flying over the lifeboat.

Despite the constant feed, Capt. Phillips attempted escape was unsuccessful as one pirate dove after him, hauling him back into the lifeboat.

However the pirates have been exceptionally busy this past week, and according to one pirate mouthpiece, they’ve called the calvary. Other seized vessels under control of the pirates are steaming towards to the scene…. along with their captive crew members.

Mohamed Samaw, a resident of the pirate stronghold in Eyl, Somalia, who claims to have a “share” in a British-owned cargo ship that was hijacked on Monday, said that four foreign vessels held by pirates were heading towards the lifeboat. The ships include a seized Taiwanese fishing vessel and a German freighter carrying a total of 54 captured crew members from China, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines, Tuvalu, Indonesia and Taiwan.

“The pirates have summoned assistance – skiffs and mother ships are heading towards the area from the coast,” a Nairobi-based diplomat said. A Somali in contact with a pirate leader said that the captors wanted a ransom and were ready to kill Captain Phillips if they were attacked.

Their strategy appears to be to link up with fellow pirates and take Captain Phillips to Somalia, counting on the presence of the other hostages to deter the warships from an attack.

“They had asked us for reinforcement, and we have already sent a good number of well-equipped colleagues who were holding a German cargo ship,” said a man claiming to be a pirate from the lair of Haradhere. “We are not intending to harm the captain, so we hope our colleagues would not be harmed as long as they hold him.”

This now means the pirates, some of their most recent booty and hostages, are now all eyeballing the US warships somewhere hundreds of miles off the Somali coast.

Obviously these seized cargo vessels are utterly useless against heavily armed warships. Nor do the pirates, no doubt enjoying the national spotlight on their standoff, appear to fear the US naval forces.

Despite the odd picture of three warships and a lifeboat, and several pirate controlled cargo ships on the perimeter, the IBD has an op-ed today, commending the Obama admin’s aggressive actions.

Obama’s response was a resolute and overwhelming one that’s likely to demonstrate to bad actors everywhere that he’s not about to hand-wring or go to the United Nations, but show that the U.S. will come after its own with the full force of its military and security apparatus.

First, he ordered the USS Bainbridge after the pirates. As the naval destroyer shadowed the 20-foot dinghy of pirates and their hostage with an obviously prepared contingency plan, a P-3 Orion surveillance plane circled above.

Advanced communication equipment caught everything the pirates said and did on video. Then FBI negotiating crews moved in, offering the pirates their only chance to get out alive by freeing their hostage.

No ransoms. No bargains. No surrender. Nothing like the past ships they’d taken over. Just the prospect of overwhelming force, to help concentrate pirate minds.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, the Obama administration maintained tight radio silence, giving the pirate networks intently monitoring his response nothing to go on.

Obama refused to answer reporters’ questions about his plans, even as some in the media howled.

State Department spokesman Robert Woods was splendidly bland, saying “we are working to do what we can,” annoying the reporters in his briefing, too.

For the pirates, that leaves nothing but a Navy ship shadowing their every move and surveillance aircraft circling overhead as their sole information about U.S. intentions.

In a delicate hostage situation, this entire picture shows probably the most effective course. The professionalism and collective knowledge of the U.S. government’s best practices in a hostage crisis is clearly at work. It’s not force first, but the threat of force, with the saving of life paramount.

Most obvious in this is Obama’s leadership, today’s version of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, the only policy that has really worked for the U.S.

In one way, I agree. On the other hand… much depends on what happens next. The “threat” of force only works well when the other side doesn’t call the bluff. And in this case, what is the US Navy to do? Fire on the lifeboat and other pirate-occupied and unarmed cargo ships?

Or do they end up watching the ransom getting paid, thereby suggesting that the US military and government actually *do* negotiate with terrorists … er, excuse me “criminals”.

Ironically, the French won’t be having that problem. French commandos freed a yacht from piracy with a battle that resulted in the deaths of two pirates, and one hostage. This is the second such action against these pirates launched by Sarkozy… and so far they are batting a 1000, and taking prisoners.

Until yesterday, the only other boat to be freed by force from pirates was a yacht liberated by French naval commandos in September.

Somali pirates seized 43 boats last year and at least 11 so far this year. Roger Middleton, a researcher at Chatham House, a London-based foreign policy institute, estimates pirates have earned up to $80 million from ransoms.

[PhilDragoo]

Hussein is a curious blend of America-hating venom--and personal character weakness.

His mother of course hated America, was an atheist, sought out two Muslim Third World men.

Her father was likely on a Soviet stipend enabling him to join CPUSA pervert Frank Marshall Davis--who rhapsodized the Red Army and somethingized Hussein.

Alinsky tearing down America, Wright calling for America to be punished, Ayers the revolutionist ready to eliminate twenty-five million.

Now comes the skinny punk who couldn't pass a drug test, polished up at Harvard on a Saudi scholarship, trotted out to damage America in every dimension.

And with a psyche drunk on himself--he actually believes his own press clippings, a sure recipe for disaster.

He has prostrated himself before the Saudi king, keeper of the holy sites.

Licked the feet of Ahmadinejad and been rebuffed.

Shown himself a poof before Chia Head and Muslim pirates and Russian aggression.

Embraced our enemies and insulted our allies.

The look of the other leaders says, "I pity the fool. . ."

[Star Traveler]

Well, actually, the way I look at it, the U.S. shouldn’t be “carrying the ball” for the rest of the world on this matter of the pirates.

Let’s do a “count” of the ships hijacked, for the other countries — and then one for us. What would that be? About 50 to 1, or something like that... LOL..

Okay, let’s say it’s 50 to 1 (if it’s different, then let me know...).

So, the U.S. can contribute 1/50 of the effort to the pirates. :-) It’s about time that the U.S. quit “bailing out the world” — and we can do it right here...

BUT, if the world wants the U.S. to “bail it out” (once again...) then they can start “paying the bill” for once... I mean, if they pay ransoms (which they do...) then why not pay the U.S. for the costs of effectively patrolling the area with several ships and a carrier or two and a bunch of our jets being on call for hijackings. Why should the U.S. pay the bill and “bail out” the world... :-)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the IBD editorial referenced just above:

For Pirates, Obama's Big Stick

**********************************EXCERPT***************************

What pirate wouldn't think of branching into a new line of business, like a U.S. ship? That's what happened Wednesday, when one of the Somali gangs, using criminal networks to obtain shipping plans and expensive GPS systems to locate targets, went for the Maersk Alabama.

Bad idea. **********************************snip**************************

Obama's response was a resolute and overwhelming one that's likely to demonstrate to bad actors everywhere that he's not about to hand-wring or go to the United Nations, but show that the U.S. will come after its own with the full force of its military and security apparatus.

[Star Traveler]

I wonder how many of the Saudi ships have been hijacked. Maybe not too many. I don’t really know. But, if even one was hijacked, I bet they paid some good money for it... :-)

If so, then the Saudis ought to be paying us to solve the piracy problem over there instead of paying “ransom money” to the pirates. This is no time for the U.S. to be “bailing out” the rest of the world on this situation, when it’s really the “world’s problem” and not ours...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

They supply oil to us....and keep Iran off Balance....

[Star Traveler]

You were saying — I am getting so SICK of this Administration, and we are only just three months into this folly. They are going to end up putting us in one serious world of hurt over the next few years. This is just the prologue.

—

It’s actually the rest of the world and all the other countries who have had their ships hijacked and they’ve done absolutely nothing about it, except continuously pay ransoms.

I think the U.S. should stay out of the mess that the rest of the world has — unless — they want to pay the U.S. for patrolling the area and effectively taking care of the pirates. If they don’t want to pay for it, then the U.S. should stay out of it and not “bail out” the rest of the world... for their folly of letting this go on for so long, before now...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Indirectly....

[Star Traveler]

Well, that means they should have enough money to pay us for solving the problem, instead of us “bailing out” everyone else in the world... LOL...

If they don’t want to pay us to solve the problem, then we should stay out of that mess over there with the pirates. Leave it to the other countries who have had the problem all along and have done nothing about it...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Must quit.....I need help....this has been a very good thread...thanks to all....

[PhilDragoo]

In a sense it's ours. . .

GHWBush41 put us in Somalia. Our Marines and Ambassador were taking care of business.

Clinton42 fired the Ambassador and put the Rangers under the UN without armor or gunships.

Predictably Blackhawk Down darkened our world--and Clinton fled.

Osama bin Laden in the 1998 ABC interview said he was surprised at how quickly the U.S. fled--and was emboldened to do the Embassy bombings, the Cole, 911.

Now Somalia is stateless and piracy is rife.

Hussein has been in denial over any war on terror, at any problem with Islam at all--everything is the fault of America.

He tries to tell us "we're talking about housing" but events won't suck up to the boy wonder as the slavering media will.

Hussein has consistently criticized American leadership in the world--but now the world is watching. . .him. . .

He still appears the punk--but the American crew and captain, and the American Navy shows itself a strong horse--

--and will deter further attacks.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

FR Thread on the IBD Editorial...calls for a Barf alert:

For Pirates, Obama's Big Stick ,/b>