Posted on 11/18/2001 6:44:24 AM PST by Peach
True. Peach's faith in the investigative power of the average FReeper is NOT misplaced, IMO.
I think I'll take each's advice, and go watch football.
BTW, thanks to Peach for posting. One of the great things about FR is that we can post something we've "heard" and ask for updates, and fellow FReepers ALWAYS come through. Best news source is HERE AT FreeRepublic!
A MILLION kids?? Saddam is a demon, and the deaths of his people are HIS fault, as a mad dictator, a tyrant and a terrorist.
I really don't think the US sunk the tanker. When we go for Saddemon, it'll be with bombs/guns blazing. After all, we target Iraqi anti-aircraft installations as fast as the idiot can build them. If he spent more money on social infrastructure, and a whole lot less on his war toys, IMO his people would be fine and we'd drop our sanctions.
I am not familiar with maritime law or standard operating procedure. Assume that it was legally flagged as another country. Why would they allow IRAQ to smuggle oil IF they knew they were smuggling oil unless they were aiding and abetting or are you saying that if they are legally flying the flag it is no longer IRAQ smuggling oil but that country legally bringing in oil
If they didn't know it, why were they allowing IRAQ to fly their flag?
You are probably right, the Iraqi's might have scuttled it to get rid of the evidence. But I'm sure this is not the first tanker out of Iraq with contraband. So why now, at this particular time are we suddenly boarding Iraqi ships? I'd say our aggressiveness has been raised a notch or two at the least. Not a bad thing either!
Sunday November 18 11:17 AM ET
Ship Sinks with Banned Iraqi Oil, Pentagon Says
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An overloaded tanker allegedly smuggling 1,700 metric tons of Iraqi oil sank on Sunday in the North Arabian Gulf killing at least one Iraqi crew member after being boarded by a U.S. team enforcing U.N. sanctions, the Pentagon (news - web sites) said.
Two members of the eight-member boarding party from the USS destroyer Peterson were missing and a search was under way, U.S. officials said. Also missing were three of the 14 Iraqi crew members of the 1,734-tonSamra, which had been flying the flag of the United Arab Emirates, said Air Force Maj. Jay Steuck, a Pentagon spokesman.
Ten Iraqi crew members were rescued and the body of another was recovered by the U.S. Navy (news - web sites), he said.
Navy search and rescue helicopters from the Peterson and two companion ships were hunting for the missing, said a Navy spokesman at U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain.
He said there was no indication that violence had caused the predawn sinking and no shots were fired.
The Samra, also known as M/V Navigator 1, had been ''grossly'' overloaded when it sank in international waters at about 4:45 a.m. EST (0945 GMT), the Navy spokesman said.
Interviewed on CBS' ``Face the Nation,'' Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said: ``The best information we have as of now is that this was one of many tankers that we seize and confiscate, and apparently it was very rusty and started sinking, and we put people on board to figure out what was happening, I don't think it's more than that.''
The ship had been under observation by the Peterson, a Spruance-class destroyer based in Norfolk, Virginia, for alleged smuggling in violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed after Iraq's Aug. 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Bags of grain had been piled on top of the tanker to hide its black-market cargo, said another Pentagon spokesman, Marine Maj. Ben Owens. He said the ship had been under the control of its Iraqi captain when it went down. Every effort would be made to repatriate the 10 Iraqis rescued from the Samra, Owens said.
Did you ever know one who COULD?
Why would a country allow them to use the boat to smuggle goods. That's easy. In most cases they don't know what the ship is doing and if they did you choose a country that will turn a blind eye to how and what you are doing. The flagging of vessels generates revenue for the country offering the flagging rights. It's kind of like Rick's bar in Casablanca where Captain Louis Renault is shocked that gambling is going on at Rick’s.
In this case I’d be willing to bet that the UAE knew it was an Iraqi ship and that it would be used in smuggling and the proper funds changed hands to make it happen. Everyone knows this goes on and that’s why the US ship intercepted the ship and boarded it to inspect the cargo and documents. If it didn’t happen we wouldn’t have boarded the ship in the first place.
Of course it’s the Iraqi’s smuggling oil and they probably owned the ship as well. My guess is that the ship will be owned by a shell corporation owned by another shell corporation owned by another shell corporation each of them in countries with strong secrecy laws with regards to corporations. The hull and maybe the cargo were also probably insured against total loss rather than partial loss and that they are going to try to collect for the loss of both or at least the hull. There are some outs for the insurance companies like intentional sinking but that’s going to be tough to prove.
It's obvious what must have happened: The UAE tanker must have gotten tossed around by the wake turbulence from the US ship, and the tanker hull broke apart.
Mark W.
article implies
That is a pretty thin implication. You may infer that they are wounded, I'll wait for further detail.
The crew most likely scuttled it.
ROFLMAO.
WINDSOR -- Sun shone brightly Wednesday on the yellow ribbon posted at the Windsor home of Navy officer Vincent Parker. Family and friends sat quietly on the porch waiting for news.
Parker is missing and presumed dead after the Iraqi cargo ship he was inspecting Sunday sank about 80 miles southeast of Kuwait. Parker, a 38-year-old Petty Officer 1st Class, was a 19-year veteran of the Navy.
Also missing is Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Johnson, 21, whose wife lives in Virginia Beach. Three Iraqi sailors are feared lost as well.
Parker lived in the Twin Ponds Mobile Home Park, off Route 258, with his wife, Charlotte, and their two children, Vincent Jr. and Rachel. The family moved into the park in 1995, said Sue Jones, manager there.
Members of Parker's family didn't want to comment Wednesday.
Vincent and Charlotte Parker both served on the Windsor Rescue Squad for several years. Vincent was a trained EMT and had gotten state certification to drive the ambulance on emergency runs.
"If you needed something, he was always standing ready to help out," said Kathy Sizemore, who served with Parker on the rescue squad.
"He was a good, kind person. He gave of his time freely."
Sizemore said often when he was off work during the day, Parker would come down to drive the ambulance if she was the only technician on duty. Parker had to leave the volunteer squad when his deployments began to take up too much of his time.
Parker was assigned to the Norfolk-based Peterson, which sailed with the carrier Theodore Roosevelt battle group on Sept. 12 for a scheduled six-month overseas deployment.
The U.S. team boarded the tanker Samra, which was flying the flag of the United Arab Emirates, early Sunday. It was thought to be smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of U.N. sanctions, officials said.
Pentagon officials described the ship as overloaded and in poor condition. Weather may have contributed to the sinking and may have delayed initial search efforts, according to reports.
Those who worked on the rescue squad with Parker said they have been deeply moved by his disappearance. Many still hold out hope he will be found, including Sizemore. "I'm still praying that he's alive," she said. "I do believe in miracles."
Neighbors of the Parkers also have been very upset by the news. Cars lined up outside the Parker home Wednesday as people came by with food and condolences.
"We're just supporting her the best we can," Jones said. "He was just a super person."
In the time the Parkers have lived in Windsor, Jones said Vincent has been active in the neighborhood crime watch group and with a local softball league.
Both children attend Windsor Middle School -- Vincent in the 8th grade and Rachel in the 7th. Principal Calvin Bullock said both seemed to be holding up well and had been to school this week.
Bullock said he would visit the family and see what help the school could offer them as they grieve.
Navy casualty assistance officers have been assigned to help the family. Counseling and other services are also in place to help families deal with their loss.
"Families are not out there on their own," said Lt. Cmdr. Terry Sutherland, a spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet Naval Surface Force in Norfolk. "The support is there immediately so that the person does not have to figure out what to do next."
A Navy spokesman in Bahrain said that search and recovery efforts are ongoing for the two sailors and the Iraqi sailors who went down with the tanker.
Staff writer Rick Rogers contributed to this report.
Jessie Halladay can be reached at 357-6392 or by e-mail at jhalladay@dailypress.com
Copyright © 2001, Daily Press
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