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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/world/africa/14pirates.html?_r=1&hpWASHINGTON — President Obama vowed Monday to “halt the rise of piracy” off the coast of Africa following the dramatic rescue of an American merchant captain, foreshadowing a longer and potentially more treacherous struggle ahead as he weighs a series of problematic options.
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With the “Black Hawk Down” episode in Somalia still etched in the American consciousness 16 years after two helicopters were shot down and 18 American soldiers were killed, Mr. Obama and his advisers are wary of becoming deeply involved in the region again. That wariness comes at a time when Mr. Obama is already trying to end a war in Iraq and win another in Afghanistan. White House officials on Monday played down suggestions that the United States could attack pirate bases on shore, portraying that as premature at best.
Other options that the administration has before it, according to experts, are deploying more ships to patrol the region, pressing commercial shipping companies to stop paying ransoms and to do more to defend their vessels, get other nations to help capture pirates and bring them to justice, and doing more to build up a fledgling transitional government in Somalia.
“All I can tell you is I am confident we will be spending a lot of time in the Situation Room over the next few weeks trying to figure out what in the world to do about this problem,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told students and faculty members at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Va., according to a military news service. While the national security team discusses the long-term challenge, the Justice Department said it was deliberating whether to try the lone surviving pirate in the United States or to turn him over to Kenya for trial. Mr. Gates said the four pirates were 17 to 19 years old, but he did not give the age of the one who surrendered to Navy sailors before the fatal shootout Sunday.
The rescue of Captain Phillips drew widespread praise for the Navy and Mr. Obama, but some experts warned that it could escalate the campaign by Somali pirates, who have vowed to take revenge on Americans and are holding more than 200 hostages from other countries.
Mr. Obama praised Captain Phillips for his “courage and leadership and selfless concern for his crew,” and he said he was “very proud” of the Navy and other American agencies involved in the operation.
“I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region,” Mr. Obama said. “And to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise. And we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes.”
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“There is no purely military solution to it,” Mr. Gates said at the Marine Corps War College. “And 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.”
http://www.examiner.com/a-1958841~Obama_vows_to_fight_piracy_after_captain_s_rescue.htmlMOMBASA, Kenya (Map, News) - President Barack Obama vowed Monday "to halt the rise of piracy," while shipmates of the rescued American freighter captain called for tough action against Somali bandits who are preying on one of the world's busiest sea routes.
Obama appeared to move up the piracy issue on his agenda, saying the United States would work with nations elsewhere in the world.
"I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks," Obama said at a Washington news conference.
The U.S. was considering options including adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate "mother ships," according to military officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made.
Some military strategists believe it may ultimately be necessary to attack the pirates' bases on land in Somalia. But few international allies have the appetite for another land operation in Somalia, where a U.S. military foray in the early 1990s ended in humiliation. And the cost in civilian casualties would likely be extremely high, some warn.
"That would be nuts," said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism specialist. "These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You're talking about wiping out villages."
The chief mate aboard the US-flagged Maersk Alabama was among those urging strong U.S. action.
"It's time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis," Shane Murphy said. "It's a crisis. Wake up."
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The American ship had been carrying food aid bound for Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda when the ordeal began Wednesday hundreds of miles off Somalia's eastern coast. As the pirates clambered aboard and shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men.
Phillips was then taken hostage in an enclosed lifeboat that was soon shadowed by three U.S. warships and a helicopter. Navy SEAL snipers parachuted from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the USS Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said.
U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 close to Phillips' back. The military officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.
Snipers killed three pirates with single shots shortly after sailors on the Bainbridge saw the hostage-takers "with their heads and shoulders exposed," Gortney said.
It was not immediately known when or how Phillips would return home.
Pirates hold some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off lawless Somalia.
Vilma de Guzman worried about her husband, one of 23 Filipino sailors held hostage since Nov. 10 on the chemical tanker MT Stolt Strength.
"The pirates might vent their anger on them," she said. "Those released are lucky, but what about those who remain captive?"
And we can land in Somalia to do a mission and then.... wait for it..... wait for it...... LEAVE after the raid.
I am sure the clever lawyers will easily be able to get the boy released, for the boy obviously was coereced into being a pirate by the older pirates.
Obama's decisive action was consulting with lawyers.
And we can land in Somalia to do a mission and then.... wait for it..... wait for it...... LEAVE after the raid.
That is kind of a problem, this already happened in the passed but due to mr Clinton and the incompetence of congress the US and international military forces pulled out of somalia after the nightmare (at least in the eyes of the american politicians) of "black hawk down".
The True Story Of Black Hawk Down
I don't think it will be easy to order an in land somali attack, if it isn't politically impossible.
And we can land in Somalia to do a mission and then.... wait for it..... wait for it...... LEAVE after the raid.
That is kind of a problem, this already happened in the passed but due to mr Clinton and the incompetence of congress the US and international military forces pulled out of somalia after the nightmare (at least in the eyes of the american politicians) of "black hawk down".
The True Story Of Black Hawk Down
I don't think it will be easy to order an in land somali attack, if it isn't politically impossible.
Operation Gothic Serpent was a textbook example of everything that can go wrong happening in one operation. Clinton's competence had nothing to do with it. If anyone is to blame, the US military vastly underestimated Aidid's capabilities. The tactic used was based on perfect timing and Aidid's people threw that off when they blocked the escape convoys from getting to the pickup points in Mogadishu. The US relied on surprise as the winning factor and when it didn't work, the fact they had no contingency resulted in "Blackhawk Down."
We're already stuck in two nations trying to build governments; yet, we should get involved in another?
The most prudent and cost-effective strategy right now would be to arm the crews or provide the ships with armed, physical security. Being attacked by the USS Minnow with a handful of idiots armed with small arms doesn't really justify the amount of money and resources it takes to divert US Naval assets to try and patrol the Gulf of Aden.
All talk and no action. We can easily destroy all pirate vessels and lay waste to any Pirate safe haven. And we can land in Somalia to do a mission and then.... wait for it..... wait for it...... LEAVE after the raid.
Obama is a Coward. I repeat if any American Merchant Marine dies because Obama did not act, I consider that a High Crime punishable by Impeachment for totally failing as the leader of this Country.
1993 is an example of why you don't retreat or run from a problem. By doing so, the end result is present day Somalia. There is varying alternatives with consequences.
And we can land in Somalia to do a mission and then.... wait for it..... wait for it...... LEAVE after the raid.
That is kind of a problem, this already happened in the passed but due to mr Clinton and the incompetence of congress the US and international military forces pulled out of somalia after the nightmare (at least in the eyes of the american politicians) of "black hawk down".
The True Story Of Black Hawk Down
I don't think it will be easy to order an in land somali attack, if it isn't politically impossible.
Operation Gothic Serpent was a textbook example of everything that can go wrong happening in one operation. Clinton's competence had nothing to do with it. If anyone is to blame, the US military vastly underestimated Aidid's capabilities. The tactic used was based on perfect timing and Aidid's people threw that off when they blocked the escape convoys from getting to the pickup points in Mogadishu. The US relied on surprise as the winning factor and when it didn't work, the fact they had no contingency resulted in "Blackhawk Down."
We're already stuck in two nations trying to build governments; yet, we should get involved in another?
The most prudent and cost-effective strategy right now would be to arm the crews or provide the ships with armed, physical security. Being attacked by the USS Minnow with a handful of idiots armed with small arms doesn't really justify the amount of money and resources it takes to divert US Naval assets to try and patrol the Gulf of Aden.
I asked about this in another pirate thread and didn't see a response... is there actually some reason these cargo ships don't have guns on them? I watched CNN a LOT during the crisis and all they said the ships had was water cannons and loudspeakers... WTF?
I asked about this in another pirate thread and didn't see a response... is there actually some reason these cargo ships don't have guns on them? I watched CNN a LOT during the crisis and all they said the ships had was water cannons and loudspeakers... WTF?
Two major factors influence the reason why merchantmen are unarmed. If they were, the insurance liability would be colossal, but more importantly, national and local laws at the ports can be quite restrictive. In many places, armed merchant ships would not be allowed into port since national laws apply, rather than maritime law.
The loudspeaker you refer to is a long-range acoustic device (LRAD). It's like a satellite dish that blast its target with a precise beam of sound ramped up to give excrutiating pain those in its path.
I asked about this in another pirate thread and didn't see a response... is there actually some reason these cargo ships don't have guns on them? I watched CNN a LOT during the crisis and all they said the ships had was water cannons and loudspeakers... WTF?
Two major factors influence the reason why merchantmen are unarmed. If they were, the insurance liability would be colossal, but more importantly, national and local laws at the ports can be quite restrictive. In many places, armed merchant ships would not be allowed into port since national laws apply, rather than maritime law.
The loudspeaker you refer to is a long-range acoustic device (LRAD). It's like a satellite dish that blast its target with a precise beam of sound ramped up to give excrutiating pain those in its path.
You are right about entry into ports but insurance will be to high, where do you get that from.
“There is no purely military solution to it,” Mr. Gates said at the Marine Corps War College. “And 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.”
