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| Africa Horn |
| Somali pirates try again, come up empty |
| 2008-08-23 |
| Kuala Lumpur - Heavily-armed Somali pirates shot at a Japanese cargo ship in a bid to hijack it in the Gulf of Aden Saturday amid an intensification of attacks off the Somali coast, a maritime watchdog said. The incident brought to seven the number of ships attacked in the Gulf of Aden in the past month, said Noel Choong, head of the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime BureauÂ’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre. The Japanese-operated cargo ship travelling from Singapore was sailing through the area on its way to the Middle East when at about 0808 GMT pirates in two speedboats opened fire at the vessel in a bid to stop it, Choong said. The ship increased its speed and took evasive action, managing to escape the attack with no injury to the 20 crew, he added. There were no Japanese nationals on board. Choong said the pirate mothership was spotted near the scene of the attack. "We call on the United Nations and the international community, especially those with naval assets to take action," he told AFP. "It appears the attacks are continuing and the pirates are looking for more ships to hijack," he added. Of the 24 Somali attacks, 19 occurred in the Gulf of Aden off the countryÂ’s north coast. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #12 If I remember well the first and early U.S. excursion to the Barbary Coast proved to be quite successful. I don't remember European protests then |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2008-08-23 21:19 |
| #11 anymouse, your response indicates to me you have been associated with the current Navy to long. What would Preble, Decatur, Bainbridge, and Truxton have thought? USCG/LE, AOR, CIC, DDG, DHS, ROE, HOA; where does hang the pirates from the yardarm fit in there? |
| Posted by: Barrack 2008-08-23 21:12 |
| #10 Maybe hanging every pirate you catch might be a start. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2008-08-23 21:08 |
| #9 Nimble...I'll agree with you...at least 1/2 way. Interdiction of small boats is a USCG/LE function. You could argue that we should have greater USCG cutter and LE craft in the AOR working with the CIC of a DDG. But we don't fund the USCG well enough to perform there own DHS mission in US waters. I understand what you are trying to say, and agree we should be kicking some butt over there. However, the ROEs for HOA do not support that mission at the moment...and that's the key take away. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2008-08-23 21:06 |
| #8 anymouse, The problem is the naval assets we have are not great for anti-piracy and we aren't doing anything to develop the capability. Instead we get DDG-1000. This piracy problem is going to grow if we don't start to address it. The Navy needs to get into the WoT, just as the Air Force should. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-08-23 17:44 |
| #7 Still, I want OP on my side. |
| Posted by: .5MT 2008-08-23 17:43 |
| #6 OP's kind of heavy on the ARCLIGHT suggestions. You'll notice he doesn't get all that many 'amen's from other regulars or from the moderators here. That said, it doesn't help when Europeans pay large ransoms to the pirates in that area. |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-08-23 17:33 |
| #5 Punish the innocent to discourage the guilty? Did it ever occur to you that the innocent may be unarmed, and in fear of their lives, just like innocent civilians in the US when in the presence of dangerous criminals? Old Patriot, your barbaric point of view is worthy of Al-Quaida. As a fellow Yank, if I could vote you off of the island, if the real world worked that way. The US is busy, but the Danes, for example, are lending a hand by sending in a navy vessel to help deal with the pirates. |
| Posted by: BigCat 2008-08-23 17:30 |
| #4 Unfortunately, the only way to stop this is to have a naval force on site 24/7. There's 1500 miles of coastline to cover. The best response is an ARCLIGHT strike down through the center of any town that harbors pirates. We should know by now where the mother-ship docks - if not, Intel's slipping. That town should be the first one visited. Pirates would become persona-non-grata everywhere afterwards. Sometimes, you've GOTTA USE the big stick. Otherwise, it doesn't remain a threat. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-08-23 15:26 |
| #3 Nimble...as a Navy guy a take some umbrage with the idea we have no Navy over there. The Navy assets in the AOR are under OPCON of JTF Horn of Africa. Commander JTF-HOA gets his orders through the chain of command from GW and the NCA. Strategic policy dictates the ROEs for the HOA AOR, and that does not include chasing down Somali pirates. If you have a beef it's with GW, not the Navy. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2008-08-23 13:57 |
| #2 If we had a Navy we could. I would not be surprised to see this become a campaign issue. It's serious in bot the blue forces. Their strategic thought and procurement are so screwed up that it is a threat to national security. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-08-23 12:51 |
| #1 why not call in the location of the Mother Ship? Put a stop to this nonsense, now |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-08-23 11:52 |