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| Africa Horn |
| Terrorists Take Tugboat, Tensions Triple |
| 2009-04-11 |
| NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Somali pirates hijacked an Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew Saturday, a NATO spokeswoman said, as U.S. warships blocked bandits trying to send reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain was being held hostage for a fourth day. The tugboat was towing two barges when it was attacked, according to Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program. He said maritime industry sources had informed his organization of the hijacking. Mwangura said the tugboat was U.S.-owned. A diplomat in Nairobi who deals with maritime affairs said it was Italian-owned. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters. Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO's Northwood maritime command center, said the tugboat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast as it was towing barges. She said 10 of the 16 crew were Italian nationals, adding that Italian government officials and the company that owned the vessel were involved in trying to secure their release. The attack took place as the American captain of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama was held on a lifeboat watched by two U.S. warships, hundreds of miles from land. We need to react swiftly, using the full might of our power, when piracy arises. This is not a Criminal undertaking that can be settled by Lawfare, it is asymmetrical warfare, only with a profit motive rather than theological extremism pushing it. We do not ned to hold hearings to try to understand the Pirates. We need to have a realistic deterrent in our navy, not shackle them with Diplomatic Resolutions. The Navy needs to be allowed to respond with overwhelming firepower and attack not only the pirate vessels but their bases on land. This Administration is showing the World just how weak it is. Expect more and worse attacks. |
| Posted by:Deacon Blues |
| #8 #5, too true. We have now suffered a great propaganda defeat, and we have given the Islamists more ammo to trumpet the claim that the US is a paper tiger. I am sorry, but the life of a single hostage does not deserve the response that has been given this event. Furthermore, the moment the FBI was mentioned I knew no good could come of this. |
| Posted by: balthazar 2009-04-11 23:13 |
| #7 Where the hell are the SEALS?? They could have come up under that boat and taken out the pirates bfore the sound of a burp cleared the air. |
| Posted by: Old BB Stacker 2009-04-11 19:33 |
| #6 Drinks! See ya in the Oclub, Frank! |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2009-04-11 14:31 |
| #5 It all comes back to trying to win a war on the cheap, and failing to convince our enemies that we really ARE the baddest of the bad when we're messed with. One ARCLIGHT strike on Eyl or Hardhare and this would end IMMEDIATELY. The people "advising" President Bush weren't willing to do that, and the problems continue to escalate. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2009-04-11 14:08 |
| #4 Barak/Jimmy Carter/Obama will do too little too late. He will wait until we have lost any elements of suprise and then sign off on some stupid Operation Rice Bowl event that will fail. I do expect the rest of the terrorist world to be taking note that they can take Americans with the full power of DOD watching and hobbled while our Sec State tries to get the FBI out of their offices and booked on business class flights so they can negotiate. Like all that bank robber and domestic negotiating skills will work when they dont even speak the language or understand the culture of the terrorists, this is amature hour, again! I'm not sure if the comment in yellow was Fred or Deacon but I agree with you. We need to hit them fast, hard, and with extreme violence. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-04-11 14:02 |
| #3 I'm with Deacon here. If we rescue the captain pronto, drop some bombs on some bases and make a point of telling them that we're not trying to stop them, but they can't attack our ships or people, we likely won't have to deal with this at all. They won't screw with Americans and we don't screw with them. Let India handle it. All we need is a mutual understanding that screwing with us hurts. Bad. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2009-04-11 13:50 |
| #2 "Uhhhh...Present!" /President Empty Suit |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-11 13:47 |
| #1 Terrible. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2009-04-11 13:36 |