Originally Posted by Jedburgh
I'm SO looking on e-bay.
I'm SO looking on e-bay.
"But the bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet withstanding, go out to meet it."
-Thucydides
Even if you catch a break in the auction and get one at a low price, shipping costs could be a little steep.
Vir prudens non contra ventum mingit
The greatest educational dogma is also its greatest fallacy: the belief that what must be learned can necessarily be taught. — Sydney J. Harris
In all seriousness, why isn't the US Navy out there cracking down on the Pirates? I've seen more action out of the Dutch/French than the USN, which strikes me as odd.
We're the largest, and the Royal Navy ended lots of piracy in the 1600's/1700's.
While the navy is contributing in Iraq, it's pretty hard to send a AGEIS crusier up the Tigris, so what are they doing to end this threat to one of their core tasks (freedom of the seas)?
Seems to me a couple of sunk pirates would make some good examples, even if the economic driver is strong.
I'm guessing the Navy is still keeping busy supporting all the ongoing operations. I fully agree that sinking a couple of 40 foot skiffs would be not only a big morale boost, but a signal that piracy is not open for business in these waters. Piracy remains a major threat in the Straits of Malacca and around the thousands of islands of Indonesia (among other places). Obviously this problem has not gone away, and if anything, continues to grow with globalization, the increase of ship-bound good and the decrease of our blue-water navy coupled with continually high committments. Add to that the increased pace of the Chinese, Indian and Russian navy and you have another branch of the U.S. military working overtime.
Ideally the Littoral Combat Ships will provide anti-piracy support for regions such as this. Personally, I'd like to see an increase in Navy "COIN" operations and to some focused operations to destroy pirate boats and conduct limited strikes based on intelligence against the pirate bases of operations. It is not just the ground forces that must shift focus against an asymmetric threat. Piracy (and the great study on the Iranian speedboat warfare) clearly indicates the need for the U.S. Navy to giddy-up and increase their operations in these troubled seas.
"But the bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet withstanding, go out to meet it."
-Thucydides
Considering that Islamic extremists have taken de-facto control of Somalia,
Example I would be afraid of those pirated resources going to support terrorist organizations. This would make this a priority to me, not just a good moral booster.
Reed
I don't know
They probably aren't even worth it. Lets see thirty tanks against a buch of guys on smaller boats and the tanks lose
Any man can destroy that which is around him, The rare man is he who can find beauty even in the darkest hours
Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur
More from today's news...
On a Vital Route, a Boom in Piracy - Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post
Somalia Pirates Capture Tanks and Global Notice - Jeffrey Gettleman, New York TimesSomali pirates plying the Gulf of Aden in speedboats equipped with grenade launchers and scaling ladders have launched what the maritime industry calls the biggest surge of piracy in modern times, sending shipping costs soaring and the world's navies scrambling to protect the main water route from Asia and the Middle East to Europe.
Pirates from the failed African state of Somalia have attacked at least 61 ships in and around the Gulf of Aden this year, 17 of them in the first two weeks of September alone, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center in Malaysia. That compares with 13 attacks in the area for all of 2007.
"In my time here, I must say, this is the most concentrated period of destabilizing activity I have seen in the Gulf of Aden," said British Commodore Keith Winstanley, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces, whose members have confronted the pirates repeatedly since mid-August. The coalition, headquartered in Bahrain, includes the militaries of the United States and 19 other nations...
More at the Los Angeles Times, The Times and Agence France-Presse.For a moment, the pirates must have thought that they had really struck gold - Somalia-style.
The gun-toting, seafaring thieves, who routinely pounce on cargo ships bobbing along on the Indian Ocean, suddenly found themselves in command of a vessel crammed with $30 million worth of grenade launchers, piles of ammunition, even battle tanks.
But this time, they might have gotten far more than they bargained for. Unlike so many other hijackings off the Somali coast that have gone virtually unnoticed - and unpunished - the attack Thursday evening on the Faina, a Ukrainian vessel bringing military equipment to Kenya, has provoked the wrath of two of the most powerful militaries on the planet.
The United States Navy was in hot pursuit of the ship on Friday. And the Russians were not far behind...
Upping the Ante?
Today at MSN they reported another attack on a US ship, saying rockets had been used by the pirates. I guess I haven't followed this closely enough and was assuming the pirates were using only AKs and fast boats. What's the real scoop here, are they upping the ante or have they always had more fire power than AKs ? The devils had vowed revenge on the US after that SEAL team took out 3 of them.
hey mate
RPGs have been standard fare with these guys. As for the boats, they range from fast to barely serviceable
best
Tom
Thanks Tom. The older I get the more I want simplicity. It seems there could be a few strategically placed arms lockers on board these merchant ships - ARs, shotguns with 00 buckshot, .45s - I know there's an issue of weapons going into foreign ports but he**, stamp these lockers with big FIRST AID signs and if anyone wants to inspect, well, the Captain and XO can't find the keys to the First Aid lockers. It's a real sad state of affairs when the US Navy has to be commiting resources to guard against marauding pirates in cigar boats or whatever it is they are using.
Posted by Cavguy,This situation generates more and more questions, and hopefully a public demand for a firmer response. Whether particular pirates are tied into other criminal enterprises, terrorisim, or support for insurgencies, they still present a significant threat to our economy and the global economy, which is obviously a national interest. We should have a policy (one that follow up one), that if you attack our merchant ships, our people, or our allies, then we should send a very strong message.In all seriousness, why isn't the US Navy out there cracking down on the Pirates? I've seen more action out of the Dutch/French than the USN, which strikes me as odd.
We're the largest, and the Royal Navy ended lots of piracy in the 1600's/1700's.
While the navy is contributing in Iraq, it's pretty hard to send a AGEIS crusier up the Tigris, so what are they doing to end this threat to one of their core tasks (freedom of the seas)?
In regards to the French being more active, the French have always been more active in Africa than the U.S.. Despite all our naysaying about France, they do make some contributions to global security (or more accurately their actions defending their self interests have the collateral benefit sometimes of better global security).
The pirates in Somalia have attacked ships from the around the world (Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, SE Asia, etc.), so there should be enough political capital to send some Marines over the beach to take these thugs out.
Information Dissemination has some excellent discussion of Somalia and pirates.
Sam Liles
Selil Blog
Don't forget to duck Secret Squirrel
The scholarship of teaching and learning results in equal hatred from latte leftists and cappuccino conservatives.
All opinions are mine and may or may not reflect those of my employer depending on the chance it might affect funding, politics, or the setting of the sun. As such these are my opinions you can get your own.
Good post,
Selil, that was an excellent post, but I think the economic impact is much larger than the blogger assumes. There are other issues associated with this problem also:
1. Nation States are allowing criminal and terrorist elements to deny access (or at least safe access and transition) to key economic zones.
2. If pirates have the freedom of movement to hijack oil tankers, etc., so do terrorists, and it could be a catastrophic scenario if they hijacked a LPG ship and used it for a suicide attack.
3. The costs associated with insurance, private security, ransoms, etc. probably have a much bigger impact on the bottom line costs of everything from gasoline to the clothes we wear.
While I don't see it has a grave threat to our security, I see it as one we can manage if we would develop the appropriate policies to do so. The Navy isn't big enough to safeguard the passage of every merchant vessel, so what I'm proposing for discussion it taking the fight to the terrorists, not responding to 911 calls regarding pirate attacks. The post below refer mostly to the Malacca Straits, but they are still relevant.
http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/...icleid=2373531
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southea.../GH25Ae03.html"Significant impediments to the flow of oil would be a direct threat to the national security of countries that are highly dependent on it, particularly Japan and South Korea. It would mean re-routing vessels, which would lead to the sky-rocketing of freight and insurance rates, which in turn will have a devastating global economic impact. Thus, it must be kept open and safe, and the prime responsibility for this is with the three littoral states of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia" (Bernama, June 12).
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southea.../FJ19Ae01.htmlThe situation became all the more urgent following the recent decision by Lloyd's Market Association's Joint War Committee to declare the Malacca Strait an area that is in jeopardy of "war, strikes, terrorism and related perils". The decision to add the Malacca Strait to the committee's list of high-risk areas was taken following recommendations by the private defense consultants, Aegis Defense Services, who are said to have carried out risk assessments on the area.
As in most crimes, criminals seek to wipe out evidence or traces of their activities. In fact, the difficulty of locating evidence lost at sea accounts for the apparent callousness involved in maritime crimes as compared with land-based crimes. Robbery, for instance, may be followed up with murder so no witnesses are left behind to testify against the perpetrators.
Investigations by the International Maritime Bureau show a disturbing trend of increased frequency of violence at sea.
The responsibility of protecting sea lanes, therefore, lies with state governments.
Bill,
I was thinking that this particular situation is the perfect situation for PMCs. Up to including giving the PMCs Letters of Marquis. As long as the PMCs don't charge the merchants, and they've been hired by governments it would be a great situation. The original problem from history is the PMCs becoming pirates when the situation is settled.
Sam Liles
Selil Blog
Don't forget to duck Secret Squirrel
The scholarship of teaching and learning results in equal hatred from latte leftists and cappuccino conservatives.
All opinions are mine and may or may not reflect those of my employer depending on the chance it might affect funding, politics, or the setting of the sun. As such these are my opinions you can get your own.
Changing scene
After recent piracy the Indian government announced a small naval presence will be established in the area (See link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...t-pirates.html ). There was no detail, notably on basing and any relationship with the existing allied naval task force.
The allied navies patrol is called Combined Task Force 150; with ships from NATO, Japan, Malaysia and quietly Pakistan has been in situ for sometime - although Somali piracy was not the top priority (recent link: http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4686265 and the wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Task_Force_150 ). CTF-150 is seperate from an EU flotilla due to target Somali piracy soon.
Interestingly the Pakistani navy appear to have a tougher ROE for dealing with pirates, but the allied task force ROE restricts such robust action.
Whether sailors from the Indian and Pakistani navies can co-operate will be interesting to watch. I suspect the USN and others will take on diplomacy successfully. As for the pirates who knows?
davidbfpo
Last edited by davidbfpo; 10-30-2008 at 11:54 PM. Reason: Add links
War Nerd Update: Jack al-Sparrow vs. the Do-gooders!, By Gary Brecher. The eXiled Online, October 29th, 2008.
You can bet money changed hands, too. The shipping companies don’t like to talk about ransom, but they pay up. So there are a lot of Somalis flashin’ the bling and soupin’ up the cigar boats along the Puntland coast, yo ho ho and a bottle of money. I saw one of these tsk-tsk articles the other day with the headline, “What drives Somalis to piracy?” Dumbest question ever; even the subhead answered it for them: “Women, Money, Drugs.” Does that answer your question? Not to mention the fact, which I go into in the article below here, that Somalis are raiders, plunderers from way back. They like it. Even your fat little video-game nephew likes the idea, he just doesn’t have the guts to do it. What do you think he’s doing on his console up there in his room except blowing people away and taking their stuff? Somalis can go out and just coldbloodedly do it.
"A Sherman can give you a very nice... edge."- Oddball, 
Bookmarks