Convicted Somali pirate, 21-year-old Abduwali Muse, was sentenced today in New York to 405 months, nearly 34 years, in federal prison for his participation in
[I]
“OSLO, Norway—A Norwegian shipping magnate was strongly criticized Wednesday for suggesting that pirates captured off the Horn of Africa should be sunk with their skiffs or executed on the spot.”[/I]
Here’s an idea … it seems that politicians and regulators don’t really care about much other than campaign contributions and trips to exotic locations in order to “study” how they can help the highest bidder or if something threatens their own ricebowl. For example, until a foreign airliner crashed in the backyard of an upscale NY suburb a few years ago the FAA could care less who was allowed to fly into the US. It seems that crash got a bit too close to home for their own comfort and that is why there are no flag of convenience airlines hauling American families to Disneyworld.
So, in keeping with the theory of keeping the lawmakers “invested” in their own well being, I propose a program whereby each American flag vessel sailing through the pirate controlled region carries a senator or congressman (or woman) on that leg of the voyage. Just to make it fair and ensure that all members of those esteemed institutions have an equal opportunity to personally study the situation first hand, a lottery should be held to choose the lucky voyager.
I am willing to bet that almost overnight the US would suddenly discover compelling national security interests in eliminating pirates who have just been discovered to be thinly disguised Al Qaeda drug smugglers who use the ransom money to finance illegal immigration across the Rio Grande for the purpose of influencing health care reforms and registering Democratic voters.
[QUOTE=gCaptain;47001]Convicted Somali pirate, 21-year-old Abduwali Muse, was sentenced today in New York to 405 months, nearly 34 years, in federal prison for his participation in[/QUOTE]
[B][U]IMHO[/U][/B]…we will probably “rehabilitate” and make a “example” of him…best thing to ever happen to him…federal prison…3 squares and a cot…TV…get parole in 10 years…enough time to become naturalized, secure a degree and an SBA loan…who knows he may get to become "Bernie’s Bitch"and launch the next “ponzi scheme” when he is paroled…all at the taxpayer’s expense!!
The morning news reports that the pirates who hijacked the American sailboat with 4 crew is being honored with a Naval escort to their pirate haven.
So, if the news reports of the past few days are accurate, an American flagged vessel was hijacked, A US Navy warship arrived and did nothing. The US Navy warship then provided an escort. Isn’t this like the police offering to hold the bank doors open for the robbers whose hands are full with the bags of loot, then providing a motorcycle escort so the getaway car doesn’t have to worry about traffic?
No wonder piracy is a growth industry and our defense budget is obscene, we waste men, fuel, and machinery making fools of our Navy, our Flag, and our presence in the region. Is there not a single politician or admiral with a sense of shame? That was a rhetorical question, don’t bother trying to answer it. All the jingoistic nonsense about nation, flag, honor, freedom of navigation, all that is meaningless garbage now. The Maersk Alabama was a fluke, I still believe it was one honorable man taking a position that was right and risking his career to do what he knew was right. What we see today is what our politicians and admirals are really made of.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper for the American taxpayer to simply pick a handful of innocent citizens off the streets of any city or town and fly them over to Somalia so the pirates won’t need a Naval escort and we can waste those ships someplace else where we might embarrass the nation a bit less.
There is a big disconnect between the Navy’s TV ad campaign and reality. The Navy was formed to ensure that an American flagged vessel could sail anywhere on the planet without interference, now all they can do (and this isn’t shown on the ads) is escort the bad guys and their American victim some hellhole in a failed state. We are a long long way from Tripoli.
[QUOTE=Steamer;47139]The morning news reports that the pirates who hijacked the American sailboat with 4 crew is being honored with a Naval escort to their pirate haven.
So, if the news reports of the past few days are accurate, an American flagged vessel was hijacked, A US Navy warship arrived and did nothing. The US Navy warship then provided an escort. Isn’t this like the police offering to hold the bank doors open for the robbers whose hands are full with the bags of loot, then providing a motorcycle escort so the getaway car doesn’t have to worry about traffic?
No wonder piracy is a growth industry and our defense budget is obscene, we waste men, fuel, and machinery making fools of our Navy, our Flag, and our presence in the region. Is there not a single politician or admiral with a sense of shame? That was a rhetorical question, don’t bother trying to answer it. All the jingoistic nonsense about nation, flag, honor, freedom of navigation, all that is meaningless garbage now. The Maersk Alabama was a fluke, I still believe it was one honorable man taking a position that was right and risking his career to do what he knew was right. What we see today is what our politicians and admirals are really made of.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper for the American taxpayer to simply pick a handful of innocent citizens off the streets of any city or town and fly them over to Somalia so the pirates won’t need a Naval escort and we can waste those ships someplace else where we might embarrass the nation a bit less.
There is a big disconnect between the Navy’s TV ad campaign and reality. The Navy was formed to ensure that an American flagged vessel could sail anywhere on the planet without interference, now all they can do (and this isn’t shown on the ads) is escort the bad guys and their American victim some hellhole in a failed state. We are a long long way from Tripoli.[/QUOTE]
I am absolutely positive that they are doing everything in their power to resolve the situation without killing the hostages. I don’t think the Maersk Alabama was a fluke, but more a well trained crew by all accounts.
And would you expect them to just start blasting into the ship and killing everyone?
[QUOTE=Steamer;47139]The morning news reports that the pirates who hijacked the American sailboat with 4 crew is being honored with a Naval escort to their pirate haven.
So, if the news reports of the past few days are accurate, an American flagged vessel was hijacked, A US Navy warship arrived and did nothing. The US Navy warship then provided an escort. Isn’t this like the police offering to hold the bank doors open for the robbers whose hands are full with the bags of loot, then providing a motorcycle escort so the getaway car doesn’t have to worry about traffic?[/QUOTE]
What argument is being made here? That you disagree with the rules of engagement that are in place? Or do you think that the American military is too reluctant to shoot when required?
I don’t see how we have enough information to draw any conclusions, I mean there are operational constraints as well as moral and political ones. What I wonder about is the decision to sail a pleasure craft in that region in the first place. Now resources that could be used to protect merchant shipping will be diverted to this case
I’m no fan of our policy of policing the Horn of Africa. But to be fair, some acts of piracy are to be expected.
To use an example: local police. The more there are the less crime there tends to be. But no volume of cops on the street will eliminate crime. Even a brutal dictatorship, with martial law and draconian punishments for violations, will still suffer some level of crime.
And that’s all this piracy off Somalia is. It’s a highly profitable criminal enterprise of kidnapping and grand theft for profit.
As mariners we know better than most just how large the oceans are. Even “small” areas like the Gulf of Aden and the 500 mile buffer around Somalia are massive. The volume of shipping threw there is huge. And the number of lawful traffic from small boats engaged in fishing and coastal trade is equally huge and utterly impossible to fully monitor.
Policing that area is a fools job. And anyone who believes they can transit that area safely in a private pleasure-craft is an equal fool.
True solutions to the problem are unpalatable to most people. So all we can do is play cop and try to keep most of the crime at bay most of the time.
Now as to the USN escorting the pirates to shore, I suspect the poster above misunderstands what’s going on. A direct attack on the boat will likely result in the death of all hands. The pirates know the United States is happy to kill them as we did the last time. The only trump card the pirates now hold is the fact that the pirates could kill the human shields/hostages if an assault to retake the boat began.
So the USN is doing what it must do. Keep close and wait for an opportunity to launch the assault.
If the pirates are wise they will keep inside, cover the windows and be sure at least one of their hands stays out of sight and stands ready to execute the human shields. They know their lives are forfeit. They know we want our citizens back alive. They have the advantage.
I’m not sure what the poster above wants the USN to do. I’m interested in hearing his ideas.
Now what I would do is simple, effective and flat out unacceptable in today’s society and therefore the United States would never do it. First, shell the boat with the human shields and send everyone to the bottom. Next, inform the citizens of the pirates home town that they have 24 hours to evacuate, then bomb the town to dust. This would remove any profit from the business and would result in huge losses for those that support the business.
In any case, where money is to be made, crime will follow.
[QUOTE=Robert;47142]And would you expect them to just start blasting into the ship and killing everyone?[/QUOTE]
No, I expect the naval vessel to pull close alongside and ask the lead pirate what his intentions are. I expect the naval vessel to stop the sailboat, by physically preventing it from steering a a course toward Somalia.
The pirates are not suicidal, they didn’t go out there to die or prove some political point. When they become aware of the fact that they are not going to reach Somali waters in that sailboat they will give up the hostages rather than die. If they kill the hostages, they will die … all that is assuming we are doing something other than making piracy safer for pirates.
As much as it would be nice to think that they are truly doing “everything in their power” the fact is they can’t or won’t do anything and more innocent voyagers will pay for our inaction. It would have been far better for the US if that naval vessel had just sailed the opposite direction when they heard the call for help. All we are doing now is proving to the world and every potential pirate that not only will we not do anything to stop them, we will make sure they get home safely.
[QUOTE=Steamer;47170]No, I expect the naval vessel…[/QUOTE]
The reasons that the naval vessels are not doing what we expect fall into two categories, the first, a failing of one sort or the other on the part of the Navy (lack of will, incompetence etc). The second category is situational. The tendency of people to believe things are the first category rather then the second is called Fundamental attribution error or bias.
The question is what do we know, or believe we know about the Navy and what do we know about the situation? Speaking for myself, I know very little about the situation in this case.
One statement I read on MSNBC was that several of the pirates were ‘known’ to security officers from the USN. This is the failing of the current system, and PC worries. They have caught, and let go several of these ‘pirates’ already. Of course they keep doing this. They keep getting let off! I feel the true response that will stop this behavior is simply killing the pirates whenever, where ever, and how ever they are found. This is not vigilante justice, but simple ‘eye for an eye’ retribution, meted out at the hands of the local sheriff.