A time to arm?

[Bill Glasheen]

With the recent increased frequency of brazen pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia with nothing more than a band of thugs in a boat with small arms, one wonders if a paradigm shift is in order.



There's no way our Navy - reduced in size as of late - or any other can cover all the oceans and protect all commercial vessels. Meanwhile...

The standoff represents a test for the Obama administration, which has the world's most powerful navy at its disposal but no easy way to defeat ragtag pirates who have used small arms to grab the world's attention. Crew members don't carry firearms because of safety concerns

- WSJ

The risk to the pirates is small compared to the potential millions they can get in ransom money. That beats an average existence in their country. To them, it's just a way to make a living.

A piracy expert at RAND suggests the best way to stop this is to root them out on land in their havens. You know... like how we root out bad guys in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like we really need to get engaged in more land battles and nation building.

Thoughts?

- Bill

[Mary S]

First thought: How does one become a "piracy expert"

(sorry Bill couldn't resist)

Second thought: Why does it always have to be about fighting? Do rich countries have pirates (I guess you'd have to be a pirary expert to answer that question).

Third thought: Instead of beating the problem to death, why not try to fix it?

Happy Easter

[Bill Glasheen]

Instead of beating the problem to death, why not try to fix it?

Happy Easter

We're all ears, Easter Bunny!

Inquiring minds - and world leaders - want to know what you have in mind.

- Bill

[Mary S]

Well I'm no bunny and I'm certainly not a world leader but I know that Somalia has been in a state of leadership flux for a long time.

I think that education and aid might be a helpful start - Somalia has been devastated by war and infighting - perhaps if the parties came together with a moderator some inroads could be made. They're system functions mostly on a clan-based system. Perhaps the clans could be invited to talks on how to improve the country.

Somalia virtually has no telecommunications systems. That should be taken care of....teach the people how to build.

Schools are private - make them public.

Not complete list by any means but I'm just so sick of war and fighting....

[Glenn]

Thoughts?

On the one hand the owners could arm the ships. This would depend on the laws of the countries in which the ships are registered. If they do arm, I would recommend the crew get some good training, otherwise they likely would simply become more of a danger to themselves then the pirates.

Crew members don't carry firearms because of safety concerns

On the other hand, as this indicates, how much might arming the crews escalate the situation. Right now these attacks rarely result in death or injury for the crews or pirates, if the crews start shooting that might change for both sides. Recall the one explorer (I forget his name) who was killed off South America a few years ago after he fired at some bandits as they were leaving his boat. By all accounts he would have survived if he had not fired on them. If the crews are going to take on the pirates, they better be prepared for the consequences.

With the tiny boats the pirates are using, how are they actually boarding these large ships? Another angle to consider is some engineering solution to make it more difficult for the pirates to get on board. It's not like they are swinging yardarm to yardarm anymore, they are having to go from a very low deck up to a very high deck in most cases.

[Mary S]

It's not like they are swinging yardarm to yardarm anymore, they are having to go from a very low deck up to a very high deck in most cases.

Glenn....hee, hee, are you a secret piracy expert? Happy Easter!

[IJ]

I don't know how much traffic goes through that area... probably thousands of ships, too many for us to really staff. But one wonders whether a few well armed soldiers on larger ships would deter the pirates. Especially if a few pirate missions end up being atomized. Blackwater has begun offering protection on the high seas, as well. And I would sure want to have arms if I were faced with pirates (and the requisite training, as well). I have heard the pirates have to race around the boat looking for a docking site then have to make their way up, as was noted earlier, fairly substantial distances. One would think that for a reasonable cost (considering how much a lost ship and ransoms or even insurance run) ships could be designed with automated or remote controlled systems to repel borders. If there's only a few spots where pirates might board, for example, why not have some, say, flame thrower, or gas based deterrents positioned there? Pouring flaming oil was new technology back in the dark ages, so there must be some way to accomplish this. Or cameras around the boat so people could see where the pirates were attacking from more clearly.

Some really obnoxious behavior... needs some floating Castle Doctrine...

[Dale Houser]

A short-term solution would be Directed High Energy Weapons, but alas, they are not yet perfected. Options would be High Energy Laser (HEL) and High Power Microwave (HPM) Weapons.

Used in conjunction with actually fixing Africa's long-term, political, economic, corruption and educational problems, (not just Somalia's) -this would do the trick.

There, Problem theoretically solved - I should be President...theoretically.

Happy Passover and Easter to all! And Happy Pascha\Easter next week to the Eastern Orthodox Christians out there!

[f.Channell]

They've been fighting off the pirates with water cannons. A big squirt gun against ak-47's. The insurance companies are blamed for not allowing guns on board. Remember pirates could sign on with the crew also and guns on board would be of great assistance. So a 2-3 million dollar ransom is a better deal, or has been.

Mary,
I'm not sure if you could take a piracy course at Uechi summer camp, but since the professors son is on board that ship I don't know how useful it is.

Here's my plan.
Carefully screen crews
Blip on the radar screen off the coast of Somalia.
Call U.S aircraft carrier stationed in region.
Half hour later end of pirates.
100= years ago no ship would travel on the high seas unarmed.
Do we think the world is that much safer??

[Bill Glasheen]

So a 2-3 million dollar ransom is a better deal, or has been.

Has been is the operating phrase here.

Ransom paying begats more pirating. More pirating begats more ransom paying. Right now the Somalis are making money hand over fist, and their risk (today) is comparatively small.

One must also factor in the cost of not having that ship deliver goods (somebody is making payments on it...), the risk to the crew members (which won't always be low), etc.

The status quo won't do any more. It's like airline hijacking. At some point there has to be a massive change in process.

Don't think terrorists aren't watching with great interest. Today it's a bunch of Somalis trying to make a living (by their standards). Tomorrow could be different.

- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

A day or two ago, this was a simple "wait them out" situation with time on the side of the U.S. and the captive captain. No more...

Officials, meantime, said other pirates sought to reinforce their colleagues by sailing hijacked ships with other captives aboard to the scene of the standoff in the Indian Ocean.

A Somali in contact with a pirate leader said the captors want a ransom and are ready to kill Phillips if attacked.

The United States was bolstering its force by dispatching other warships to the site off the Horn of Africa, where a U.S. destroyer shadowed the drifting lifeboat carrying Phillips. He was taken hostage in the pirates' failed effort to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday.

The pirates' strategy is to link up with their colleagues, who are holding Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages, and get Phillips to lawless Somalia, where they could hide the hostage and make it difficult to stage a rescue. It would give them more leverage and a stronger negotiating position to discuss a ransom. Anchoring near shore also means they could escape onto land quickly if attacked.

- AP

Your move!



- Bill

[Bill Glasheen]

Here's one approach.

I take back all those things I said about the French.

Associated Press

PARIS -- The French navy stormed a French sailboat being held by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, killing one hostage and two pirates in the operation, a presidential statement said Friday.

The navy also freed four remaining hostages, including one child, who were seized Saturday when pirates boarded their ship, the Tanit. Three other pirates were taken prisoner.

It was not immediately clear where the rescue operation occurred. It did not appear to be in any proximity to the current standoff involving an American captain being held hostage.

It was the third time the French have freed hostages from the hands of pirates but the first time that a hostage had been killed. The French presidential statement said the boat was being steered toward the Somali coast.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said the death of one of five hostages came at the end of a two-day ordeal in the pirate-infested waters where the seizure of vessels by Somali pirates has become a common occurrence.

"During the operation, a hostage was unfortunately killed," the statement said adding that the four other hostages, including the child, were "safe and sound."

France's policy is to refuse to accept acts of piracy and avoid having French citizens taken ashore as hostages, the statement said.

***

- WSJ

What are the short term costs?

What are the long term benefits of their policy and these specific acts - if any? (Do the Somalis really pick and choose whose ship to hijack, or is it simply a matter of opportunity? I frankly don't know...)

What are the long term consequences of the (present) stated U.S. policy? (Lives of the crew come first...)

- Bill

[Jason Rees]

Whatever happened to, 'We do not negotiate with terrorists?'

How many naval vessels do we have in the area? Sounds like more and more every day. Where the hell are the SEALs? Let them show the french how it's done.

[Bill Glasheen]

LMAO about your tag line, Jason.

- Bill

[Jason Rees]

I couldn't help myself, Bill.