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US military mulls attacking Somali pirates' land bases; pirates vow revenge

new coup for you said:
the obvious solution is to mine the coast.

that way we don't have to bomb civilians and pirates will only die if they're stupid enough to sail into a minefield.
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LOL. Sea mines are the epitome of an indiscriminate weapon, largely abandoned due to their hazard to friendly forces as well as civilians.
 
I bet modern mines could safely deny 10 mile area off the coast of somalia.

Even if civilians occasionally hit them, it'll cause way fewer deaths then bombing cities.
 
BulletWounD said:
Frankly, I think the world would be a better place if the government of Somaliland was in charge. Too bad they don't want that....
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Somaliland is in charge of it's borders and if any one was caught with pirates- They'd be in jail very fast. We will not expand and try and take charge of land that is not ours.
 
Laila said:
Agressive against whom? The neighbours?
Appeasement has worked for decades, not going to stop anytime. Bombing will solve nothing and neither will entering Somalia.

You do realise going past Somalia is not the only shipping lane. One can go past South Africa which is much more safer.

Around 1% of ships actually get hijacked but people make it sound like it is the end of the world and every ship is being hijacked.
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ENOUGH!!!!

The somali pirates will cease their activities or THE WILL DIE!

Stop defending them and stop defending bull**** appeasment.

1% is too damn many. Accept it.

Piracy is going to be punished severely. The Somali government (if you can call it that) WILL assist in ending the piracy OR THEY WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT.




 
Laila said:
LOL, Puntland abide by laws? Those out of control savages who are in Govt?

Puntland are the ones who are funding it. They have been building ports and smuggling weapons for a very long time.

The govt. gets bribes off the pirates which means that when they are caught, they are released without a hanging
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.... and this is EXACTLY WHY BOMBING THOSE PORTS IN NECESSARY. If the local scumlords are not going to prevent it, they WILL pay the price for it.

:mrgreen:
 
Laila said:
If you know pirates operate there and you go there knowingly and it gets hijacked and didn't pack weapons ... They are stupid and should be out of the shipping business.

What is with this sudden boom of media interest in Somali pirates, it's been happening for years .... :S
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Stop defending pirate-terrorists.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

:shock:
 
new coup for you said:
I bet modern mines could safely deny 10 mile area off the coast of somalia.

Even if civilians occasionally hit them, it'll cause way fewer deaths then bombing cities.
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I'm pretty sure mining territorial waters during a time of peace would be a blatant violation of international law. Plus, they can be defeated and they are indiscriminate killers that would kill people from Somalia as well as other countries who unknowingly stray into the minefield. They could even break loose from their mooring and destroy the ships we're trying to protect. Horrible idea...
 
Laila said:
The Islamists eliminated the Pirates and piracy by making it illegal and enforcing the law .... 6 whole months before US and Ethiopia overthrew the Islamist Government allowing piracy to start again :doh
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That would be in 2006, correct?

From the International Chamber of Commerce in May of 2006:

Despite the welcome news that the volume of marine piracy is levelling, IMB warns that international shipping is still threatened by piracy in numerous regions around the globe. Somali and Nigerian waters remain particularly dangerous. Captain Mukundan commented: “IMB is calling on law enforcement agencies in Nigeria to increase their efforts to combat piracy. Somalia has no national law enforcement infrastructure and we call upon the Coalition Naval forces in the region to continue their efforts to pursue pirate vessels and detain the pirates. Recent actions by US Naval and other units have been most helpful in bringing some of these pirates to justice.”
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According to David Shinn, Adjunct Professor, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University,

Piracy has been a problem in the waters off Somalia for at least ten years. Between 2003 and 2007, there were about fifteen successful or attempted pirate attacks off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden each year. In 2008, the number of attacks jumped to well over 100; different sources use different numbers based on differing interpretations of pirate attacks. At least forty of the attacks in 2008 involving about 800 crew members were successful. This dramatic increase attracted the attention of the international community. The seizure of a Ukrainian vessel transporting $30 million worth of T-72 Russian tanks, grenade launchers and ammunition and a Liberian-flagged tanker carrying $100 million worth of Saudi oil to the United States underscored the concern. The pirate attacks shifted from the Mogadishu area to the Gulf of Aden at the end of 2007. Estimates on the amount of ransom money collected by the pirates in 2008 range from $30 million to $120 million. This may not sound like a lot as the United States distributes bail out money, but it is huge sum for impoverished Somalia. In addition, piracy has caused insurance premiums for a single transit through the Gulf of Aden to rise from as low as $500 to as much as $20,000.
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So when exactly did the Islamists "eliminate" piracy, besides never?
 
new coup for you said:
I don't think modern sea mines are as ****ty as they were in WWII, the last time they were used on any kind of scale.
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Actually, you're wrong. They have been used many times after WWII. The mining of Wanson during the Korean War comes to mind. And while mines have come a long way since WWII, this does not negate anything that I've said.

1) using them in a time of peace within the territorial waters of another country is a blatant and disgusting violation of international law

2) they are indiscriminate killers, and could kill civilians of all nationalities as well as break free and destroy our own ships

3) they can be defeated
 
Kinda looks like a growth opportunity for Halliburton/blackwater escorting merchant ships thru the horn. ;)
 
donc said:
Kinda looks like a growth opportunity for Halliburton/blackwater escorting merchant ships thru the horn. ;)
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Yeah so Cheney and crew can make a few bucks.
 
Vader said:
Stop defending pirate-terrorists.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

:shock:
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LOL

I'll defend who i please thx
They are not terrorists. Quit bandering about that word as if it holds weight to a bunch of criminals.
 
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celticlord said:
So when exactly did the Islamists "eliminate" piracy, besides never?
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Perhaps not eliminated but they certainley decreased it.

Your link has issues, it says there has been problems with piracy but then goes on to mention 2007 and 2008. The years Ethiopia was in Somalia and not in 06 when Al Shabab had control
 
Laila said:
If you know pirates operate there and you go there knowingly and it gets hijacked and didn't pack weapons ... They are stupid and should be out of the shipping business.
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That's very much like saying that if a woman doesn't want to be raped, she shouldn't be around men.
 
Harshaw said:
That's very much like saying that if a woman doesn't want to be raped, she shouldn't be around men.
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That makes little sense. Explain.

How one can compare the two is beyond me tho ...
 
winston53660 said:
Yeah so Cheney and crew can make a few bucks.
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You can bet it wouldn’t be four or five skinny a** teenagers, armed with a rpg,s and kalisnokoff,s in rickety boats escorting containers around the horn.Your right though, it would cost an arm and a leg.
 
Laila said:
LOL

I'll defend who i please thx
They are not terrorists. Quit bandering about that word as if it holds weight to a bunch of criminals.
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You may think they are collecting a toll at gunpoint, but I think they are nothing less than pirate/rogue/terrorist/extortionist scum.

And that also leads me to think that you are either a <fill-in-the-blank-here-from above> apologist and/or an outright supporter of piracy in principle, if not in deed.

You will never be able to rationalize, or justify to me, any redeeming factors these <self-edit for Tallulah> pirate's possess.

So we might as well talk about something else. We will never come to terms.
 
Laila said:
Perhaps not eliminated but they certainley decreased it.

Your link has issues, it says there has been problems with piracy but then goes on to mention 2007 and 2008. The years Ethiopia was in Somalia and not in 06 when Al Shabab had control
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The link from the International Chamber of Commerce is from May of 2006.

The link to David Shinn's presentation commented on the state of Somali piracy from 2003 through 2007.

Both links encompass 2006.
 
Laila said:
LOL

I'll defend who i please thx
They are not terrorists. Quit bandering about that word as if it holds weight to a bunch of criminals.
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You mean the criminals who you're defending?

Wow ... look at your Madrasa training at work. Wouldn't your brainwashers be proud!

You should be ashamed of yourself.

If you defend criminals, YOU ARE A CRIMINAL and you deserve NO MERCY.

(Yes, this should scare the **** out of you if you're a criminal defense attorney)

Remember that.
 
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danarhea said:
So the pirates are promising revenge against the US for rescuing one of our own? They are on very thin ice. I like the fact that Obama is letting the military do what the military does best - killing, and I also like the thought of hitting the pirate bases and home turf. After all, pirates can't be pirates if they are homeless and boatless, can they? Pirates can't do much if their bodies are blown to bits either.

I say smack the hell out of them for a couple of weeks, and see if that prods them to seek a new profession. If it doesn't, then smack 'em again, and keep smacking 'em until they either get the message (Don't screw with the US) or they are dead.

Article is here.
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Yar, those scallywags be thinking that just by showing up with some large ships they be having the upper hand. But ye not be knowing who you trifle with...um....yar! We be pirates, salty dogs of the sea. You won't be beating us on our own territory. If its a pirating fight you want, it's a pirating fight you'll get.

But no ninjas allowed

yar.
 
danarhea said:
So the pirates are promising revenge against the US for rescuing one of our own? They are on very thin ice. I like the fact that Obama is letting the military do what the military does best - killing, and I also like the thought of hitting the pirate bases and home turf. After all, pirates can't be pirates if they are homeless and boatless, can they? Pirates can't do much if their bodies are blown to bits either.

I say smack the hell out of them for a couple of weeks, and see if that prods them to seek a new profession. If it doesn't, then smack 'em again, and keep smacking 'em until they either get the message (Don't screw with the US) or they are dead.

Article is here.
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They are not pirates; they are terrorist thugs who operate with impunity from the Somali Government from Somali ports and shores.

Here's the statement from one of the "terrorist" leaders proving this is more than simple acts of piracy:

"The American liars have killed our friends after they agreed to free the hostage without ransom... this matter will lead to retaliation and we will hunt down particularly American citizens travelling our waters," Abdi Garad said by phone from the pirate lair of Eyl.

"We will intensify our attacks even reaching very far away from Somalia waters, and next time we get American citizens... they (should) expect no mercy from us."

Sounds like a terrorist threat to me.

Once more it is incumbent on the US and her allies and the UN to do something about the Somali problem instead of pretending that these are just simple acts of piracy. Simply killing terrorists operating from the shores and ports will not solve the problem.
 
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