http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30103371?GT1=43001
millions of dollars in ransoms have been extracted by pirates, as nationals have been hijacked and detained.
this is an ongoing security issue , why isn’t anyone in the administration talking about it?
Good question.It has been a problem for sometime and there are multi national forces patrolling the area.
The Gulf of Aden which is flanked by Yemen and Somalia makes it ripe for the pirates pickings.
My Navy days are long gone but I say shoot first and if anything is left floating shoot it again until it sinks,then Poseidon can sort it out.
This action worked at the Barbary Coast about 200yrs ago.
The first United States military action overseas, executed by the U.S. Marines and Navy, was the Battle of Derne, Tripoli, in 1805. It was an effort to destroy all of the Barbary pirates, free the American slaves in captivity, and put an end to piracy acts between these warring tribes on the part of the Barbary states. The opening line of the “Marine’s Hymn” refers to this action: “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli…”
I, for one, welcome our pirate overlords
.
Well, looks like the latest snatch just ended with the AMERICAN crew taking control of the ship back from these flea-bitten, khat-chewing, pirate clan members. Yup…a bunch of well-fed Americans not stoned on the local Somali hallucinogenic weed are more than a match for a few AK-toting dumbasses any day. If more ship’s crews would keep that in mind, maybe there wouldn’t be so many hijackings.
Of course, the pirates might just start slaughtering the crew members out of hand but I doubt they’ll do that. It might just end with NATO going into Somalia to try to restore “order.” Not that I believe (from having been there) that “order” of any sort will ever be restored in that region, but hey…it’s nice to dream 
T.
"this is an ongoing security issue , why isn’t anyone in the administration talking about it? "
What makes you think nobody is talking about it? We (the Navy) have been doing anti-piracy ops nd the Horn of Africa for years. Today’s seizure was the first hostage taking of a U.S. flagged vessel in something like 150 years, and the crew has already taken back the ship, so, as a direct threat to the U.S., it doesn’t rank very high.
ARRRR!!!
Well, looks like the latest snatch just ended with the AMERICAN crew taking control of the ship back from these flea-bitten, khat-chewing, pirate clan members. Yup…a bunch of well-fed Americans not stoned on the local Somali hallucinogenic weed are more than a match for a few AK-toting dumbasses any day. If more ship’s crews would keep that in mind, maybe there wouldn’t be so many hijackings.
Of course, the pirates might just start slaughtering the crew members out of hand but I doubt they’ll do that. It might just end with NATO going into Somalia to try to restore “order.” Not that I believe (from having been there) that “order” of any sort will ever be restored in that region, but hey…it’s nice to dream
T.
**ARRRR!!! **
ARRRRR, MATEY!! Isn’t there an official “Talk Like a Pirate” day on the calendar, somewhere?
T.
Aye, me parrot says it’s sept 19th
.
But do we have to wear the puffy pirate shirts also? 
Yup…a bunch of well-fed Americans not stoned on the local Somali hallucinogenic weed are more than a match for a few AK-toting dumbasses any day.
It’s been a puzzle to me how a handful of shitheads in small craft are able to board and seize huge ships. I wonder how many of the seizures are accomplished by striking a deal with the crew. Is it brute force or social engineering?
Of course, the pirates might just start slaughtering the crew members out of hand but I doubt they’ll do that.
I doubt that, too. Unless the pirates are able to pilot the ship themselves, they’d have to at least be selective about who they kill.
Update:
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The American crew of a hijacked U.S.-flagged ship retook control of the vessel from Somali pirates Wednesday but the captain was still being held hostage, according to Pentagon officials and a member of the crew.
The crew member told The Associated Press that the 20-member crew had managed to seize one pirate and then successfully negotiate their own release.
The man, who picked up the ship’s satellite phone but did not identify himself, told the AP in a brief conversation that the crew had retaken control of the ship and the pirates were in a lifeboat. But the man also said that they were holding the ship’s captain hostage.
I once heard an interview with a Somali who said that the piracy started b/c western countries/western companies were illegally dumping hazardous materials off the coast of Somalia which basically killed off their fishing prospects (their main source of income) and as such lead to piracy. Does anyone know if that story has any merit and, if so, where I could find out more about it.
Not saying that this is an excuse for piracy, would just be interested in having a better understanding of the whole story rather than the simple one-sidedness we get from mainstream media.
I just heard an update. Apparently we’ve sent a Navy Destroyer and several other ships to where the captain is being held. A plane is keeping tracking them. Can you imagine seeing the US Navy bearing down on your ass? Sheesh. That should scare the pants off them.
Pirating probably started as a protest but has now turned into a money machine.
I, for one, welcome our pirate overlords
**AWESOME **
We love you, Kent!
Piracy needs no excuse
.
from the title, I thought this thread was gonna be about baseball.
I once heard an interview with a Somali who said that the piracy started b/c western countries/western companies were illegally dumping hazardous materials off the coast of Somalia which basically killed off their fishing prospects (their main source of income) and as such lead to piracy. Does anyone know if that story has any merit and, if so, where I could find out more about it.
Not saying that this is an excuse for piracy, would just be interested in having a better understanding of the whole story rather than the simple one-sidedness we get from mainstream media.
taking Americans hostage is not “simple one sidedness”. there have been 6+ hijakings within ONE week. this most recent occasion, the ship was carrying aid supplies. pirates have extorted millions of dollars with their acts, it is criminal.
the US is not to blame, people are being victimized.
The pirates only want the same rights as heterosexual couples - the right of gay marriage. Give them this right and they’ll leave our cargo alone.
BTW, has Obama bowed to them yet?
.
taking Americans hostage is not “simple one sidedness”. there have been 6+ hijakings within ONE week. this most recent occasion, the ship was carrying aid supplies. pirates have extorted millions of dollars with their acts, it is criminal.
the US is not to blame, people are being victimized.
Its hard to fight a group who don’t mind dieing or machine gunning anything in range . So we don’t go there .
The ransom for the oil company is equivalent to a guy forcing you to pay a .25 after he cleans your windshield at a stop light .
what is your point, that it’s ok to have these guys come on board, hold a hostage(S) and have millions extorted in acts of piracy?