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Pirates & Rescue * Open Thread

By SusanUnPC on April 14, 2009 at 2:00 AM in Open Thread, Piracy, Somalia

Below, you’ll see a fascinating description of the immense expanse of water — I heard that the coast of Somalia is as large as the entire U.S. Eastern coastline (!), and this video is even more descriptive:

bayareavoter

I appreciate you posting these videos since I don’t watch CNN anymore. Thank you!
tminu

Tim Geithner is no less a pirate, he only wears a suit and rapes Americans domestically.
Next, Obama will prescribe attacks on pirate bases, whereby pirates will flee, only “necessitating” American military involvement in Africa.
All part of the NWO African resource grab (see The Obama Deception movie online free), the blockade left in Iraq and now Afghanistan will only build. Instead of empowering Africans, say suggesting they levy a duties or levies and encouraging a self-sufficient economy, it’s just more profitable to keep Africa ignorant and dependent.

(I moved this from a mis-post on the easter egg hunt thread…since then I read on Yahoo that Obama is
indeed talking invasion of Somalia…is this going to be his mini-Gulf of Tonkin?)
tminu

“Some military strategists believe it may ultimately be necessary to attack the pirates’ bases on land in Somalia. But few international allies have the appetite for another land operation in Somalia, where a U.S. military foray in the early 1990s ended in humiliation. And the cost in civilian casualties would likely be extremely high, some warn.

“That would be nuts,” said Larry Johnson, a former CIA agent and State Department counterterrorism specialist. “These people are not organized into any military force, they are intermingled with women and children. You’re talking about wiping out villages.”

The chief mate aboard the US-flagged Maersk Alabama was among those urging strong U.S. action.

“It’s time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis,” Shane Murphy said. “It’s a crisis. Wake up.””
Jackarooty

Last night on Bret Baier’s show Charles Krauthammer (in his infinite wisdom – like Larry) said that a ground military invasion would be “a waste of time”. We already have two active ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and not enough resources to go into Somalia. He also said that if the US is planning to request a strengthened coalition it should be for those countries. The best that can be done right now is to get the owners of these merchant ships to fund and provide armed guards or “ship marshals” as we did for the planes after 9/11.
He is one of the few neoconservatives for whom I have a high level of respect.
wodiej

I find it ridiculous that the piracy has been allowed to go on as it has. Arm the damn ships, fly the supplies over or something but put an end to the whole mess NOW.
tango

Well if they’re privately owned ships, it’s kinda of hard to force them to arm themselves. And I know ships resist that because of the insurance cost and liability. But even so, if they choose not to arm themselves, then I wonder if millions of taxpayers money should be spent rescusing hostages. It’s one thing to be armed and fight and still be taken hostage, it’s another thing to just surrender once your ship is boarded and then expect the government to send in Navy Seals to rescue you. So if the private companies aren’t willing to assume the cost of protecting themselves, why then does it become the governments responsibility?

Also, I heard tax revenues are down 25%. That’s due to decreased earnings off of salaries, investments, etc, but now it seems that it’s going to be even lower due to deliquent payments too:

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE53D01M20090414?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

It’s going to be hard to fund all those programs that Obama wants to implement with a whole lot less money coming in. And since cutting spending isn’t an option, then it’s only a matter of time before taxes go up on that 95% he promised a tax cut to.
tango

Oh boy, this is why the government should be in charge of NOTHING:

Getting started in California
A list of 57 transportation projects totaling $625 million has been adopted by Caltrans as the first in line to receive federal infrastructure money. The projects include:

$75 million to repave three miles of rough pavement on Interstate 710 in Los Angeles.

That’s only $25 million a mile. Wow, what a deal.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-transport-list14-2009apr14,0,1505152.story
James Guglielmino

I know you meant that as a compliment, comparing our host to Krauthammer. It ISN’T. Having said that, once in a while, he writes something that makes sense. This is probably an example of one of those times. All of you just dying to see Obama do something REALLY, really stupid, along the lines of sending troops into Somalia, will, I suspect, be waiting a very long time.
tek

wodiej: I wonder if the stuff could be flown. that would certainly end the crisis.
Portia Elizabeth

Jack — I’ve been wondering why they don’t consider something similar to sky marshals. With two on every commercial airliner, there hasn’t been another incident like 9/11. If Continental and Delta can afford it, I’d think it wouldn’t be cost-prohibitive for Maersk et al.

I think it’s an interesting twist that Shane Murphy, second in command on the Maersk Alabama, is the son of the man who teaches counter- piracy tactics at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Jackarooty

You’re still here?

The stink of Obama’s butt on your nose is coming in from Kansas City. Muzzle it and stay with your own kind.
BARB

Behind the escalation in ‘piracy’

Over the last several months Somali pirates have alleged that European corporations are unloading toxic waste off the coast of this Horn of Africa nation. A Ukrainian ship which was held and released by the Somalis garnered a multimillion-dollar payment by the owners, which is reportedly being utilized to clean up the waste being dumped in the area.

In a statement reported by Al Jazeera on Oct. 11, Januna Ali Jama, a spokesperson for the Somali pirates, said that the ransom acquired serves as a means of “reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years.”

Jama, who is based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, continued, “The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas.”

Further evidence of toxic waste dumping came from the United Nations envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, who told Al Jazeera in the same article that the international body has “reliable information” that both European and Asian corporations are unloading toxic chemicals, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline. “I must stress, however, that no government has endorsed this act and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible.”

In the aftermath of the tsunami in late 2004, evidence began to appear confirming such illegal dumping activity in the region. The United Nations Environment Program reported that the tsunmai washed up old, rusting containers of waste on the shores of Puntland, which was formerly part of Somalia prior to the collapse of the Western-backed government of Mohammad Siad Barre in 1991.

A UNEP spokesman, Nick Nuttall, told Al Jazeera in the same article that when the rusting barrels were opened by the force of the waves, dumping that had been occurring for many years were revealed. “Somalia has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste starting in the early 1990s, and continuing through the civil war there. European companies found it to be very cheap to get rid of the waste, costing as little as $2.50 a ton, where waste disposal costs in Europe are something like $1,000 a ton,” said Nuttall.
Peggy Sue

The more details that come out on this rescue, the more remarkable the operation sounds–how these snipers were parachuted into the location, how they managed to get off three clean, simultaneous shots.

Guess we don’t need 007 afterall.

Thanks for the vids, Susan. I understand 4 more ships [not sure what kind] were stormed by the priates today. They seem to be ratcheting up their efforts.
I’mFedUp

Portia…It’s my understanding that the Fraud secretly passed legislation preventing the Pilots/Sky Marshalls, etc. from having guns on planes. That was a while back. If that’s true, I have to ask whose interest that was in?
I’mFedUp

The UN could stop this crap IMMEDIATELY. Blockade the ports…nothing goes in, nothing goes out, until this shit ends. No one will have the balls or consideration for American/Human Lives to do it. And I have my own beliefs as to why Obama will never touch those people. Never.
tango

Well those pirates literally have nothing to lose so I figure they don’t see a downside.

If this is true about Obama, it’s shameful:

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/04/14/staged-military-photo-ops-suddenly-awesome/

The lengths the Obama Administration will go to squelch dissent and/or prop up Obama is really starting to concern me. Someone so unable to handle criticism and so desperate for approval has got to have some serious pyschological issues.
I’mFedUp

Of course it’s true.
tango

Yah, I figured so. That’s why it hasn’t gotten one peep of attention from the MSM or the left wing blogs because it’s not complimentary to Obama.

I also love TMZ and their take on the new puppy.

http://www.tmz.com/2009/04/12/prez-barack-obama-that-damn-tmz/

– the dog was going to be “re-homed” to the Obamas from the kennel, and presented to the Obamas by the Kennedy family
– the reason it’s important that the dog was “re-homed” is because the Obamas could not accept the dog as a gift, and re-homing averts the problem.

How convenient (cough, cough) that the previous owner couldn’t keep the dog allowing it to be returned and gifted to the Obamas. Though re-homing gives a better impression than getting a brand new puppy since the Obamas originally said they would get a dog from a shelter.
http://florasteele.blogspot.com fsteele

Bottom line on Obama’s authorizations, pls?

Did the military get everything they asked for?

Was each request approved immediately, or did they have to keep trying pretty please?

What about the story of a Seal going on CNN as a silloutte and saying the Navy was capable of a rescue but it was a ‘political decision’?
Hope Change and Unicorns

Typical liberal garbage- these men are not holding men and ships hostage for dumping they are doing this to support jihad, the dumping could be happening and needs to be taking care of but the two have nothing to do with each other.
Portia Elizabeth

Whaaaaaaaat????

That’s just stupid. What good are the marshals if they’re unarmed????