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[NightmarePatrol]

I'm just curious what everyones take on the whole Somali piracy thing is. We as a country have done a lot of dancing around this thing without showing any seemingly genuine concern. Meaning that we stay in a reactive state rather than a proactive one.Dedicating an entire naval detachment to protect against the pirates would be an immense waste of resources. On the other hand this type of activity cannot go ignored. Should we continue as is or do we need to take a different stance with them?

[lifefeedsonlife]

I wouldn't be surprised if rhetoric was tossed out about how we need to provide more aid to countries like somal;ia so that the people there wouldn't see the need to become pirates.

[lifefeedsonlife]

Glad they got him!

[NightmarePatrol]

Yes I'm glad they got him too. I suppose the rhetoric will start, however the diplomacy factor would be pointless I think. Providing aid to the government would only result in the funds winding up in the hands of the warlords/pirates there. Another classic dilema in politics on that continent.

[lifefeedsonlife]

There's now talk of attacking their land bases. While at the same time providing aide to the folks in Somalia so that they wouldn't resort to piracy. Damned if you - damned if you don't.

[NightmarePatrol]

Well they got the Captain back. The Seals did their job. Good for them!

I'm still trying to figure out if Somalia even has a government to speak of. At least one the everyone there recognizes anyhow.

[TiFeMb]

The news reported 'total anarchy'.

I say arm the boats to the teeth & blow their puny a** out of the water if they come near.

[Kimmi]

Attacking the country will not take care of the pirates.  I think that is a waste of time.  I'm not sure why someone on these large ships are not ex military and in charge of holding the loaded weapon.  If we can give airline pilots a loaded weapon, why not ship captains?  I just don't really understand how these little boats can take over a large ship.

[TiFeMb]

The pirates have some pretty nasty weopons, AK-47,s, rocket launchers and such. Plus they can sneak up on the big boats.

I agree, just put a couple of bubba's on the deck & tell it's target practice! Yee-HAw!!

[gore range]

...its not a matter of little boats v.s big boats; the little boats, being faster and more maneuverable, easily come along side the larger ships usually at several locations around the ship...

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....and given the relatively small size ship crew, it is just a matter of time until the ‘pirates’ climb up over the side (currently their weapons are utilized more for a distraction with the vessel likely being clandestinely boarded else on the ship where while attrention is focused on the weapons fire )and commandeer the vessel as the bulk of commercial crews are corporately directed to trade control of their vessel for their safety and then moving into the corporate ransom phases to require the vessel/cargo....

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....the situation in Somalia pretty much provides the ‘perfect storm’ for such to occur as  there is not functional government entity there among several struggling factions; of which the ‘pirates’ operate autonomously and geography separated across vast stretches of dessert wasteland far away from the fluid/flaccid/shifting governmental entities....

....if you haven’t done so yet, WIKEPEDIA ‘Somalia’ to begin to appreciate the utter lack of just about any thing over there while endeavoring to sort through the multitude of faction involved....

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....then too, as the press reports the names of the ‘pirates’ havens/operating bases, pull Somalia up on GOOGLE EARTH or GOOGLE MAPS to view such on the rather impress satellite imagery available the clearly desolate remote tattered little out posts/villages that the media portrays as ‘operating bases’- makes Harmonsburg look like a metropolitan fortress in comparison; and clearly a troop of Girl Scouts working on merit badges could over power such in quick order if it weren’t for the 300 hostages the ‘pirates’ now hold pending ransom negotiations....


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....the  cargo ships are an easy mark in a heavily transited shipping corridor where there is no functional government to deal with the ‘pirates’, particularly over the distances which are the same as the entire west coast of the US....


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....the shipping industry responded to matters by moving their transiting routes further off shore, but the ‘pirates’ simply responded by travelling out the few hundred miles to continue business as usual with vessel no operating under the cover of the several navies providing escort to transiting vessels, and today’s actions by the pirates once again highlight their relative impunity....

[Puffin]

To me this doesn't seem to me to be a national security issue. These guys arn't Jihadi's, they are thieves, kinda like Madoff, and some of those other scammers. Piracy is not a thing of the past either. Pirates have been very active in the Strai of Malaca for years . I expect that the only way to put a dent in it is to throw a lot of military assets at it, but how cost effective can that be?
 

[NightmarePatrol]

Rep. Ron Paul and a growing number of national security experts are calling on Congress to consider using letters of marque and reprisal, a power written into the Constitution that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep international waters safe.

Used heavily during the Revolution and the War of 1812, letters of marque serve as official warrants from the government, allowing privateers to seize or destroy enemies, their loot and their vessels in exchange for bounty money.

An interesting notion, but most of these vessels have very small crews to defend the large perimeter of a ship. I'm sure there's a variant that might be effective though.

[TiFeMb]

Use ex-miliaty/law enforcement, a couple of 50mm machine guns, grenade launchers & other portable "munitions', a couple $1000 in fishfinding (pirate finding?) electronics and there you have it. I imagine there are a lot of laid off auto workers from Michigan that would LOVE to hunt for some somali pirates.
 
Ted Nugent anyone?

[CindyLouWho]

Ill bet you are right about that Tife.  I bet there are a lot of guys who would consider a career change for the idea as well.

[gore range]

....the current reality is that it far cheaper for the corporations to pay the random-chance ransom than pay for security....