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Obama Vows To Combat Somali Pirates

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posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:23 PM
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Obama Vows To Combat Somali Pirates


www.voanews.com

He vowed once again that America will do all it can to halt piracy in the region, working in concert with other nations around the world.

"We are going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise. And we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," said Mr. Obama.

The president did not refer to a new round of threats from the pirates,
(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.abc.net.au
news.xinhuanet.com



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:23 PM
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Well right now, what the US can actually do amounts to somewhere in region of jack all.

Until we see a coordinated, multi-national effort to deploy enough ships to survey some 2 million square miles of ocean and escort commercial shipping through narrow, heavily patrolled corridors, piracy will continue to be an issue.

What we have currently is a piss in the ocean (pardon the pun): a token force of some 14 nations, very loosely united under the Combined Task Force 150 banner, based out of Djibouti, who have the actual range and numbers to patrol a very limited stretch of ocean from the Gulf of Aden to halfway down Somalia.

Most of these countries save for Denmark, the US and the UK have very little actual shipping interests in the region to protect, hence they have given token contributions of Naval power.

Most of the American task force is focused on protecting precious oil cargo emanating from the Persian Gulf and moving up into the Suez Canal.

The theory behind this lame-duck operation is that if they pretend they're doing something about piracy, the world will back off and stop scrutinising the lack of action.

The solution to piracy cannot be expected to come from the United States alone.
Not at this point in time anyway when a good portion of Naval assets are deployed to the Persian Gulf.

Alot of undue blame has been levelled at Obama for his apparent "inaction" on this issue but in reality, Obama is limited in his choice of options here.

You can't chase around aluminium-hulled speedboats in destroyers and frigates.
Without adequate air assets and counter-insurgent SEAL teams, the Naval task force is severely hampered Intelligence-wise.

Also, there is the issue of some nostalgic fear dating back to 1993 and America's distrust of any multi-national effort (particularly from the UN) to help rescue Somalia. Any attempt to solve piracy decisively would effectively entail action within Somalia in the future, and that's something the US top brass don't want to touch with a 10ft pole.

www.voanews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 13/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:30 PM
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I notice that the MSM is not mentioning anything about arming the sailors, I find this odd.

Honestly, these pirates don't have much, basic assault rifles, rocket launchers, small speedboats.

Arm the sailors, and these pirates will think twice.

But arming people isn't on the PTB's agenda. Disarming them is.

I wonder if the US will try enter Somalia, claiming that they need to stamp out piracy.

If America didn't learn from Vietnam, they won't have learned from Mogadishu.



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:30 PM
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Well, like his Chief of Staff said, "never let a serious crisis go to waste".

Peace



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:42 PM
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Quick.

Someone get Obama boat and an AK.
Change and Hope in the high seas...


Seems like he is going head on.



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:46 PM
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I hope this government is smart enough to make the right decisions on this Pirate situation. We have to stamp out this group of thieves. One way or another. The order Pres Obama gave to the Navy to shoot those guys was priceless. We need to flex our muscles.


[edit on 4/13/2009 by PammyK]



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:52 PM
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Wait.., wait ...


We're going to stamp out the piracy by taking their land???


What I would like addressed publicly is the reason this 'piracy' has become manifest...

Now, I don't know what it means to be Somali, but I was wondering..,

Is there any truth to the observations that:

1 - Since the fatal weakening of the Somali government (for good or ill) commercial interests of the international community have begun dumping tons and tons of waste in their seas...

2 - That since the government no longer exists in a manner which can enforce it's sovereignty that their waters are being stripped of vast amounts of fish by foreign commercial interests...

While there are other conditions existing in that area, these two might give us a good reason to enabling some to sponsor piracy. And yes, there are those who gain from it, especially as it pertains to the expenditure of international funds to combat it.

Any thoughts? Or are these just the sea-born version of Al Qaida that we are to believe are savage pirates who spontaneously burst into existence?



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 04:58 PM
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reply to post by Maxmars
 


All valid points mate.


In a country that is the by-product of decades of European colonialism and abandonment from the UN, where most people live on less than $5 dollars a day, piracy has little to do with religious motivation.

I'm not discrediting the root causes at hand here, I'm discrediting people blaming Obama for not solving this issue when he realistically cannot. Not with the shape the United States military is in and not with Allied support.

[edit on 13/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 05:02 PM
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reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira
 


Of course he can. Jefferson sure did, and he hates the freaking Navy. What happened after those poor innocent Barbary pirates got attacked by the American barbarians? What happened to those tributes the leaders asked for?



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 05:08 PM
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reply to post by deltaboy
 


Uh, we're not facing barbary pirates flying under the Turkish flag here.
And this isn't the 18th century. It's much easier to hijack a ship these days for one.

Were facing various cadres of militias, emanating from a country with no ruling government, in the midst of constant civil war, who are driven by a lucrative, high-profit business or rebellion against what they perceive as unwanted foreign influence (via illegal dumping into Somalian waters and unsolicited fishing in Somalian waters).

The US is also in the midst of 2 wars in case you haven't noticed, which require a significant portion of US surface naval assets.

Iraq alone has about 700 tons of cargo and 4,000 people moving in and out of it per month. The naval logistics required to support that operation are massive and that's not including the logistics need for Pakistani supply lines and the overall security for all this logistical cargo and patrolling Iranian waters.

It's just not doable by the US alone.



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 05:11 PM
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Piracy big boon to Somalia economy; hotels, restaurants sprout in port of Eyl in pirates' presence



Modern-day piracy is growing quickly into big business - just take a look at the booming Somali pirate port of Eyl.

Big villas and hotels are sprouting, former subsistence fishermen are driving Mercedes-Benzes and gold-digging women are showing up. So are accountants.

After Somalia's civil war began in 1991, the impoverished coastal people turned to buccaneering, with huge success.

"In More..2008 alone, Somali pirates made $125 million," said Michael Lee of McRoberts Maritime Security. "These guys are the wealthiest in the country. A lot of the women in Somalia are flocking to the ports to get themselves a pirate."

I thought this would help show how the piracy is just done for illegal gains. Not for protection of the Somali people. And no country is going to stop it without going to shore and entering the hornets nest.



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 05:50 PM
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this was already posted earlier

www.abovetopsecret.com...

here was my reply in that post

-------------

i was waiting for this to happen, come on coincidence? i highly doubt it there are no such things as coincidences when it comes to government/NWO/CFR/TC/Illuminati

again i say since the NWO own the media, they only broadcast what they need to push there agenda, like all the child kidnappings? all of a sudden they don't report them so much? why? there still happening, but it was to push the ID tracking chips and that lot, so we can only assume that this pirate bollocks is to push there agenda further along..

and we can only see where it ends up.. though i think we all know



[edit on 13-4-2009 by Darth_Prime]



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 06:06 PM
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Originally posted by JBA2848
I thought this would help show how the piracy is just done for illegal gains. Not for protection of the Somali people. And no country is going to stop it without going to shore and entering the hornets nest.


I intend you no disrespect, but I disagree.

Piracy (in the common usage) is not a thing that can exist without 'sponsorship'. Even if we are generalize this to organized crime restricting itself to the sea lanes, you are not necessarily correct that it is for illegal gains. The people are not breaking the law, because in their state there is none capable of, or inclined to enforce it. That represents a collapsed state no?

If the state has collapsed, why are we calling them pirates, and not 'terrorists?'

And why is this not a UN emergency? What the heck "plan" are they busy with now?



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 08:46 PM
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First of all, a Full Blockade of the Somali Ports will cease the Piracy currently taking place. This can be accomplished with a combined Task Force of the United States, France, along with possibly Great Britain and any other concerned European Nations. France has especially proven their aggressiveness in combating this situation so far, so therefore they will be an ally of ours in this particular situation.

Second, we do have the SpecOps forces which can and do have the ability to effectively Patrol the Littoral Theater of Ops in and around Somalia. My Old Man commanded and helped to create one of these Units, and they are highly specialized, able, and more than willing to act in an Inshore manner against the Pirates. You need to attack and restrict these Pirates before they ever leave their Coastal Waters, and therefore these Units MUST be deployed.

Third, we must send in the Blue Water Navy on Search and Destroy Missions, as opposed to simply deploying them on Defensive Escort Maneuvers. The Pirates will never touch a USN Convoy, so although this proves the effectiveness behind such Ops, it also leaves Non-Convoy Vessels completely and utterly exposed.

Fourth, we must also send in SpecOps and SpecWar forces inland to destroy the Pirate strongholds, including the taking out of Leaders, and the cutting off of their assets.

This is a multi-faceted approach, but it is completely attainable, and will most certainly be effective.


The Bottom Line is that you need to simply make the idea of Piracy so costly, and so utterly hopeless, that it ceases to remain a Profitable career within the Nation of Somalia.



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 08:54 PM
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Originally posted by Maxmars
And why is this not a UN emergency? What the heck "plan" are they busy with now?


The U.N. is still struggling with how to deal with the ongoing genocide in Sudan, how to reach international consensus on a definition of terrorism, how to impliment a global tax on everyone, how to profit from the global warming errr, climate change scam, etc., along with how to softy and gently word a U.N. condemnation of North Korea.

The U.N. is a defunct and failed international organization and turning or looking to them to solve anything is not only hilarious but ludicrous.

[edit on 13-4-2009 by Seekerof]



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 09:03 PM
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reply to post by TheAgentNineteen
 



First of all, a Full Blockade of the Somali Ports will cease the Piracy currently taking place.


Yes you'd think but you'd be wrong.

These pirates are not launching their vessels from ports that are being monitored and operated by UN and UNICEF aid workers. They're nowhere that stupid.

They're launching from isolated coves and bays all along the Somalian coast, especially near the South, which is well out of the range of the 150 Task Force.

After each hijacking mission they simply bury their boats in the sand or tow them via car to storage, and vanish into the woodwork until they decide to take up some tasty cargo heading their way.

If they docked at port after every attack we'd never loose sight of them.


Fourth, we must also send in SpecOps and SpecWar forces inland to destroy the Pirate strongholds, including the taking out of Leaders, and the cutting off of their assets.


Which is effectively a repeat of Operation Gothic Serpent in 1993.

Now try convincing a public who was fooled into 2 quagmires with no end in sight already, to support a 3rd, once again involving a failed Islamic state.

Bit like asking a guy who's had both his arms amputated, for a "hand".

Not going to happen. The military brass don't want that to happen either, they could care less for Somalia.
They know that intervention in Somalia will always end in full-scale pacification of the entire country, just like it did in 1993.


This is a multi-faceted approach, but it is completely attainable, and will most certainly be effective


If it wasn't attainable in 1993 (destroying the Somalian militas), what makes you think it's going to be attainable now with 2 extra conflicts to manage (very unpopular ones I might add) and less military resources to allocate?

Such deluded thinking is precisely why Somalia is the failed state it is today.

What happens after we bomb the crap out of the Somalis again?

Pack up. Go home. Wait for another insurgent movement to rear it's ugly head and start threatening shipping in the area, that's what.

It's been shown piracy significantly decreased during the Islamic Courts Union which ruled most of Somalia as a some-what central government in 2006.

That's what will end the Somalian issue once and for all. A stable government. Not military action alone.



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 09:04 PM
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oh look, it's the only voice of reason



lol, so true

no, don't give the sailors private security or arms
no no, let's make this thing into something entirely different

maybe they want to own the seas or something now



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 09:24 PM
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Did anyone else catch Lou Dobbs and his description of what happened? That is a pretty amazing feat they pulled off, shooting three guys in the head at once. That dosen't sound like three executions, nor does this story seem odd our out of place. And certainly CNN running a bumper that said "Somali Pirates Vow to Kill American and French Sailors" isn't a sign of the government machine going through its warming up phases again. And I'll bet the MSM won't be set to full blast after a "lead up" of increasingly 'unnerving' events, followed by speculation of the threats posed to us by 'experts'.

None of that could possibly be true. Right?



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 10:23 PM
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Originally posted by Dr Love
Well, like his Chief of Staff said, "never let a serious crisis go to waste".

Yep. Here's an opportunity to equip the Navy with two new aircraft carriers worth $6 billion each to watch over the maritime safety in and around the Strait of Hormuz.



posted on Apr, 13 2009 @ 11:12 PM
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The best thing would be just to allow the ships to be armed. They're entering these waters as sitting ducks, let them defend themselves and then maybe we'll see the incidents start to drop.



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