Despite tensions, US rescues 13 Iranian seamen from pirates

reply to post by kozmo


Like I said Obama must of went and bought some scratch offs after this because today is his lucky day.

Originally posted by Kemal
Meh, will post this in this thread, too:

LOL!

A coincidence? I don't think so. Sounds like a staged act to me in order to spread the image of the US being the good one and also that Iran now owes the Americans one.

Call me skeptic, but that was my first reaction!

Originally posted by Vitchilo
13 new US spies!

Yay!

correction... 13 new well paid, grateful spies.

ZING!!

Ah I find a lot of irony in this story. Lets see how this bit of news is twisted against Iran or something similar.

.

Despite Tensions ?

Give me a break...this reeks of social engineering at it's best. More rah rah Americana to boost the image of our military in our battle against .....Doom...Doom ....Doom....

[DarthVaderVoice_ON] THE AXIS of EEEVIL... [DarthVaderVoice_OFF]

Not to bash the US ....but why would they NOT help out these poor civilian Fishermen ...Iranian or otherwise ?

Where's the beef?...they are unarmed civilians...trying to make a living as all of us are....?

Good for them for helping our fellow human beings but ....as well as maintaining the PEACE....it is part of the reason as to why they are out there though....isn't it ?

Let us NOT Forget that It's our Govts that seem to have a problem with one another.....and not the people.

Peace

Originally posted by kozmo
Keeping in mind that only a mere days ago, Iran was threatening to sink everything near the Straight flying an American flag. Now, Somali pirates in their wooden dinghys over take one of this mighty navy's boats!?

Then, to add insult to injury, we go in, kick the pirates keisters and save the Iranians.

The irony is simply too much to bear!!!

Just to point out, this wasn't a Mighty Iranian Warship as you stated but simply a lowly fishing dhow

I also agree this seems staged, it's not just the timing but something doesn't smell right, and I don't think it's the fish

No point in debating wih all the skeptics here, just like talking to a brick wall - since nothing good ever comes out of the U.S. Every single event is propaganda, false flags, set ups, and malevolent tendencies.

reply to post by nh_ee


EXACTLY!

People, let's be clear... there are NO tensions between Iranians and Americans... or anybody else for that matter!

The only tensions which exist are between a so-called political "elite" which claim to represent the well-being of their citizens while, in reality, doing the exact opposite!

Of course, some will retort with the claim that the extreme minority of religious zealots in Iran, Israel and the U.S. somehow represent the entire population of these countries, but to them I say... turn off the TV!

Here's an easy test for international hatred... put Iranian, Israeli and American preschoolers in a park and watch what happens. Hint, it will involve much more playing together, than attempting to annihilate each other.

the Billmeister

Originally posted by Clisen33
No point in debating wih all the skeptics here, just like talking to a brick wall - since nothing good ever comes out of the U.S. Every single event is propaganda, false flags, set ups, and malevolent tendencies.

edit on 6-1-2012 by Clisen33 because: (no reason given)

Sometimes the best propaganda to spread is the truth.
But I suppose that all depends on which side you are on.

LL
look at 'em just lap up the propaganda:shk:

of course it's staged/social-engineering

1st
somali piracy is a desperate last ditch effort at survival against western genocide

JOURNAL: A Global to Local to Global Criminal Example

Nice tersely worded example on how predation by the global economic system helped drive Somali piracy. From David Axe: www.warisboring.com...

Recall that Somali piracy has its roots in the 1990s, when the collapse of the Somali government threw open the doors to major foreign fishing companies to illegally enter Somali waters and fish out all the tuna, which once comprised one of Somalia’s major commodities. The first Somali pirates were fishermen who decided to render a “fine” on any boats they found illegaly fishing Somali waters. Well, guess what. Piracy has effectively cut in half tuna hauls for major foreign fishing companies working near Somalia, according to Warships International Fleet Review. Today piracy is essentially organized crime, at sea. But the piracy mafia has inadvertently accomplished what the original pirates set out to do. Somali pirates have every reason to be proud. Whether on purpose or not, they have defended their waters while evading the combined might of the world’s navies.

Technology driven connectivity makes it possible for these "remote" groups to take the fight back to the global system. Remember, in a flat globalized world, everyone is in competition with everyone else. There aren't any meaningful barriers. We are going to see this dynamic again and again...

If you find yourself alone and naked in a global gun fight -- tribe up!

source: globalguerrillas.typepad.com...


JOURNAL: Guerrilla Entrepreneurs take to the seas
globalguerrillas.typepad.com...

Some thinking on Somali pirates:

Seal snipers took out three Somali pirates and freed an American hostage held in a lifeboat. What's interesting to me is the decision making process used to resolve this minor problem. Here are some of the aspects. Firstly, there was a timer on the hostage stand-off. Other pirate groups/ships (an open source insurgency with commercial drivers) were en route to surround the lifeboat or take control of the hostages. Secondly, this minor decision involved a highly centralized decision making loop that included the President, the Commander of CENTCOM, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the DoJ, and the White House/NSC -- just to pull the trigger on three kidnappers holding a hostage at gunpoint. Lastly, one of the biggest fears of the US government is that these pirates would be arrested. Why? Since Somalia is a mess, they would become wards of the US, likely suffer only minimal jail time, and eventually end up applying for US citizenship.
The symbiosis between private insurance and privateering dominates. If the company that owned the rescued ship wasn't a US defense contractor, its kidnapping insurance company (likely Lloyds) and its designated crisis representatives (likely Control Risks Group) would have negotiated to pay the pirate's fee to get the hostage back -- as are thousands of kidnappings from Mexico to Colombia to Nigeria to the Gulf of Aden are settled every year. Somali pirates have made tens of millions this way already. Further, in many parts of the world, kidnappers are almost never caught/killed (

Originally posted by Clisen33
No point in debating wih all the skeptics here, just like talking to a brick wall - since nothing good ever comes out of the U.S. Every single event is propaganda, false flags, set ups, and malevolent tendencies.

edit on 6-1-2012 by Clisen33 because: (no reason given)

QFT! Also if this was Iran rescuing an American fishing boat the Iranian headlines would read "Iran Navy captures 13 American CIA operatives"

Wonder if Iran would have paid the ransom?

Yeah, this is called " Hey we're America, we're not so bad. We know we shouldn't be over here, but we are going to do whatever we can to make it seem like we should."

Good to see that a ship in distress was helped out.

My question, how good are these pirates? I mean every skiff looks like you'd be able to sink it just by dropping bowling balls from your elevated deck position! It would be the most fun bowling EVER @ sea!

Couldn't you just put like 2 rifles on board each ship with the captain and 1st mate the ship snipers and end this problem? 5.56 or 7.62x39 or 7.62x51 should ruin their days.

I'd love to take a shot on on rolling boat @ something 400 - 800 yds out. If we can pick our calibers, can it be my .375 H&H 300gr Accubond loading? Yeah it is a little over pressure, but it is a frozen rope out to 600 yds!

Derek

Originally posted by LadySkadi
Wonder if Iran would have paid the ransom?

Lmao. They sure the hell wouldn't of got them back otherwise without a fight. (not so sure the Iranian navy's quit as awe inspiring as the US Navy.. but I could be wrong?)

What if the tables were turned. How easy would it be for the politicians to tear ats apart and call it on its bull#? These stupid Iran and US war threads have been dragging on forever now. Seven different climaxes already have been reached and now it ends like this? ATS members conveniently create loads of bull# right in front of your eyes, please open them.

Heard this at work today and really only had two thoughts, and they were both stuck in my head all day.

Thanks Trey and Matt!

reply to post by kozmo


What an uneducated response. The Iranians in this instance were fisherman, not military personal.

Originally posted by Viesczy
Good to see that a ship in distress was helped out.

My question, how good are these pirates? I mean every skiff looks like you'd be able to sink it just by dropping bowling balls from your elevated deck position! It would be the most fun bowling EVER @ sea!

Couldn't you just put like 2 rifles on board each ship with the captain and 1st mate the ship snipers and end this problem? 5.56 or 7.62x39 or 7.62x51 should ruin their days.

I'd love to take a shot on on rolling boat @ something 400 - 800 yds out. If we can pick our calibers, can it be my .375 H&H 300gr Accubond loading? Yeah it is a little over pressure, but it is a frozen rope out to 600 yds!

Derek

so you're all for murdering Somalis for defending their country. noted
Somalia is being used as an illegal toxic waste dump , almost had all their tuna fished out illegally and is having to defend from "civilized" nations raiding their national resources.

but you're good for going over there and killing people,
lol perhaps they chop you up and feed you to the sharks.

but hey keep drinking the koolaid

reply to post by football6


they were fishing illegally as well

The TRUTH behind the Somali pirate situation-1/2

Nuruddin Farah: The Truth About Somali Piracy blogs.wsj.com...

Please note that I am not for one moment condoning the hostage-taking criminality in which the Somali pirates have engaged. But unlike many peoples of the sea–including the Greeks, the Danes, the Swedes and the English–who saw the lucrative potential of piracy and pursued it as a vocation, Somalia did not engaged in thievery at sea until recently, despite the country’s more than 3,000 kilometers of coastline, the longest in Africa.

At the same time, untruths about piracy in Somalia are perpetuated, in print and on TV and radio. When I visited the country, I discovered that Somali pirates do not live the high life, nor do they receive the sums being mentioned, because much of the money stays either in Abu Dhabi or London, where it is banked. True, the state in Somalia barely functions, but that is not the root cause of Somali piracy. It started as a response to illicit plunder of the country’s sea resources by ships owned in Europe and Asia, but flying foreign flags of all sorts. The ships would arrive in Somali waters armed for battle, with speed boats, and they would employ fishing methods banned elsewhere, at times dumping nuclear, chemical and other wastes, and at times shooting at the Somalis fishing in the same area.

Johann Hari You-are-being-lied-to-about-pirates
www.independent.co.uk...
nuclear-waste-and-the-truth-about-Somali-pirates
current.com...

You are being lied to about pirates:
Some are clearly just gangsters. But others are trying to stop illegal dumping and trawling.

Who imagined that in 2009, the world's governments would be declaring a new War on Pirates? As you read this, the British Royal Navy – backed by the ships of more than two dozen nations, from the US to China – is sailing into Somalian waters to take on men we still picture as parrot-on-the-shoulder pantomime villains. They will soon be fighting Somalian ships and even chasing the pirates onto land, into one of the most broken countries on earth. But behind the arrr-me-hearties oddness of this tale, there is an untold scandal. The people our governments are labelling as "one of the great menaces of our times" have an extraordinary story to tell – and some justice on their side.

A United Nations' report released in 2005 says nuclear and hazardous wastes dumped on Somalia's shores had been scattered by the Asian tsunami and are infecting Somalis in coastal areas.

Yes: nuclear waste. One day mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury – you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."

At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."

can we declare a koolaid boycott