5. Comment by Darren M. (Darren)— November 18,2009 @ 8:13AM
Ratings:-21+14
#1 because the answer is the same answer to the question "Why not just level/bomb the entire city of Baghdad?" when the insurgency there was at its peak. You do that, and more problems are created than solutions gained. I dont think there is a "Somali pirate village" just like there isn't a "terrorist village." Mixing in with the general population is how these wackos do their thing.
6. Comment by Rosalie V. (rosyV)— November 18,2009 @ 8:22AM
Ratings:-2+39
The ships should all be armed and simply blow the pirates out of the water when they begin their attack. Do not provoke them, just get rid of them when they act! The pirates are obviously not upset when they take or wound hostages, why give them the opportunity? When will the ships be allowed to fight back? It isn't just a game for crying out loud!
9. Comment by james h. (jetmech)— November 18,2009 @ 8:56AM
Ratings:-8+16
You know, a friend of mine was killed there and then his body dragged through the streets while the B@stards cheered them on, I say just nuke the whole country back into the stone age but the problem is these scum have never made it out of the stone age so just nuke em and be done with it!!!!
12. Comment by George L. (GHL)— November 18,2009 @ 10:34AM
Ratings:-4+16
#1 - We can be more particular than wiping out an entire village. Look for new construction and blast it; preferably at 3 AM when at least the pirate's family is likely to be home. The object is to convince the pirates that their actions may have negative consequences.
#11 - These pirates probably are Muslim, but terrorism is not the reason they are attacking ships. They are doing it for the money.
14. Comment by Lisbeth B. (Benks)— November 18,2009 @ 10:46AM
Ratings:-13+10
If Mr. Obama had the testicles, he'd ask Congress to declare war on Somalia, and our navy could set up a blockade just outside their national water boundaries. No one in or out without a thorough search of the vessel.
That way the pirates who are in Somalia would be "landlocked", and the ones on the open sea have nowhere to go with their ill-gotten booty.
It'll never happen though, because sadly, the president would rather apologize to the pirates than confront them.
19. Comment by Tony M. (3982)— November 18,2009 @ 12:38PM
Ratings:-4+14
We aren't the World's Police Force. We can barely contain security in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now you people want the US Navy to patrol an entire contenant?!
21. Comment by Robert T. (RobT)— November 18,2009 @ 12:49PM
Ratings:-4+9
Hard to believe that "pirates" are an actual problem. We have plenty of force left to project; especially Naval force. (its not like the Navy is very busy in Afghanistan!!) Its well past time that we should have made the sea lanes safe for commerce.
22. Comment by davet t. (stuartoo)— November 18,2009 @ 12:58PM
Ratings:-1+9
During WWII the Germans used what is known as "Q" ships. These were cargo ships which had hidden guns. When another ship came close they opened up on them or just captured them. Lets do this again with a cargo ship and fill it with Gatling guns, marines and some missiles and do the same. I firure that after a few times there would be no Somali pirates left. Dont forget the Osama Bin Ladens of the world would love to see us involved in a war in Somali. Lets keep it on the ocean.
23. Comment by Sylvia B. (3698)— November 18,2009 @ 2:18PM
Ratings:-2+6
It is up to the Koreans to do something about the pirates in this case. We need to learn how to mind our own business. And, yeah, I hope the Koreans kick some butt.
25. Comment by Don M. (saffronbindy)— November 18,2009 @ 3:11PM
Ratings:-2+11
8. Comment by davet t. (stuartoo) — writes:
"I am not sure I want our American boys getting killed over a North Korean ship."
23. Comment by Sylvia B. (3698) — writes:
"It is up to the Koreans to do something about the pirates in this case. We need to learn how to mind our own business."
If you would have read the story you would have noted the ship was flagged in the Virgin Islands. The Virgin Islands are US territory (we own them, and govern them as a territory). So, it was our ship.
The reason there was a N. Korean crew on it was because it was headed for a communist port. US law says there can't be US crew on a ship in a communist port, so we hire the N. Koreans to sail those ships for us.
As for Obama not responding (#16) he has responded. He put 150 US special forces in the country to train Yemeni special forces to hunt down pirates. They have had some success. The US is also now picking up the cost of the Yemeni Coast Guard, and we have bought them some helicopters so they can land their troops on hijacked ships. There is an article about that here. Obama also dispatched some unmanned drones to escort ships, and they have been working (the recent hijacking attempt on the Maersk was thwarted by a drone).
The real problem is international maritime law does not allow US soldiers to defend Yemeni waters, because they are their own country. But Obama found a loophole in the law - it doesn't say we can't train them, equip them, or provide them logistical support.
The other problem is international law says that ships sailing between countries can't be armed. Obama exempted us from that part of the treaty after the April incident, when our snipers technically broke international law. So far the other countries haven't complained much about our claimed exemption, and most US flagged ships in the region are now armed.
27. Comment by Lisbeth B. (Benks)— November 18,2009 @ 5:46PM
Ratings:-1+3
Regarding comment #19,
We aren't the World's Police Force. We can barely contain security in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now you people want the US Navy to patrol an entire contenant?!
When the Somalis attack U.S. ships, we aren't being the whole world's police force.
It's called "taking care of your own".
Some of us in this country still believe in such a thing.
28. Comment by Doug S. (6125)— November 18,2009 @ 5:57PM
Ratings:-2+3
Is the entire world stupid or what? Don't tell me we don't know where these slime balls are... Blast them into oblivion.. Or, just maybe ------ no one really cares......! Kind of like the age we now live in. If there's no political or financial gain, or a power grab, then it seems nothing is worth the effort. Guess pirates are pretty far down the ladder in terms of importance. But, the media loves them.
Gets everyone excited.
33. Comment by Kenneth O. (OberDaHill)— November 18,2009 @ 11:53PM
Ratings:-0+0
#14,
I agree with you about the idea of a blockade but you might want to check before spewing stupidity about our President. The fact is, the reason no one has blockaded them is because they have a HUGE coastline. If you want to talk crap about Presidents then lets talk about Shrub who could have taken some form of action against these terrorist filth (and had reason to) but never did. Can we say Mogadishu?
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Pirate says captain of ship hijacked Monday dies
A self-proclaimed Somali pirate says the captain of a ship captured earlier this week has died of wounds suffered during the hijacking.why don't we just simply Tomahawk missile these Somali pirate villages?
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Send in the drones! And don't ask before shooting.
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A high-decibel noise device?!? we had one of those in our house when we misbehaved. It was called MOM.
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Armed ship repelled another attack. Any questions?
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#1 because the answer is the same answer to the question "Why not just level/bomb the entire city of Baghdad?" when the insurgency there was at its peak. You do that, and more problems are created than solutions gained. I dont think there is a "Somali pirate village" just like there isn't a "terrorist village." Mixing in with the general population is how these wackos do their thing.
Report this comment
The ships should all be armed and simply blow the pirates out of the water when they begin their attack. Do not provoke them, just get rid of them when they act! The pirates are obviously not upset when they take or wound hostages, why give them the opportunity? When will the ships be allowed to fight back? It isn't just a game for crying out loud!
Report this comment
Execute captured pirates and make an example of them. Would be a good detertant.
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I am not sure I want our American boys getting killed over a North Korean ship. Talk to me about any other country.
Otherwise...smoke 'em.
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You know, a friend of mine was killed there and then his body dragged through the streets while the B@stards cheered them on, I say just nuke the whole country back into the stone age but the problem is these scum have never made it out of the stone age so just nuke em and be done with it!!!!
Report this comment
How does the pirate know the cause of death of the captain??? Is he a doctor? What these pirates are after is rum. We all know that pirates like rum.
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Good Grief, "Pirate says Captain Dies?"
How about this instead:
"Muslim Terrorist Murders Ship Captain"
QUIT THE PC CRAP, they're murdering us!
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#1 - We can be more particular than wiping out an entire village. Look for new construction and blast it; preferably at 3 AM when at least the pirate's family is likely to be home. The object is to convince the pirates that their actions may have negative consequences.
#11 - These pirates probably are Muslim, but terrorism is not the reason they are attacking ships. They are doing it for the money.
Report this comment
Okay George, but they hijacked a ship and murdered some people.
How is that NOT terrorism???
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If Mr. Obama had the testicles, he'd ask Congress to declare war on Somalia, and our navy could set up a blockade just outside their national water boundaries. No one in or out without a thorough search of the vessel.
That way the pirates who are in Somalia would be "landlocked", and the ones on the open sea have nowhere to go with their ill-gotten booty.
It'll never happen though, because sadly, the president would rather apologize to the pirates than confront them.
Report this comment
Regarding comment #10,
Juan, the captain died from a gunshot wound.
But you won't read that here in these pages.
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What ever happened to our big stick?
We are simply wimps now and everyone knoiws it!
I bet if Sarah were in charge... she would finding that big stick again and whacking them with it herself!
But we got BO instead and what has he done about this... absolutely nada!
Love the change.
Love that hope.
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So?? Oh GREAT OBAMA?? MMMMMMM MMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMM How much longer are you going to let these hijackings go on???? MMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMM
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How about we just turn the entirety of Somalia into a glass plate.
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We aren't the World's Police Force. We can barely contain security in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now you people want the US Navy to patrol an entire contenant?!
Get real.
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Whats' a contenant?
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Hard to believe that "pirates" are an actual problem. We have plenty of force left to project; especially Naval force. (its not like the Navy is very busy in Afghanistan!!) Its well past time that we should have made the sea lanes safe for commerce.
Report this comment
During WWII the Germans used what is known as "Q" ships. These were cargo ships which had hidden guns. When another ship came close they opened up on them or just captured them. Lets do this again with a cargo ship and fill it with Gatling guns, marines and some missiles and do the same. I firure that after a few times there would be no Somali pirates left. Dont forget the Osama Bin Ladens of the world would love to see us involved in a war in Somali. Lets keep it on the ocean.
Report this comment
It is up to the Koreans to do something about the pirates in this case. We need to learn how to mind our own business. And, yeah, I hope the Koreans kick some butt.
Report this comment
They are not pirates. They are maritime organizers. Let's fund them and forget it.
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8. Comment by davet t. (stuartoo) — writes:
"I am not sure I want our American boys getting killed over a North Korean ship."
23. Comment by Sylvia B. (3698) — writes:
"It is up to the Koreans to do something about the pirates in this case. We need to learn how to mind our own business."
If you would have read the story you would have noted the ship was flagged in the Virgin Islands. The Virgin Islands are US territory (we own them, and govern them as a territory). So, it was our ship.
The reason there was a N. Korean crew on it was because it was headed for a communist port. US law says there can't be US crew on a ship in a communist port, so we hire the N. Koreans to sail those ships for us.
As for Obama not responding (#16) he has responded. He put 150 US special forces in the country to train Yemeni special forces to hunt down pirates. They have had some success. The US is also now picking up the cost of the Yemeni Coast Guard, and we have bought them some helicopters so they can land their troops on hijacked ships. There is an article about that here. Obama also dispatched some unmanned drones to escort ships, and they have been working (the recent hijacking attempt on the Maersk was thwarted by a drone).
The real problem is international maritime law does not allow US soldiers to defend Yemeni waters, because they are their own country. But Obama found a loophole in the law - it doesn't say we can't train them, equip them, or provide them logistical support.
The other problem is international law says that ships sailing between countries can't be armed. Obama exempted us from that part of the treaty after the April incident, when our snipers technically broke international law. So far the other countries haven't complained much about our claimed exemption, and most US flagged ships in the region are now armed.
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#25 Don M.... Thank you for that correction. Just dont want to see our blood lost for Kim Jung Ill. Otherwise you are right.
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Regarding comment #19,
We aren't the World's Police Force. We can barely contain security in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now you people want the US Navy to patrol an entire contenant?!
When the Somalis attack U.S. ships, we aren't being the whole world's police force.
It's called "taking care of your own".
Some of us in this country still believe in such a thing.
Report this comment
Is the entire world stupid or what? Don't tell me we don't know where these slime balls are... Blast them into oblivion.. Or, just maybe ------ no one really cares......! Kind of like the age we now live in. If there's no political or financial gain, or a power grab, then it seems nothing is worth the effort. Guess pirates are pretty far down the ladder in terms of importance. But, the media loves them.
Gets everyone excited.
Report this comment
6 men with M 60s 2 on each end and 2 in the middle.
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Fw: How About a Cruise?
We are working on it!
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the noise generating device was a grenade.
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Somalia...only good it will ever be is as a saturation bombing range and napalm practice ground.
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#14,
I agree with you about the idea of a blockade but you might want to check before spewing stupidity about our President. The fact is, the reason no one has blockaded them is because they have a HUGE coastline. If you want to talk crap about Presidents then lets talk about Shrub who could have taken some form of action against these terrorist filth (and had reason to) but never did. Can we say Mogadishu?
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#25, Don...You ROCK!!! Thank you for that post. Very informative and good to know.
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