Are we heading toward a military operation against Somali pirates?

Because it sure seems so. 5,000 marines, two weeks kind of thing.

oh noes, what about the free spaghetti? :(

http://www.sfbayview.com/2009/you-are-being-lied-to-about-pirates/

cheers gbx!

Interesting piece, but the assertion that European powers are dumping nuclear waste into Somali waters makes almost no sense geographically. India maybe?

they can't put their waste on barges and bring it to east africa? i mean it sounds weird but it doesn't not make sense

also could be from submarine reactors

Sailing it all the way around Africa or through the Persian Gulf doesn't make that much sense, but I don't know that much about such things

I mean why not just dump it somewhere in the arctic or down in the South Atlantic?

But I guess maybe if there were ships already sailing the Persian Gulf with some ostensibly legitimate purpose, it might not be hard for them to bring along some waste as well?

I saw another article suggesting that European powers were doing illegal fishing as well as dumping there, and that somehow turned Somalian fishermen into vigilantes who first sought to protect their fishing waters and then turned them into pirates with their country a mess.

So while there might be some truth to Europeans committing fishing and dumping violations here (and wouldn't the dumping hurt the fishing?)not sure that it justifies kidnapping, or will prevent dumping and fishing violations.

i dunno, stronger governments might be able to prevent it from happening. this has slightly more info about waste dumping. it seems like the political conditions in the area make it easy whereas a lot more would be done re: int'l environmental laws and countries being able to protect their own coasts, especially if they tried to dump near the arctic. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2008/10/2008109174223218644.html

xpost

So we're fishing in the same areas we're dumping nuclear waste, makes sense...

there's an addendum to that article reminding you the somali coastline is huge so no it's not impossible to do both

Postscript: Some commentators seem bemused by the fact that both toxic dumping and the theft of fish are happening in the same place - wouldn’t this make the fish contaminated? In fact, Somalia’s coastline is vast, stretching 3,300km (over 2,000 miles). Imagine how easy it would be - without any coast guard or army - to steal fish from Florida and dump nuclear waste on California, and you get the idea. These events are happening in different places but with the same horrible effect: death for the locals and stirred-up piracy. There’s no contradiction.

Must be some organisation between dumpers and fishermen then.

why would that be necessary?

oh man the comments on that article

I wish the author of that article would use "Somali" rather than "Somalian".

The US navy has been involved in joint operations in the Horn of Africa with the EU and NATO for a couple years now. NATO handed off the operation to the EU around the turn of the year. Look up Operation Atalanta and EU NAVFOR Somalia. There's also CTF-150, which is a war on terror coalition naval force that's been patrolling the Horn of Africa since 2002, and has focused on combating piracy since 2006. I doubt we'll be sending in marines soon because that never seems to work in Somalia. Besides, the one American hostage is still on a boat!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_Task_Force_150

So, to answer Super Cub's question, we already have a military operation against Somali pirates! It's at least three years old.

oh, and now our hostage has been freed! http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97H2KO80&show_article=1

i want details of this undoubtedly glorious commando operation

sounds like some jack bauer shit to be frank

xpost - I realize we have a significant military presence in the Horn of Africa. I guess I meant a military operation in the grand tradition of American intervention - ala Panama, Haiti, and, er, the Barbary Coast. Seems unlikely though.

I'm also curious how this raid transpired. I saw a picture of the lifeboat, and it would be difficult to raid as best I can tell. It's totally enclosed with a few hatches.

Glad it worked out for the captain.

on abc news, they just said that the pirates were taken out when the capt went to the side of the lifeboat to take a piss

r u serious

3 of them are dead right?

sounds like a video game mission

one that takes forever to clear, because the hostage keeps getting killed

hostage-taking 101 fail

(CNN) -- The American cargo ship captain held hostage by pirates jumped overboard Sunday from the lifeboat where he was being held, and U.S. Navy SEALs shot and killed three of his four captors, according to a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation.

so some dude on NPR was saying that technically these guys are brigands, not pirates ... did anybody understand what he was on about?

http://gawker.com/5209068/update-how-the-navy-rescued-capt-phillips

NBC News is reporting that three pirates simultaneously popped their heads out of their lifeboat and were taken out by Navy sharpshooters from the U.S.S. Bainbridge.

The surviving pirate had jumped ship and surrendered a few hours earlier. The Navy had surreptitiously attached a tow line to the craft to keep it from drifting to the Somali shore, and the pirates apparently looked outside in order to investigate.

gangsta

that's crazy. holyshit training.

The Navy had surreptitiously attached a tow line to the craft to keep it from drifting to the Somali shore

lololol

xpost to SuperCub

I doubt think that Obama will do anything to stay off of Somalian soil.

oops! I think that Obama will do anything to stay off of Somalian soil.

snipers firing boat-to-boat is crazy

RIPirates

yeah, i figured they wouldn't even try.

boat-to-boat simultaneously from long distance at a relatively small target.

that's the sitch! they must be good shots.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/world/africa/13pirates.html?hp

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/04/12/world/13pirates5_600.jpg

<3 dude second to right

is that billy bob thornton far right?

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a sailor."

snipers firing boat-to-boat is crazy

― moonship journey to baja, Sunday, 12 April 2009 20:44 (Yesterday)

abu muqawama:

http://abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2009/04/on-sof-and-piracy.html

i think calling this a "win for obama" is beyond stupid, but if anything had happened to the guy it would def have been a "huge blow for obama" so fair's fair i guess.

so glad the president took Newt's advice lolz

Do sniper rifles come equipped with steadicams now?

poor Jonah:

Obama & the Rescue [Jonah Goldberg]

My morning in-box is full of snark and bile from some folks who think I shouldn't have congratulated President Obama for the rescue last night. It does sound like some of the reports saying he personally ordered the rescue were misleading. But you know what? Congratulations anyway. It's good news the captain was rescued; Obama is the commander-in-chief and this happened on his watch; if he were thoroughly Carteresque he would have ordered that the pirates not be harmed, and you can be sure some of the snark-and-bilers would be blaming Obama if this ended badly (and I might have been one of them).

Look, I think my credentials as a critic of Obama are pretty solid. But I find the idea that I have to be critical no matter what Obama does to be exhaustingly unappealing.

But I find the idea that I have to be critical no matter what Obama does to be exhaustingly unappealing.

traitor

Look, I think my credentials as a critic of Obama are pretty solid

I would never have guessed.

Jonah sure loves his jangly adverbs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/world/africa/14pirates.html?_r=1&hp

Perhaps my initial take on things was not so far off.

you know i am old enough to realize that military ops are not "cool" but daaaaamn navy seals.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Saturday via Twitter that "President obama is making a major mistake in not forcefully oulining the rules of civilization for dealing with pirates."

"We look weak," Gingrich wrote.

A day later, US Navy snipers, with authority from the president, killed three pirates and freed the American ship captain who had been taken hostage in the Indian Ocean.

I asked the former speaker, via Twitter, how he felt after the rescue.

He didn't respond directly to my question, but did point to a Tweet earlier today.

"The navy seals did exactly the right thing in rescuing the american captain," he wrote. "President obama did the right thing in allowing the navy to act."

stay classy Newt

"President Obama was more effective in punishing the pirates than President Reagan was in punishing the Achille Lauro hijackers."

"The Ship of State continues to sail strongly tonight. Thank You SEALS, U.S. Navy and Commander in Chief Obama for preserving our reputation."

I especially like these last two comments, for they show, yet again, how Democrats love spilling blood, believing they can do it better and more efficiently than those evil, crazy tea-bagging Repubs. The Dems as Michael Corleone to the GOP's Sonny....

http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com/2009/04/restoring-american-values.html

Does that imply that Ron Paul is Fredo?

I especially like these last two comments, for they show, yet again, how Democrats love spilling blood, believing they can do it better and more efficiently than those evil, crazy tea-bagging Repubs. The Dems as Michael Corleone to the GOP's Sonny....

Well, yeah, if one could watch The Godfather and conclude that the only meaningful differences between Michael and Sonny are intelligence and prowess, then I guess one could likewise conclude that those are the only meaningful differences between, say, Obama and Bush.

The Easter orgy of self-congratulation reminded me of Grenada '83, btw.