Somali Pirates Murder Four Americans

No doubt a strongly worded letter is forthcoming from our fearless leaders.

The four Americans aboard a yacht hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia are dead.

Hijacked last Friday off Oman, the Quest was being piloted toward the Somali coast - and was being shadowed by a U.S. Navy warship.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that gunshots aboard the yacht were heard, and the warship took action.

All 4 Americans were dead, killed apparently by their captors.

Maybe Obama can take his eyes off his War on Wisconsin to offer a reaction.

Somali Pirates Take On U.S. Warship With Predictable Results

I realize these clowns are brazen but are they so stupid to think they can take on a warship?

A U.S. warship captured six suspected pirates Saturday after a battle off the Horn of Africa — the Navy's third direct encounter with seafaring bandits in less than two weeks.

The Navy has taken at least 21 suspected pirates since March 31 in the violence-plagued waters off Somalia and nearby regions, where U.S. warships are part of an international anti-piracy flotilla.

A statement by the U.S. Navy said the suspected pirates began shooting at the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland just before dawn about 380 miles (610 kilometers) off Djibouti, a small nation facing Yemen across the mouth of the Red Sea.

The Navy said the Ashland returned fire and the suspected pirate skiff was destroyed. All six people on board were rescued and taken aboard the Ashland.

Should have let them drown.

The Ashland suffered no injuries or damage in the second recent attack on a U.S. warship by suspected pirates.

On March 31, the frigate USS Nicholas exchanged fire with a suspected pirate vessel west of the Seychelles, sinking their skiff and confiscating a mother ship. Five suspected pirates were captured.

On Monday, the destroyer USS McFaul responded to the distress call from a merchant vessel and captured 10 other suspected pirates.

The Navy said it was reviewing "multiple options" on the suspects' fates.

Let's hope heavy weights around their ankles and dropping them into the sea is one of them.

Navy Grabs Eight More Suspects

The courts in New York are going to be busy if our military keeps this up.

The US Navy came to the rescue of a ship being pursued by pirates, and then captured eight wannabee Blackbeards.

USS Farragut dispatched an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter to MV Barakaale 1 after it raised a distress call saying it was under attack from a gang on a skiff, the embassy said in a statement.

"The helicopter then stopped the ... skiff as it attempted to speed away, by firing warning shots across its bow," it said.

"A boarding team from USS Farragut boarded the vessel and the eight suspected pirates were taken aboard the Farragut."

You know, if the Navy keeps this up I may have to change my opinion of them.

I said may.

Vikings Beat Buccaneers

No, not my prediction for the Super Bowl, but rather a good news story about Danish Special Forces applying a beat down to some Somali pirates and in the process rescuing 25 civilians.

Danish special forces stormed a ship captured by armed Somali pirates Friday and freed the 25 crew on board, an EU naval spokesman said, marking the first time a warship has intervened during a hijacking.

The only thing I don't like about the story is it says they were still looking for the pirates. I hope they didn't get away and if so how.

I sure hope they had the proper search warrants and were prepared to read them their Miranda Rights. Ooops my bad. That is the US not the EU.

Thomas Jefferson Wouldn't Have Put Up With This Nonsense

The Somali pirates have their own little stimulus plan going on. They have received over $100 million in ransom over the last two years according to a report by the AP. The latest was a $4 million dollar contribution by the Chinese for the release of a ship along with 25 crew members.

I don't know about you but I think the cost of a couple of well-armed crew members and plenty of ammunition would be a little cheaper.

"We have been given the ransom money, checked it, counted it and shared it among ourselves," said the self-proclaimed pirate, who gave his name as Ahmed Afweyne.

Somali pirates have been paid more than $100 million in ransom over the last two years.

Here is a quick history lesson for you.

Paying the ransom would only lead to further demands, Jefferson argued in letters to future presidents John Adams, then America's minister to Great Britain, and James Monroe, then a member of Congress. As Jefferson wrote to Adams in a July 11, 1786, letter, "I acknolege [sic] I very early thought it would be best to effect a peace thro' the medium of war." Paying tribute will merely invite more demands, and even if a coalition proves workable, the only solution is a strong navy that can reach the pirates, Jefferson argued in an August 18, 1786, letter to James Monroe: "The states must see the rod; perhaps it must be felt by some one of them. . . . Every national citizen must wish to see an effective instrument of coercion, and should fear to see it on any other element than the water. A naval force can never endanger our liberties, nor occasion bloodshed; a land force would do both." "From what I learn from the temper of my countrymen and their tenaciousness of their money," Jefferson added in a December 26, 1786, letter to the president of Yale College, Ezra Stiles, "it will be more easy to raise ships and men to fight these pirates into reason, than money to bribe them."

Jefferson's plan for an international coalition foundered on the shoals of indifference and a belief that it was cheaper to pay the tribute than fight a war. The United States's relations with the Barbary states continued to revolve around negotiations for ransom of American ships and sailors and the payment of annual tributes or gifts. Even though Secretary of State Jefferson declared to Thomas Barclay, American consul to Morocco, in a May 13, 1791, letter of instructions for a new treaty with Morocco that it is "lastly our determination to prefer war in all cases to tribute under any form, and to any people whatever," the United States continued to negotiate for cash settlements. In 1795 alone the United States was forced to pay nearly a million dollars in cash, naval stores, and a frigate to ransom 115 sailors from the dey of Algiers. Annual gifts were settled by treaty on Algiers, Morocco, Tunis, and Tripoli.

In 1801, after being elected President, that is exactly what he did.

I wonder if these new millionaires will now relocate to Minnesota?

Catch And Release

The Dutch have decided to release 13 men who tried to hijack a ship off the coast of Somalia because nobody wanted to prosecute them. They will be free to pursue their piracy and the Dutch even gave them wonderful parting gifts.

A Dutch defence ministry statement said the European Union had decided that the 13 detainees had to be freed because it was impossible to bring charges.

The suspects were seized in the Indian Ocean two weeks ago after allegedly attempting to attack a cargo ship.

They were put back on their own speedboat with some food and fuel.

This is the future of not only fighting piracy but the broader war on terrorism when you follow the law enforcement model. It leaves you shaking your head and glad you don't make your living working aboard a ship.

The pirates have figured out one hell of a business model. Hijack a ship, hold the crew for ransom, rake in millions in protection money which is funneled to your brothers in arms participating in the jihad, and if caught spend a few days getting three hots and a cot courtesy of your intended victims. It is enough to make me want to pursue a career on the high seas. One or two big scores and you are set and the odds seem better then winning the lottery.

Nobody to Root For: Iranians Hijacked by Somali Pirates

This is like the Bloods versus the Crips, high seas adventure edition.

Iran says pirates off the coast of Somalia have struck to hijack an Iranian vessel, holding its 29 crewmembers onboard hostage.

Deputy Managing Director for Maritime Affairs Saeed Izadian said an Iranian fishing vessel was attacked in free waters by Somali pirates on Sunday.

"A number of armed men off the coast of Somalia hijacked this Iranian vessel," Izadian said Tuesday.

The Iranian official put the number of crewmembers held hostage at 29, explaining further that pirates have not yet asked for a ransom in exchange for the release of the ship and its crew.

"The Somali pirates have currently taken refuge in their hideouts; we have so far received 2 dispatched messages form the pirates [with the help of which] we have tracked them down," Izadian added.

The above comes from Press TV, an Iranian stae-controlled organization, so no direct link. It's not hard to find if you know where to look.

It's mentioned here.

Cruise Ship Fights Off Pirates: 'It Felt Like We Were In War'

How much you want to bet the Israelis wind up being criticized for this?

An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security forces exchanged fire with the bandits and drove them away, the commander said Sunday.

Cmdr. Ciro Pinto told Italian state radio that six men in a small white speed boat approached the Msc Melody and opened fire Saturday night, but retreated after the Israeli security officers aboard the cruise ship returned fire.

"It felt like we were in war," Pinto said.

None of the roughly 1,000 passengers and 500 crew members were hurt, Melody owner Msc Cruises said in a statement issued by its German branch.

Domenico Pellegrino, head of the Italian cruise line, said Msc Cruises hired the Israelis because they were the best trained security agents, the ANSA news agency reported.

Somali Goons Attack U.S. Cargo Ship

Doesn't look like these vermin have been sufficiently deterred.

The U.S. Navy successfully repelled an attack by Somali pirates who attempted to hijack an American owned cargo ship Tuesday by firing rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel, officials said.

No one was injured during the brazen attack, but the targeted ship was damaged, officials from Liberty Maritime Corporation of Lake Success said in a statement.

"We are grateful and pleased that no one was injured and the crew and the ship are safe," the statement from the Long Island based company said. "We have communicated with the families of the crew to inform them of these developments. We commend the entire crew for its professionalism and poise under fire."

The attack on the Liberty Sun occurred about 300 miles off the coast of Somalia, U.S. officials told NBC News.

I have an idea. Maybe we should call them rightwing extremists and the administration will begin taking them seriously.

Quagmire! Media Despairs Over Pirates

Just two days after proclaiming Barack Obama a conquering hero, the media is back at it in full defeatist mode.

That didn't take long.

Stamping out Somalia's piracy scourge using U.S. warships or military force will be virtually impossible, according to maritime experts who said Tuesday the real problems lie ashore in the ashes of Somalia's failed state.

Fixing those problems could take decades, and the U.S. already tried intervening — 17years ago in a failed humanitarian mission that ended with helicopters shot down and dead US soldiers dragged through Mogadishu's sand-swept streets.

"It's understandable to find people yelling at their televisions, saying 'shoot them all or stop them,'" Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, managing director of Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service in Britain, said of the pirates. "You have the might of international navies, and you can't end this?"

But sending in more warships is like "sticking a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound," he said. "The fact is, what you see at sea is a manifestation of the problems ashore in Somalia."

I'm not suggesting going in on the ground in Somalia. Some things are a lost cause. But is it out of the question that shipping companies cannot arm themselves with security and have strict shoot to kill orders after these terrorist bandits are given warning? These rag-tag punks are laughing at us while becoming very wealthy and all we're going to do is moan and say "oh gee, there isn't much we can do?"

There are choices: If you want to continue shipping through that are take measures to protect yourselves and fight back. Or avoid the area completely.

Obama's Reckless, Unilateral Killing Just Creates More Pirates

I figure that would be the typical media reaction following the icing of the feral youth this past Sunday if Bush were president. But while Obama basks in the adoration of the media, the hijackers just amp it up further.

Somali pirates have brazenly hijacked four more ships in the Gulf of Aden over the last 24 hours and opened fire on a fifth.

The pirates captured two trawlers yesterday, a cargo ship named the M.V. Irene overnight, and a second cargo ship named the M.V. Seahorse today.

This afternoon a Nato official said a band of pirates had opened fire on a fifth cargo ship - but it managed to escape.

Natostaff officer Stephan Gresmak said ten pirates on board three skiffs fired automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades at the Liberian-flagged 21,887-tonne Safmarine Asia.

There was no immediate word of any casualties.

The sharp escalation in attacks come just hours after President Barack Obama vowed to step up the fight against piracy - and as the pirates vowed retaliation for the death of their five colleagues.

One promised: ‘In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying.’
They appeared to have been carried out by more than one band of pirates - most of whom appear to be just teenagers.

It is feared that they could take their revenge on the hundreds of foreign nationals they hold on the seized ships.

You kill one pirate, and ten more line up to take his place.

OK, I'm being facetious, but seriously, do you think the media's reaction would have been the same had Bush did this?

I don't think so.

Weird But True: HuffPoster Offers Defense of Somali Pirates

Seems after the hostage standoff ended yesterday most of the civilized world is applauding the daring rescue of Captain Richard Phillips.

But leave it to the Huffington Post to give voice to a Somali defending piracy.

Seriously. You see, this piracy isn't about just robbing people to enrich themselves.

It's about the environment!

In 2004, after a tsunami washed ashore several leaking containers, thousand of locals in the Puntland region of Somalia started to complain of severe and previously unreported ailments, such as abdominal bleeding, skin melting off and a lot of immediate cancer-like symptoms. Nick Nuttall, a spokesman for the United Nations Environmental Program, says that the containers had many different kinds of waste, including "Uranium, radioactive waste, lead, Cadmium, Mercury and chemical waste." But this wasn't just a passing evil from one or two groups taking advantage of our unprotected waters. The UN envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, says that the practice still continues to this day. It was months after those initial reports that local fishermen mobilized themselves, along with street militias, to go into the waters and deter the Westerners from having a free pass at completely destroying Somalia's aquatic life. Now years later, the deterring has become less noble, and the ex-fishermen with their militias have begun to develop a taste for ransom at sea. This form of piracy is now a major contributor to the Somali economy, especially in the very region that private toxic waste companies first began to burry our nation's death trap.

Now Somalia has upped the world's pirate attacks by over 21 percent in one year, and while NATO and the EU are both sending forces to the Somali coast to try and slow down the attacks, Blackwater and all kinds of private security firms are intent on cashing in. But while Europeans are well in their right to protect their trade interest in the region, our pirates were the only deterrent we had from an externally imposed environmental disaster. No one can say for sure that some of the ships they are now holding for ransom were not involved in illegal activity in our waters. The truth is, if you ask any Somali, if getting rid of the pirates only means the continuous rape of our coast by unmonitored Western Vessels, and the producing of a new cancerous generation, we would all fly our pirate flags high.

It is time that the world gave the Somali people some assurance that these Western illegal activities will end, if our pirates are to seize their operations. We do not want the EU and NATO serving as a shield for these nuclear waste-dumping hoodlums. It seems to me that this new modern crisis is truly a question of justice, but also a question of whose justice.

As is apparent these days, one man's pirate is another man's coast guard.

Naturally, this kind of nuttery brings out the best in the HuffPost comments.

Helzapoppin

People need to be reminded that during the American Revolution, we hired pirates to attack and loot foreign ships along the coast because we had no Navy. Not so different.

Thank you very much for this article. I have been aghast at the adolescent, abominable cheering going on over the killing of some of the "pirates" in the recent hostage situation - as if each head shot were nothing more than of a 3-pointer from mid-court.

I'm glad someone is willing to explore and explain WHY this all started in the first place.

If I were forced into those conditions, I would likely resort to "piracy" as well.

ini

I'm glad someone is telling the truth about this situation. You'll never hear it from CNN and Faux News that's for sure.

Ace links. Thanks!

Upping the Ante: Somali Pirates Now Hijack U.S. Tugboat

Barack Obama is still unavailable for comment. Must be busy eating very expensive pizza.

The head of a Kenyan seafarers' program said Saturday that Somali pirates had hijacked an American-owned tugboat with 16 crew in the Gulf of Aden.

Nairobi-based Italian Ambassador Pierandrea Magistrati said he only could confirm that "there is a boat that has been hijacked, I believe by Somali pirates."

The hijacking took place as the American captain of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama was still being held hostage on a lifeboat being watched by two U.S. warships.

The head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program, Andrew Mwangura, said maritime industry sources had informed his organization that the Italian-flagged U.S. tugboat was towing two barges when it was attacked. He said it was unclear if the attack took place off the coast of Somalia or further north near Yemen. He said did not know what was on the barges.

Mwangura said the attack was launched around 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday.

Mrs. Smart Diplomacy must find this latest hijacking downright hysterical.



Obama apparently failed to even mention the Somali pirates during how weekly radio address.

Nor did he mention the American journalists being held hostage in North Korea and Iran.

Lurch Calls for Pirate Hearings

Just what we need. Empty suits on Capitol Hill babbling about Somali pirates. I have a better suggestion. Open a major can of whoop-ass on these savages.

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee called for hearings on the mounting piracy threat as the fate of an American cargo-ship captain remained in limbo Thursday.

"These acts of piracy off of Somalia’s coastline may seem surreal, but they’re all too real and a thorough policy debate is long overdue," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in a statement. "When Americans, including at least one from Massachusetts, are endangered, you’ve got a complicated and dangerous international situation brewing, and that includes questions about a hot-pursuit policy on Somalia’s coastline."

Glad to see Liveshot has woken up and realized what's going on over there. Of course absolutely zero would be accomplished by preening for the television cameras.

Go Figure: Obama Got Call About Pirate Hijacking ... at 3 a.m.

Hmm, I guess Mrs. Clinton was right about getting those 3 a.m. phone calls.

Hillary Clinton said there would be days - and nights - like this.

For the second time in four days and with less than three months in office, President Barack Obama has received the "3 a.m. phone call" that Clinton warned about. In their bitter presidential contest, Clinton suggested that her young rival was not ready for a national security crisis.

His tests are coming early: first from the borderline rogue government in North Korea, then from stateless bandits preying on shipping lanes off the East African coast.

Those calls presaged what surely will be many more middle-of-the-night wake-ups for Obama as he battles a scourge of stateless brigands and terrorists operating with near impunity across an increasingly interconnected globe. His response to the early crises are being watched for signals of how he confronts enemies who operate outside the old rule book of international relations.

What happened to the magic unicorns and the world loving us again? Oh, that's right, it was all nonsense. Never mind, move along.

Through the day Wednesday, the White House was mostly silent on the pirates, leaving the talking to military officials more closely involved in whatever operations might be planned. Obama was updated on the incident throughout the day, first in his daily security briefing and then in updates from the White House Situation Room. The president himself made no public comment.

For a guy who never shuts up, the silence is rather conspicuous. Was probably busy catching up on some basketball he missed during his "triumphant" European tour.

The nearest U.S. Navy ship reportedly was at least 12 hours away when the Maersk Alabama was seized. And that spoke to the difficulty of the problem.

"The president is following the situation closely," said Denis McDonough, a top Obama security adviser, who noted the administration had "watched with alarm the increasing threat of piracy."

Upon returning from his first European trip Wednesday - at about 3 a.m. - he got word that a U.S.-flagged cargo ship was in the hands of Somali pirates. The seafaring hostage takers were holding a 20-member crew, all Americans. Historians said it was the first time in 200 years pirates had taken control of an American-flagged vessel.

As Air Force One was jetting west to Washington, Obama was still digesting the outcome of his travels, which included the first of the dreaded "3 a.m. calls." That came when he was awakened early Sunday in his quarters in Prague with news that North Korea, in defiance of the world community, had launched a missile in what was believed to be the test of a nuclear delivery vehicle.

Somali Pirate All Washed Up

As a follow-up to this story from over the weekend comes news that one of the Somali pirates swept overboard with his new-found wealth has surfaced on shore.

The body of a Somali pirate who drowned just after receiving a huge ransom washed onshore with $153,000 in cash, a resident said Sunday, as the spokesman for another group of pirates promised to soon free a Ukrainian arms ship.

Five pirates drowned Friday when their small boat capsized after they received a reported $3 million ransom for releasing a Saudi oil tanker. Local resident Omar Abdi Hassan said one of the bodies had been found on a beach near the coastal town of Haradhere and relatives were searching for the other four.

"One of them was discovered and they are still looking for the other ones. He had $153,000 in a plastic bag in his pocket," he said Sunday.

Somali Pirates Receive Ransom, Hilarity Ensues

They have some photos of the airdrop here, but what went down afterward sounds like comedy gold. God, I wish this was on film.

This is the dramatic moment a ransom of $3million was paid to Somali pirates to end the world's biggest ship hijacking.

The canister full of cash was parachuted onto the Sirius Star - observed by the U.S. Navy who provided these images - and the two-month ordeal of the 25 crew, including two Britons, was finally over.

However things went badly wrong for the pirates soon after the drop - they squabbled over how to split the money and then a wave washed off their getaway boat and drowned five of them.

LMFAO.

Too funny.

The pirates originally wanted more than £16 million to release the boat and its £65 million load of oil. Eventually they accepted the offer of $3million (around £2million).

But as they made off they continued to row about the payout.

'Two of them swam and survived. One is still missing.

The weather was so terrible that it blew the boat over, then sank it.

We got five dead bodies and we are still searching for the missing one. The waves were disastrous,' said Farah Osman, an associate of the gang.

It is not known what happened to the money or those who survived.

Instapundit links. Thanks!