LOL, that's the thing, I couldn't come up with any sort of sensible solution. My first thought was to allow the ransom transaction to take place, then track the departing pirates with a UAV, then destroy them ASAP. Then the far right can get a stiffy over us killing foreigners and the far left can get a stiffy crying hypocracy over the US killing people for stealing oil. Everybody wins.

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Oh, I do consider those things.

I also consider that, in the future, pirates will be far less likely to grab one of these ships if they know that, not only will they not be paid a ransom, but that they'll be dispatched to a watery grave...

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If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

Piracy is an offense to maritime law and an offense to all nations. As such, and one nation or any group consisting of troops from any nation can take back the ship, regardless of it being in Somali waters. Enough time must pass (and it has) to give the hosting nation time to address the piracy. Once it is clear there is no action or intent of action from the hosting nation, it's open season on the pirates, regardless of the waters. That's just basic maritime law, which almost all nations follow.

Now there's a Virginian solution to the problem! (And very much like the US goverment too, see we'd pay the randsom and then blow them up so all that money would as good as go up in flames, our spending policies can continue! )

Now Somali pirates have seized an Saudi oil tanker. The Navy says the area is too big to police effectively. Doesn't that give you real confidence in our Navy's ability to protect the US coastline from terrorist attacks? Why is all this high tech equipment we pay for ineffective in stopping a few pirates in wooden boats?

Also, if they can't cover the area effectively, why not convoy groups of ships through the area as in WW2, instead of letting them run alone?

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who pays for that ?
who provides the service ?
who do they answer to ?

nice idea but it does raise some questions.

cheaper to put some cannons on the tankers.

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Why put all the blame on our Navy???? Do you expect us to be solely responsible for fighting the pirates that are capturing ships from other countries???

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Threads merged.

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The Saudis can cry me a river
Take a few concrete steps to combat terrorism and I might be willing to listen. Until then, take a look in the mirror, pal.

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You know, there's this little sliver of hope inside me that hopes this post is said in jest.

If it's not, then your opinion is obviously rooted in some very deep ignorance.

Also, ask yourself: When was the last time our shores were attacked by a seaborne threat? I'd say the Navy's doin' a pretty good job, but you seem to think that the hijacking of a tanker is evidence that the Navy is a failure.

I often wonder where the fuck people like you come from...

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If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

How effective is a missile like that against multiple speedboats, which is what these pirates generally use?

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India navy sinks suspected pirate 'mother ship'
Expert says piracy is 'out of control' as hijackers seize two more vessels

YARR





India navy sinks suspected pirate 'mother ship'


NEW DELHI, India - An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said, in a day of escalating violence in the lawless seas.

Separate bands of pirates seized a Thai ship with 16 crew members and a Iranian cargo vessel with a crew of 25 in the area, where Somalia-based pirates appear to be attacking ships at will, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

"It's getting out of control," Choong said.

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A multicoalition naval force has increased patrols in the region, and scored a rare success Tuesday when the Indian warship, operating off the coast of Oman, stopped a ship similar to a pirate vessel mentioned in numerous piracy bulletins. The Indian navy said the pirates fired on the INS Tabar after the officers asked it to stop to be searched.

"Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers," said a statement from the Indian navy. Indian forces fired back, sparking fires and a series of onboard blasts — possibly due to exploding ammunition — and destroying the ship.

They chased one of two speedboats that had been shadowing the larger ship, and which fled when it sank. One was later found abandoned. The other escaped, according to the statement.

Larger "mother ships" are often used to take gangs of pirates and smaller attack boats into deep water, and can be used as mobile bases to attack merchant vessels.

Last week, Indian navy commandos operating from a warship foiled a pirate attempt to hijack a ship in the Gulf of Aden. The navy said an armed helicopter with marine commandos prevented the pirates from boarding and hijacking the Indian merchant vessel.

Tuesday incidents raised to eight the number of ships hijacked this week alone, he said. Since the beginning of the year, 39 ships have been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, out of 95 attacked.

"There is no firm deterrent, that's why the pirate attacks are continuing," Choong said. "The criminal activities are flourishing because the risks are low and the rewards are extremely high."

Pirates spreading
The pirates used to mainly roam the waters off the Somali coast, but now they have spread in every direction and are targeting ships farther at sea, according to Choong.

He said 17 vessels remain in the hands of pirates along with more than 300 crew members, including a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons and a Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying $100 million in crude.



The supertanker, the MV Sirius Star, was anchored Tuesday close to Harardhere, the main pirates' den on the Somali coast, with a full load of 2 million barrels of oil and 25 crew members.

Asked about reports that a ransom had been demanded, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday that the owners of the tanker "are negotiating on the issue." He did not elaborate.

He said, "We do not like to negotiate with pirates, terrorists or hijackers." But he said the owners of the tanker are "the final arbiter" on the issue.

Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer, has condemned the hijacking and said it will join the international fight against piracy.

CONTINUED : Attacks continuing unabated
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Somebody is doing something, it seems

Steve, even if they did use a missile on it you'd be very unlikely to kill the pirates, who would have plenty of time to kill the crew and escape before the whole ship either went up in flames, or, much more likely, caused the worst environmental disaster in history. And in any case you've just lost 100 million tons of Saudi Sweet Crude

Of course I'm not surprised you suggested it. It's par for the course on anything you and most Republicans suggest, ineffectual chest beating, long on showy use of weaponry for the kiddies, extremely short on brains.

And yea, I know you're not a Republican, (and I'm not really using the Internet, I'm actually writiing this from inside your monitor MWAHAHAHHAH)

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You know, sometimes you can just be too fucking cute.

First, that's not a missle.

Second, it can be very effective against "go fasts"...

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If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

Geez.

Go get educated and get back to me, Slick.

That's not a missle. It's a Mk 46 Mod 0 surface launched torpedo. I've never suggested using missles.

But I'll just chalk that up to your growing list of profoudly ignorant ramblings.

The cool thing about torpedos is that they can be fired, with insane accuracy, from miles away. Assuming someone on deck did see its' underwater wake, by the time they saw it they would have about enough to burp out half a prayer to their god before the ship explodes and sinks.

Obviously, you have no knowledge, whatsoever, of what a torpedo can do. A Mk46 slamming into the hull of an oil tanker would be Armageddon on the high seas.

Then again, Hell, you don't even know what a torpedo is, so your opinions on the matter are easily dismissable...

Well, you should should be. Most things that make absolute sense are foreign to you...

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If it wasn't for double standards, liberals would have no standards at all...

Better than being brainless, i. e. suggesting shooting an oil tanker w/a missile.

Really, then what is it?

It might be able to hit one speedboat. What if there are four more?

The big ship would have to have at least 5 of those missiles to fire, assuming 100% accuracy, which is unlikey, so they'd need several more.

It would be cheaper to just use machine guns (which is what's been used against them)

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