thedrifter
12-18-08, 07:17 AM
To The Shores Of Tripoli, or Somalia
Ibd
Wed Dec 17, 7:02 pm ET
Law Of The Sea: The U.S. seeks U.N. authorization to fight Somali pirates from the air, on land and at sea. When American cruise ships become targets, maybe it's time to renew a proud tradition: Send in the Marines.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice formally presented to a special U.N. session on Somalia a draft Security Council resolution saying that member states fighting against piracy "may take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia, including its airspace, to interdict those who are using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea and to otherwise prevent those activities."
To some, the prospect of such concerted military action brings back memories of the last time U.S. troops were on Somali soil. That was in 1993, when during the "Black Hawk Down" incident two U.S. helicopters backing up a U.N. relief mission were shot down. Nineteen U.S. servicemen were killed, and their bodies were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.
We have no doubt that this time, dealing with pirates based in a country with essentially no functioning government, there will be no fooling around, no half measures and no withdrawal in shame.
This time this enemy of civilization will be defeated. We've done it before.
Before American schools stopped teaching American history, everybody knew about the Barbary Pirates -- Islamic seafaring raiders who, when not engaging in a lucrative slave trade, spent their off-hours raiding American and British commerce.
The Barbary pirates declared war on the fledgling U.S. in 1785 when they seized two American vessels off Portugal, imprisoning 21 people.
It was their ongoing attacks that spurred our young nation to build the U.S. Navy and create the United States Marines. Soon thereafter, they would engage in a series of military actions that would become part of the Marine Hymn.
By 1794, Congress had scraped up enough money to build six ships to take on the Barbary pirates and in 1789 created the Navy Department.
By 1801, newly elected President Thomas Jefferson was able to deploy four warships to the Barbary Coast. In 1805, U.S. Marines landed in North Africa, marching from Egypt to the Barbary state of Tripolitania and assaulted the pirates' fortress, forcing its surrender and the freeing of all American captives.
On Nov. 30, 2008, pirates chased and shot at an American cruise ship, the MS Nautica, with 1,000 passengers on board as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships. The captain gunned the ship's engines and was able to outrun the pirates' speedboats, avoiding a major disaster.
Sadly, the Nautica's story is becoming a common one. Nearly 100 ships have been attacked off the Somali coast so far this year. Forty have been seized by pirates, with 14 still being held hostage along with more than 250 crew members.
Since NATO sent four ships to the region on Oct. 24, pirates have attacked 32 ships and seized 12.
We're not dealing here with Johnny Depp look-alikes, or the lovable scrungy rascals that inhabit the "Pirates of the Caribbean." These modern-day pirates wear designer sunglasses, but no eyeliner. They use cell phones and GPS systems, and carry Kalashnikov assault rifles as well as rocket-propelled grenades.
They have the advantage of picking the times and targets of their attacks. There is not enough time between approach and seizure for naval ships to intervene. Even patrolled areas are vulnerable.
Methods of self-defense have been proposed, but can put the ships, their crews, passengers and cargoes at risk.
There may even be a worse threat on the way. Chaotic and virtually ungoverned Somalia is ripe to be the next al-Qaida base. Instead of ships being seized, imagine ships being blown up. Already, there are ports where ransom money has found its way into the hands of Al Shabaab, a group on the U.S. terrorist list.
It may be time to stop treating the system and start treating the disease, cutting out the cancer.
A Marine expeditionary brigade backed up by ships of the Fifth Fleet should be able to do what the Marines sent by Thomas Jefferson did to the Barbary Pirates.
Ellie
Ibd
Wed Dec 17, 7:02 pm ET
Law Of The Sea: The U.S. seeks U.N. authorization to fight Somali pirates from the air, on land and at sea. When American cruise ships become targets, maybe it's time to renew a proud tradition: Send in the Marines.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice formally presented to a special U.N. session on Somalia a draft Security Council resolution saying that member states fighting against piracy "may take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia, including its airspace, to interdict those who are using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea and to otherwise prevent those activities."
To some, the prospect of such concerted military action brings back memories of the last time U.S. troops were on Somali soil. That was in 1993, when during the "Black Hawk Down" incident two U.S. helicopters backing up a U.N. relief mission were shot down. Nineteen U.S. servicemen were killed, and their bodies were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.
We have no doubt that this time, dealing with pirates based in a country with essentially no functioning government, there will be no fooling around, no half measures and no withdrawal in shame.
This time this enemy of civilization will be defeated. We've done it before.
Before American schools stopped teaching American history, everybody knew about the Barbary Pirates -- Islamic seafaring raiders who, when not engaging in a lucrative slave trade, spent their off-hours raiding American and British commerce.
The Barbary pirates declared war on the fledgling U.S. in 1785 when they seized two American vessels off Portugal, imprisoning 21 people.
It was their ongoing attacks that spurred our young nation to build the U.S. Navy and create the United States Marines. Soon thereafter, they would engage in a series of military actions that would become part of the Marine Hymn.
By 1794, Congress had scraped up enough money to build six ships to take on the Barbary pirates and in 1789 created the Navy Department.
By 1801, newly elected President Thomas Jefferson was able to deploy four warships to the Barbary Coast. In 1805, U.S. Marines landed in North Africa, marching from Egypt to the Barbary state of Tripolitania and assaulted the pirates' fortress, forcing its surrender and the freeing of all American captives.
On Nov. 30, 2008, pirates chased and shot at an American cruise ship, the MS Nautica, with 1,000 passengers on board as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships. The captain gunned the ship's engines and was able to outrun the pirates' speedboats, avoiding a major disaster.
Sadly, the Nautica's story is becoming a common one. Nearly 100 ships have been attacked off the Somali coast so far this year. Forty have been seized by pirates, with 14 still being held hostage along with more than 250 crew members.
Since NATO sent four ships to the region on Oct. 24, pirates have attacked 32 ships and seized 12.
We're not dealing here with Johnny Depp look-alikes, or the lovable scrungy rascals that inhabit the "Pirates of the Caribbean." These modern-day pirates wear designer sunglasses, but no eyeliner. They use cell phones and GPS systems, and carry Kalashnikov assault rifles as well as rocket-propelled grenades.
They have the advantage of picking the times and targets of their attacks. There is not enough time between approach and seizure for naval ships to intervene. Even patrolled areas are vulnerable.
Methods of self-defense have been proposed, but can put the ships, their crews, passengers and cargoes at risk.
There may even be a worse threat on the way. Chaotic and virtually ungoverned Somalia is ripe to be the next al-Qaida base. Instead of ships being seized, imagine ships being blown up. Already, there are ports where ransom money has found its way into the hands of Al Shabaab, a group on the U.S. terrorist list.
It may be time to stop treating the system and start treating the disease, cutting out the cancer.
A Marine expeditionary brigade backed up by ships of the Fifth Fleet should be able to do what the Marines sent by Thomas Jefferson did to the Barbary Pirates.
Ellie