tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post1087079280566011174..comments2024-03-27T06:40:56.148-04:00Comments on EagleSpeak: Somali Pirates Fighting Warships?Mark Tempesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18172703868541571574noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-8691207337716206862010-10-26T22:49:48.418-04:002010-10-26T22:49:48.418-04:00There are a few flaws in your ideas, A:
To your f...There are a few flaws in your ideas, A:<br /><br />To your first proposal, it has the potential to make pirates more violent in their actions. If they know they will be killed for engaging in their activities, it likely they will show no quarter themselves, so to speak, thus endangering even further the lives of mariners.<br /><br />Secondly,the arbitrary killing of suspected criminals flies in the face of what civilized nations are based upon - law and order. Shooting first with no questions asked draws us down to their level. We're better than that and have to play by the rule of law if we are to count ourselves democracies.<br /><br />Thirdly, there is always the risk that their will be prisoners among those on a pirate vessel. Remember when the Indian navy shot up a suspected pirate mothership, only to later discover it was a hijacked Thai fishing vessel? Most of the Thais were killed in that incident.<br /><br />As to your second point, how would you deal with a yacht or pleasure boat with a shotgun or small arm aboard? Let alone an Asian fishing vessel with weapons meant to prevent pirates from attacking. There are numerous small craft around the world that keep a weapon aboard for defensive purposes. I'm not saying it's right, but it happens.Daniel Sekulichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05607247433269545244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-436579324243901492010-10-26T15:33:31.216-04:002010-10-26T15:33:31.216-04:00I'm obviously not the first to advocate this, ...I'm obviously not the first to advocate this, but the only way to stop this Somali piracy is to take two actions:<br />1) Announce that under no circumstances will any attempt be made to capture pirates intercepted by naval forces in the act of capturing or fleeing a failed ship capture. Naval forces will fire and sink the pirate vessel. No attempt will be made to recover vessel occupants.<br /><br />2) And this pushes the envelope even further: Announce that any fishing vessel (or small boat involved in other off-shore activities) where the crew is observed to be in possession of fire arms will be assumed to be engaged in piracy and will be subjected to policy #1. You don't need assault rifles or RPGs to fish.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com