So now these pirates have hijacked an enormous crude carrier 450 miles out to sea. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5180546.ece Personally, I find it hard to fathom how the US and British navies cannot deal with this threat. These are a bunch of guys in speedboats, not some high tech operation. Saudi Arabia has AWACS planes. Why not use them to track the area and when they see pirates approaching a ship, dispatch planes to blow the shit out of them and any mother ship in the area. Do that a couple of times and problem solved. I also fail to see why a crude carrier would stop just because they get hit with gunfire. Send out a distress call and hang on. Jets should be there in minutes. Perhaps it is time to start sending armed guards on these ships. Maybe a new opportunity for Blackwater? We also know exactly where they are based. The article says it is common knowledge. Send a Delta Froce team in there and blow up the entire place. Problem solved again. Innocent casualties? Sorry, that is the price you pay for living in a pirate town. Or, we can do what we are doing now, which is appparently nothing, leaving seamen hostage for months on end and paying huge ransomes.
exit starbucks, hop a chopper rappel down to the bow and give us the scoop on your blackberry your the man!!
I'm sure Obama will solve all this once he has a chance to invite the pirates over to the White House for tea.
I'm sure our government will do something about this. Most likely, a 10 billion dollar bailout for the pirates.
The lack of action is mystifying to me as well. Seems simple enough to defend these ships. I guess it's just further evidence of the pussification process at work. There must always be a kinder, gentler way to deal with criminals. Insanity!!
I think it's hilarious that a Saudi Flagged ship was hijacked in their own back yard by brother muslims with weapons no doubt shipped from either Saudi or Iran I say fuck'm .... let'm get their own ship back.
It's a VERY big ocean out there. The ship was too big to traverse the Suez Canal, hence the trip around East Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope. As it is, the Saudi navy is not what you might think it to be . . .
Not like OPEC couldn't afford collectively to keep a fully stocked, or even just reasonably stocked aircraft carrier permanently moored off the east coast of Africa in constant radio contact. After a couple AMRAM'S up the ass they'll get the idea.
Are you sure that was the route? An oil tanker around the Cape of Good Hope? I always thought that the Cape of Good Hope was very rough seas.
not our problem. let the CEOS pay a PMC do deal with the issue. The US needs to stop being the free police force on our taxpayer dollars to protect the world. Now if they are willing to write a check for services rendered, then that is a different story.