Pirates and the entire trade is built on ransom payments…. it is an interesting topic of study, and it might be an example of why you shouldn’t trust your Government to take care of you. If they can’t get this right, why would you trust them with other matters?
What a fortunate Pirate, free food, medical, dental, housing and meals all at your expense for the next 30 years. How many of his Countrymen dream of a life so grand? Might this be the very first time he’s ever watched color TV, or had a good roof over his head? Where will he go when he gets out of prison? Who would bet against him being out in five years and moving onto the public assistance roles for the rest of his life?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703373404576148393224867726.html
Most of us who have studied Pirates of the past know we should have left this leader right where he was, in the water with a good distance to swim to shore. The West pays Ransom, runs fleets of ships with no security and is totally responsible for building a thriving Pirate trade. The West seems totally incapable of adapting or forming any kind of intelligent response.
An example of an intelligent response? Almost anything would be smarter than this..
What gets me about this is that if we are going to have a 700 billion dollar military, couldnt it at least do the things that militaries of 200 years ago did? Wasnt that one of the first jobs that was ever handed to a navy: to keep sea lanes safe. With all the new technology it seems like that should be an easier job than ever before. It is also surprising that shipping companies don’t invest a little in their own protection. The handgun range near me had a Barrett light 50 rifle designed for blowing up things and cost less than $10,000. I don’t see why shipping companies don’t have a few. Maybe there is sone sort of law that says you have to leave it to the pros.
Bill,
Some might say the first people we use the Barret on are the people who paid the ransom, they are the only reason a second ship was seized. Some who claim to know Pirates best say you give them an option, you get to choose wether you hang or whether you’re shot. The Chinese solved their Pirate problem and saved many innocent lives.
I agree George I shake my head in disbelief that we are so soft we do not just shoot the pirates out of the water – why do we have warships? Captain Sparrow from the Caribbean could have had a field day – are the pirates spanked and spoken to in a stern voice before we let them go free?
or do we check to make sure they have done an accredited course and have the mandatory safety gear or a pirate permit and EPA check the decibel rating and emissions on their outboards?
Most pirates off Somalia seem to act with impunity – they are even allowed to escape if they are deterred from boarding so they can regroup and have another go.
I see it as an excellent opportunity to have some live round testing – the decline and fall of the roman empire taught us very little did it? maybe we have all been in the economics classes recently instead of recalling history lessons. The Australian Navy is no better than the US – The Aussies recently merely deterred an attack – well my father will wonder why he bothered serving his country in WW2 in New Guinea – we have blown our inheritance and those soldiers wasted their efforts- we have let them down. The number of Japanese soldiers taken prisoner by my Dad declined coincidentally about the same time my Dad came across Australian soldiers alive and dismembered and used as a live food supply for Japanese soliders – we need to take no prisoners with piracy.
Well, we do know it’s a great time to be a Pirate, but do stay out of Chinese waters..
if you recall back in the 60’s when hijacking became all the rage, one idiot decided to hijack and aroflot (sp) russian airliner. that really was a bad day for him as there was (and apparently always has been) their equivalent to an air marshal in plain clothes. the marshal grabbed the hijacker from behind, cut his throat and told the pilot to drop to 10k feet, where he opened the door and pushed the carcass out the door. he then let the pilot know to take the plane back up.
they continued on safely to their destination, no muss no fuss, no trial.
and if i recall that was the last hijacking of a russian airliner.
why do i think that the russians don’t have problems with pirates on the sea’s either?
Those who have respect for life will leave a Pirate to swim to shore. Those who will feed him, cloth him, or pay him ransom are responsible for future hostage taking and murders, too bad it couldn’t be their own children taken next.
I did not know how bad this problem was. There was a couple taken hostage by pirates this week. They mentioned that there are now 660 people being held by Somali pirates.