Sharks In the Water

Why should the US do anything except protect it's own ships?Why do they always take the lead in stopping or controlling these situations and then end up giving money to help the people do other jobs.

your child steals from your pocket book - do you reward him or spank him?

Calling them pirates is showing too much respect. Call them flotsam and clear them out of the water.

They are not pirates in the traditional sense. They are just desperate fisherman with no way to make a living. They have no government to aid them. They even seem to treat the crews of the ships they take over very well. Something is up. There are so many questions like: why was there a Ukrainian boat delivering tanks to Africa? Maybe the best way to stop this is to actually fix their government and provide them alternative ways to make a living. I don't sympathize with their actions, but I also don't think we are getting the whole story. All I know is if my only way to make a living was taken away and I had a family to feed, I would resort to any means necessary to feed them.

Get rid of or ignore any international laws that forbid an armed force on shipping or recreation vessels. Try to find a different route thru the area. Or better still, if we know where they are based out of, KILL THEM. Surgical strikes with special forces teams. I'm looking at the Russians on that one. How in the hell do you let a ship carrying 33 tanks get captured by pirates?! That's military equipment that ANY country should be transporting under HEAVY guard. Way to drop the ball.

It's the reporter who blames the U.s. Surprise! Not. The reporter adds his comment dissing right on the heels of the quotation from the British union rep, so that it is understandable why it may seem that the union rep is dissing the U.S. And the union rep may or may not have done so. But either way the reporter definitely did so..

It's the reporter who blames the U.s. Surprise! Not. The reporter adds his comment dissing right on the heels of the quotation from the British union rep, so that it is understandable why it may seem that the union rep is dissing the U.S. And the union rep may or may not have done so. But either way the reporter definitely did so..

These scum are not afraid of death. The ransoms they receive are well worth the risk. The pirates probably give a hefty amount of money to the families of any pirates killed during an attack. Also, these guys are coming with grenages, RPGs and other nasties besides the ever popular AK-47 and Uzzi.

The mother ships are not zodiacs. And, as pointed out in the article, care needs to be taken to avoid shooting on innocents.

Quarantine/blockade is the way to go. This means the airports and roads. The roads will be the hardest and will require the cooperation of the neighboring countries. A blockade will take time. As was stated earlier, the pirates have a lot of support. But, over time, as the people see more and more of their children die of starvation and disease, they'll stop support of the pirates and welcome an end. I'll just bet a majority of the people are not happy with the situation. They are suffering and the pirates are living in luxury because of the money they've received.

I love the comment from the UK union rep....blame the U.S. Why don't we add global warming, the banking crisis, and Britney Spears to the list of problems caused soley by the war. The last time I checked the British still had one of the most powerful navies in the world, Stop whining and go fix the problem.

Short of mining the coastline which would cause much grief and heartache along with the gnashing of teeth and the pulling of hair, the decoy cargo ship is what they should consider in order to capture a number of live pirates for interrogation. Not torture, but for serious questioning. Sodium pentathol has been known to lubricate a person???s tongue rather well. It???s doubtful live pirates would make much of a bargaining chip and if released after capture, their lives probably wouldn???t be worth a lead pazooza back in Somalia.

If memory serves, a lead pazooza was worth 1/1,000,000 of a cent, the currency of Lower Slobbovia.

I agree with nospoh. Why do we have to file everything in triplicate to get anything done. Its a few groups of pirates that are preying on the weak that wont stick up for themselves. They arent "high speed" vessels they are lame skiffs with all the pirates exposed. Blow thier asses away before they can board. One or two guys with rifles will protect most ships. It wont take long before they quit. Nobody is going to ride up to a big boat in a skiff when they know they will get shot at. This happens all the time in the indian ocean near obscure oriental islands and thats what ships there do. If someone gets too close they shoot them. If you arent a pirate you know not to get too close in open water. If you have 100 million dollars worth of oil on board and nobody watching for pirates you deserve to get kidnapped.

I agree with nospoh. If a ship is coming up on you in a threatening way you should attack them before they attack you. The calm approach thats been taken so far is obviously the reason why its been so easy for them. Thier vessels arent "high speed" they are lame skiffs with all the pirates exposed. Blow thier asses away before they get a chance to board. They only time you would get pirated would be if you arent paying attention!!

Solution is simple: Recognize the break away republic of Somaliland. Their government announced yesterday that it will open its largest port of Berbera for anti piracy warships. Somaliland has also small but effective navy that is familiar with the region. Puntland - which is the pirates region is accessible by land and Somaliland military would be able to attack pirates' bases. So, it is simple: help Somaliland help the world..

Solution: Destroy any vessel that refuses to stop and be boarded for inspection! Use the method best used against pirates of the past, Hang em

If you don't learn from history you are doomed to repeat the same mistakes of the past. This holds true in anyy language. I say, let's join together and take out those pirates once and for all. Remember the opening line of the Marine Corp Hymn? One needs only to understand why the Marine Corp was established. Having been a Navy man, I did study this in college. It was to protect our country and to rid the high seas of pirates.

In response to assualt's comment I wholeheartedly agree. One needs only to sing the Marine Hymn. Especially the first stanza. Instead of waging war on Iraq we should have gone after the pirates. You can say in many ways "If man forgets the failures of the past he is Doomed to repeat them." This makes sense in any language.

The author notes that US can not react to the priates because of resources tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan. Does the author believe that the US has ships in Kabul? Knock off the editorial and please work with facts.

Why should the united states have to take the helm on this one ? Why not let some other country deal with this every time the U.S.A takes care of things it just bites us in the butt. Sail your ships aroound the horn or pay for private security. Let Somolia rot.