The recent murder of four Southern California missionaries off the coast of Somalia is perfect metaphor to compare President Obama’s strategy in the War against Terrorism and the strategy of President Bush, or more correctly, the first president Bush.
When Navy Seals captured a young Somali pirate, they took him back to the United States to a courtroom. Tried and convicted, the Somali was given 30 years in a federal penitentiary. The response? More murder and mayhem.
The Gaurdian newspaper reported: “Pirates reacted angrily to the sentencing and have since vowed that they will kill hostages before being captured during military raids and sent to face trial.”
Just think of the reaction of Al Qaeda to a show trial in New York City of Guantanamo detainees. It certainly will make the Somali pirate threat seem like a bad joke.
But the first President Bush had a different, and more effective way of dealing with terrorists. When Major James Nick Rowe was kidnapped and murdered in the Philippines, Bush didn’t seek to bring the perpetrators to trial. Instead he instructed the Special Forces to deal with the problem, sending a message that ensured no one touched another American for a generation.
The “Rouge Warrior,” former Navy Seal Dick Marchinko described the response to the murder of Lt. James Rowe in his book Echo Platoon:
But fortunately (if there can be a fortunate aspect of this incident), his murder took place when George Bush was president. George Herbert Walker Bush may have looked like a WASP banker. But believe me, the man had the balls of a U-235. The day he was told that Jim had been murdered, he personally called Ace Lyons and told him, “Ace, this cannot stand. You deal with it.”
So Ace ordered me to set up an FX at Subic Bay. My prep time was ninety days – barely enough to develop the kind of tactical intel necessary to pull of a hit in absolute stealth…..My intel was developed by an old shipmate Tony Mercaldi, who was one of maybe three people in the world who know what Red Cell was really about. And Tony always came through.
He certainly did in Manila. It took him sixty-eight days of working without creating a single ripple to do it but he was finally able to identify the safe house where the ABB leadership met once a month. We hit it. Andy eah, we killed them all. Messily. With what the Hollywood writer assholes call “extreme prejudice.” Then we decapitated the corpses and left the tangos propped against the wall, holding their own heads in their lifeless
hands as a sign to their comrades that we Yankees are serious fuckin’ dudes….”
The Bush strategy against terrorism seems more effective that the Janet Reno/Eric Holder/Barack Obama strategy. If Bush were in office today, I have a feeling that a large number of Somali pirates would have a tough time sleeping every night.
@openid.aol.com/runnswim: No one has come up with an answer to the Somali pirates. Not Obama. Not George W Bush. Not any nation on earth.
Thomas Jefferson did. And we didn’t hear from them again for nearly 200 years. Ever heard the term, “leathernecks”?
Those pirates are only aboard foreign flagged ships AFTER they’ve pirated one. Prior to that they’re on dinghy’s. Or, as Navy snipers refer to them, night scope adjustment devices. Of course they can be, and should be, sunk. And they should be, often. And with much malice. No pirate should ever make it back to shore. Starving people would eventually figure out that it’s easier to overthrow their government than pirate a U.S. ship.
1. Thousands of square nautical miles of ocean
2. Thousands of vessels to be protected with US Marines
3. 700 hostages in various locations in Somalia
Nothing is simple — and the details kill you.
– LW/HB
@openid.aol.com/runnswim: What we do is to turn Somalia from a failed state into a functional state and then hold the leaders responsible for controlling their own people.
Like we did with sayyyy, Egypt?
@ Bearman, Sorry Old Chap, what You propose ain’t gonna be in this or next Years Defense Budget.
Our Decades of being a World Power are no longer affordable. We have Neighborhoods in the US that on any
given night be just as “sporty” as Mogadishu. Places like Stockton or Compton, CA come to mind. Or East St. Louis, MO, or DC or Detroit.
How is MS-13 any different than the “Community Activists/Wealth Redistribution” activity off the Coast of the Somali mainland?
* The Somali’s are Independent Businessmen!
@Old Trooper
True that is, but you know turning sand into glass is actually fairly cost effective, just saying…….
And as a side note, if those area’s had police forces and politicians that weren’t as corrupt as what you see in Somalia there might be some improvement there as well.
@ RandyUSMC, If We had GOOD Criminal Prosecutors and a Judiciary that was more concerned about the Effect of Crime and less concerned about the “Rights” of Criminals that would go a long way to fix things.
You don’t want to go there. That too ain’t on the Agenda.
The “Rights” of the Victims are not a concern. You are not going to get me to go there.
@Old Trooper Preaching to the choir my friend!
Didn’t we, the US, close down a bombing target island in the Caribbean not too long ago? I vote to use the Somalian coast for future naval target practice. Maybe even invite other NATO countries to participate as well.
@ RandyUSMC, Just sayin that We should clean up Our Front Yard first.
There’s no simple solution, as much as I would like it. Personally I believe, force should usually be met by force.
The issue here is that you need to get the message back to everyone. Killing pirates out at sea isn’t going to do that. Nation building a bunch of thugs isn’t going to do that either.
We cannot change what we cannot control. If we know they are originating from Somalia, the solution can be managed by putting in a blockade. Anything nears the blockade, somewhat close to shore, it is destroyed. It is visible from shore. However, this isn’t a long term solution, as when the warships leave, the piracy begins anew.
You cannot drag troglodytes into the 21st century, as they have no education or insight. They are fighting for survival day in and day out against oppressors of the first order. And you can’t “aid” them out of the problem, because those same oppressors will take control of the aid.
The only solution is to eradicate them, but that’s not right nor should it be done. Remove all foreign aid and let them whither on the vine.
An interesting solution which I heard on NPR this morning is not to engage in nation building, but to engage in Coast Guard building. Basically, equip, train and fund a Somali Coast Guard, which would provide employment for Somalis and which would probably be a whole lot more effective at interdicting the pirates when they try to return to their home ports and to capture and incarcerate the pirates in port and on land.
– LW/HB
@ openid.aol.com/runnswim, OK. And Who pays for all of this? Please remember that their Loyalties are Negotiable and those Folks remember Who paid them last and how much. If they get a better offer it is all off the table.
There are NO Honest Brokers in Somalia. It is all Predator/Prey there. The Highest Bidder gets the pot.
Larry: Somalia has no government, they exist in chaos or by the rule of war lords and the power of the most AK 47s.
Now who is going to direct and control this coast guard tat is providig the only legitimate jobs in the whole country. Where do we find officers to man the ships?
How do we prevent these very powerful and well armed war lords from overwhelming the coast guard and appropriating the ships and weaponry?
Haven’t we had limited success that has been pointed out to us by the leftist bureau like NPR at training police forces in Iraq and Afghanistan or has Doublespeak become accepted by our more erudite Liberal citizens.
Blockade and Quarantine Somalia. NOTHING in, NO Aid. I can safely say that Somalia is a parasite Nation, led by War Lords and Thugs. Let them choose their own destiny. When Wild dogs run out of prey, they eat each other. We have tried Diplomatic means, Humanitarian Aid and they do not choose to live in any Civil Fashion with Civilization or Civilized people. Give them the Darwin Award, step back and let them self destruct. Blockade and Quarantine that disease.
@Old Trooper2: Skook and OT2 By the time I got to Larry’s message, you two had already answered it! There are so many people who look at the world and solving the worlds problems during a barbque in the back yard of their California home. I once proposed a plan to MNF=I that we get the train running to Irbil and send families up their for a few days to see what life in the middle east could look like. Maybe we need to send a few folks like Larry, Greg, Rich and Tom to Somalia so they understand the issue here.
Oh come off it, Randy. Does it make you feel like a real man to talk down to people who disagree with you, the way that you do? For the record, here’s the exact quote, to which I earlier referred:
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/26/134063231/fighting-piracy-at-sea-and-in-court
Now, I understand that all the national defense know it alls around here disagree, but forgive me for not being impressed at the ability of the US military to solve all the world’s problems by going around and kicking all the ass which is available for said kicking.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
@openid.aol.com/runnswim:
Take a recent history lesson from our doing the same (on land) with arming Fatah so that they (more secular) could police their own people in the Gaza Strip.
In a few days Hamas had taken all of their cars, trucks, guns and buildings.
Since then, Hamas has forced all of the people in Gaza into a weird version of a Shara state.
(I keep hearing it is NOT a proper Sharia state from the likes of CAIR.)
Well, too late.
They’ve got the weapons and Fatah was kicked out of power, except for in West Bank.
(Where we are making the exact same mistake.)
So, what did all the leaders of Fatah do recently?
Took out citizenship in Jordan!
They don’t want Hamas’ style Sharia.
@Nan: I do appreciate the way that always find a way to make your points without casting personal aspersions. Your mother did a good job in teaching you proper manners. – Larry W/HB
DO we have to continiue to take in the scums of this earth, and after complain that we have a big problem.
can we think before electing ignorant dangerous inciters,in the AMERICAS, can we start to repair the damages done to AMERICA and nullify anything we think is not good for AMERICA, we are not happy to see what is not done and should be done, what is there to say if the actions don’t follow, ,
the power is on the PEOPLE’s hands, not on the lawmakers, the elites of this NATION are not the GOVERNMENT; no, THE ELITES ARE THE ONES WHO WORK THE HARDEST THE ONES WHO BLEED AND DIE FOR AMERICA , THEY ARE THE ONE TO FIX THEIR BELOVED COUNTRY THEY KNOW WHAT TO FIX
GET THEM IN LEADERSHIP ROLES THEY DESERVE TO BE HEARD AND LISTEN TO AND MOST OF ALL FOLLOWED
can’T THE countys take turn to have planes fly there, moniter and drop some effectives incentives,
to let them know that they are being watch, as a plane can sink a ship taken by the scum pirates,
Oh yes the ship is valueble, what is a ship owner to do with it if he’s dead,
@openid.aol.com/runnswim: Navy war college is a training school for senior officers. It is much easier for an Army 0-6 to get in to the Navy War College than the Army War College. I worked with some of the Senior Navy Officers that were inbedded with our unit. The younger officers and the elnisted did a good job. The Navy Officers were out of their element. They had no clue how to execute a ground war. This is a ground based war. Every discussion I have had with you has revolved around what the Southern California solution would be. You saw no value in over seas bases, but wanted the Americans ourt of Libia and Egypt. You look at every situation from the same place. Sitting in Southern California. One time, and I have asked you to do this before, look at the logistics of accomplishing your solutions. Then criticize us.
I’ll be blunt here. There is absolutely nothing of any socially redeeming quality to be found in Somalia.
If You have not been there, don’t go. Any “investment” there is a waste. You have Nothing in common with their way of life, you share NO common values with them. Go there at Your Own Risk but bring an Army to protect You. Be prepared to bribe the local war Lord to keep yourself alive. Bring Your OWN Food and Water. You may last a month or two with luck.
If you isolate them at 100% and wait ,no plane land there, no ships go through for a good while,
unless armed ready to destroy any life signs, no internet get in the country all blank and mute,
for as long as it take and the final command to let go the stolen ships with the prisoners alive ,
or destroy the whole country in one salvio
Pirates Reportedly Hijack Danish Boat With Three Children on Board
*Open Source* http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/28/somali-pirates-capture-danish-ship-seven-board/
Somali Free Market Capitalism? Nope. Just Old Fashioned Piracy on the High Seas.
Denmark has been a NATO Member since 1943. Is this a NATO Problem, a UN Problem or just something that We must accept as life in this New Millennium? It is in keeping with World Wide Redistribution of Wealth though.
Somali pirates seize cargo ship with 23 crew
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/02/28/somali-pirates-seize-cargo-ship-23-crew/?test=latestnews
Somali pirates hijacked a Greek-owned cargo vessel with 23 crew on board on Monday, the European Union Naval Force said.
The MV Dover was seized in the north Arabian sea, 260 miles (420 kilometers) northeast of the Omani port of Salalah, the naval force said. The MV Dover was on its way to Yemen from Pakistan when it was attacked. It was registered with shipping and naval authorities.
There are three Romanians, 19 Filipinos and a Russian aboard the Panama-flagged vessel. There is no communication with the ship and no information regarding the condition of the crew.
” Somali pirates have extended their range east and south after increased naval patrols in the Gulf of Aden. They hold more than 660 hostages and some 30 vessels. If a vessel’s owner is unable to pay the multimillion dollar ransoms the pirates demand, they may keep it and use it to stalk other vessels until they run out of supplies or break down. “