It looks like we can turn military ops over to NATO, knowing they'll do the job!

[Louis of PA]

No, this is not another script from a Monty Python Movie, or from The Stooges.

from hotair.com


NATO forces let captured pirates go

by Ed Morrissey


First, the good news — NATO forces freed 20 hostages from the grips of pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Dutch commandos chased the pirates back to their mother ship, seized the ship, and liberated the hostages. Good for them; job well done.




Until …

Dutch commandos freed 20 Yemeni hostages on Saturday and briefly detained seven pirates who had forced their captives to sail a “mother ship” attacking vessels in the Gulf of Aden, NATO officials said. …

The commandos briefly detained and questioned the seven gunmen, he told Reuters, but had no legal power to arrest them.

“NATO does not have a detainment policy. The warship must follow its national law,” he said.

“They can only arrest them if the pirates are from the Netherlands, the victims are from the Netherlands, or if they are in Netherlands waters.”

That’s certainly a deterrent. Maybe they’ll wait until NATO comes back with a search warrant, or perhaps a social worker to see whether the pirates could use some public assistance, too. Sweden was tougher on The Pirate Bay this week than NATO was on actual pirates.

All NATO did in this instance is provide more incentive for this group of pirates to steal someone else’s boat, and for the rest of the pirates to laugh at the impotence of the West. The next time, though, this group will have improved its technique after the free lesson from the Dutch. They won’t get caught so easily after this.

Instead of delivering a message of strength, NATO sent the message that pirates have more rights than the traders sailing through those waters. The only way these pirates should have been released was in the middle of the Indian Ocean with nothing but lifejackets and a bucket of chum each. Until the world gets serious in the 19th-century way about pirates — which nearly wiped it out altogether — we will never end it in the 21st century.

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[Alaskan]

I hear they called them "Sea Bandits" not pirates.

[Ken The Kanuck]

I see that the Canucks, Limeys and Yanks did the same thing today.

KTK

Canadian, British, U.S. vessels foil pirates in Gulf of Aden

[Pete]

If this were the 19th century the pirates would be given summary justice under the old Admiralty Law. As it is most of the foreign ministries of countries with naval ships in the area have told their navies not to detain captured pirates because of the jurisdictional issues that are involved--the flag the hijacked ship is sailing under, the nationalities of the hijacked crewmen, and what if any country is willing to put the pirates on trial. This is one case where international institutions such as the UN may be able to agree upon a modus operandi for dealing with the problem. At least the naval presence in the region is starting to produce results.

[John Sukey (Deceased)]

It's too bad the navies don't use muzzle loading cannon anymore. A 24pdr cannon ball chained to the pirates and dumping them over the side is a very efficient way of dealing with this. The pirates have no problem with killing ship's crews, so they shouldn't complain if they get the same treatment.

[Jim K]

I can't imagine how those marines and sailors, and especially the Dutch commandos, must feel, risking their lives to seize the pirates and then watching them sail off, waving good bye with one finger.

I also note that The Reverend Al Sharpton has said the pirates killed by U.S. Navy SEALS were really the Somali coast guard, defending their homeland.

What's next for the far out left? A demand that Obama be arrested and tried as a war criminal?

I almost feel sorry for Barack; here he bills himself as a unifier, bows and scrapes and apologizes to everybody, just like the left wants, then they denounce him in the same (or worse) terms than they used for George W.

Proof, if any were needed, that the left-wing is simply insane, without even a semblance of rationality. They hate the country, no matter who is president, and they are dangerous, in spite of this administration's attempt to make a menace of the right wing.

Jim

[Pete]

Petraeus: Shippers should consider armed guards

By LARA JAKES
The Associated Press
Friday, April 24, 2009 10:31 PM

WASHINGTON -- The global shipping industry should consider placing armed guards on its boats to ward off pirates who have become increasingly violent, the U.S. military commander who oversees the African coastline said Friday.

Gen. David Petraeus, who came to the Capitol to talk about a wide variety of issues, told a House committee Friday that just trying to outrun or block pirates from boarding cargo ships isn't enough to deter sea bandits off the Somali coast who are becoming more aggressive. The Pentagon is starting to study how to better protect merchant shipping, but hasn't yet come up with a formal plan.

The shipping industry has resisted arming their boats, which would deny them port in some nations.

In response to questions from a House Appropriations subcommittee, Petraeus said defensive preparations short of armed guards "can work. You can have water hoses and others that can make it more difficult."

But in a wry tone, he added: "It's tough to be on the end of a water hose if the other guy is on the end of an RPG. So you've got to think your way through that calculation as well."

An RPG is a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Naval forces from several nations currently patrol the waters that Petraeus described as many times the size of Texas. But he said there is no way for any military to be able to safeguard all commercial ships that ply those waters.

The region is one of the world's most crucial shipping lanes, with oil vessels and other merchant ships carrying billions of dollars worth of cargo. Authorities say pirates are well aware that ship owners have been willing to pay an average of $2 million ransom for each seized ship.

Petraeus said the Navy would continue to patrol the region, but added that some shippers in the past hadn't taken even basic steps to avoid pirates.

"We started off by saying, 'If you just speed up, when the pirates approach you that will help. If you take evasive action, that's even better. And if you unbolt the ladder that allows the pirates to climb onto your ship before you set sail, you get extra credit for that,'" Petraeus said. "These were not being taken before."

Joe Cox, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America, cautioned that deploying armed guards aboard cargo ships could escalate violence if pirates expect a gunfight.

"If you asked us two weeks ago, we would say, 'No guns on ships,'" Cox said Friday. "Now the reaction is, 'Let's talk.' That's not a ringing endorsement of going in that direction. But we know, under the current circumstances, something has to be done."

The Washington-based trade association represents 32 shipping companies.

Cox also called on the government to remain committed to securing the high seas. "We don't want them to abrogate the responsibility," he said.

Pirates have hijacked more than 100 ships off the Somali coast over the last year, including one in a dramatic standoff between pirates and the U.S. Navy earlier this month in the Indian Ocean. A U.S. sea captain was held hostage for five days before three of his captors were shot and killed by Navy SEALS. A fourth pirate is now being held in New York, where he awaits prosecution.

© 2009 The Associated Press