Somali pirates attack U.S. ships
Cameron Birch
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: News
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It is additionally reported that Somali pirates have also attempted to take a vessel carrying famine aid packages for African countries April 14.
The second attack came after a five-day standoff between the United States Navy and the pirates. The Economist reports that the Alabama attack took place April 8, 300 miles off the coast of Somalia during the night.
The pirates took Phillips and his 19-man crew. NPR states that the crew was freed after Phillips offered himself as a sole hostage. The article also explained that the pirates who attacked the Alabama were between the ages of 17 and 19 and carried assault weapons.
"Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons … everybody in the room knows the consequences of that," Robert Gates, secretary of defense, told students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College in the NPR report.
"And as long as you've got this incredible number of poor people and the risks are relatively small, there's really no way in my view to control it unless you get something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids," Gates said.
The pirate organizations have also threatened retaliation for the slaying of five members by French and American forces working to recover the hostages. CNN reported that much of the naval turbulence and ransom has been due to a power vacuum in the country, centralized on the capital Mogadishu. Ethiopia has recently withdrawn its troops after a two-year invasion that consisted of a transitional government.
According to The Economist, various Islamic militias operate in Somalia, including al-Shabab, an insurgency in Somalia listed by the United States as a terrorist organization. Connections between such organizations and funding through piracy is alleged but at this time remains unsure.
Senior Pentagon officials said much of the solution to the growing pirate debacle is dealing with areas around the world with lawlessness, lack of government and economic instability, according to CNN.
"We're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them [the pirates] when they arise. And we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," President Barack Obama said in the CNN article.
The United States considers piracy a crime and not an act of terrorism. Additionally, many companies have begun to pay ransoms in place of equipping ships to cope with attacks.
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george riggs
posted 4/17/09 @ 9:49 AM EST
Dear Sirs, The Somalia Mothership refuels the smaller Pirate ships so they can hijack ships. I feel the military ships ( multi laterial ) warships with smaller faster moving gunned ships along too should follow the Somalia Mother Ship(s) and prevent by force from letting the smaller Somalia ships from refueling. (Continued…)
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