Quote:
Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey
Well, personally I would argue that they are not terrorists; their motivation is money, plain and simple. Shipping lines have been regularly paying them ransom for years now when they jack ships, so to the pirates it's just a business. Terrorism on the other hand is violence by non-state actors to achieve political goals. This has nothing to do with politics.
And the piracy "bubble" is far from being burst. The only way it will stop is if the boats they send out of port are regularly sunk, or if they are attacked and dispersed on land. Or some combination of the two. The shipping lines have been very reticent about putting armed security teams on their ships, even when this problem has been going on for years. They'd apparently rather just pay ransom for the small percentage of ships that get jacked, as an additional cost of doing business.
Those guys got what they deserved, though. Very impressive action by the SEALs, especially from a floating platform where a small deck pitch could throw off your shot by feet.
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I agree with you Austin, and would add my own piece...My disappointment with this entire scenario was that we were slow to act. We actually gave these "pirates" (who are the filth of this earth and should be obliterated) the belief that they had a leg to stand on and negotiate with the US. We have not and should not negotiate with Pirates/ terrorists...when we do, it lessens our strength and opens the door for future lunatics to try their luck bargaining with the US. I would have much preferred that we strike immediately and resolve the issue on our terms. I personally disagree with our tactics, and the direction our President has given throughout this event. He's confirmed my belief that our Commander in Chief is weak and submissive. He hasn't even made an attempt to show that this type of action is unacceptable, he's been invisible throughout. There is a reason that no American Ship has been seized since the early 1900's, because the US carries respect and the notion existed that there will be consequences to hostile actions. I'm not so sure these groups are afraid of consequences when we spend 5 days sitting on our hands waiting to negotiate this captain's release.
When you say,
"The only way it will stop is if the boats they send out of port are regularly sunk, or if they are attacked and dispersed on land" I fully agree. I believe that the only way to really make an impact is to go up and down the Somali coast and destroy these pirates. Today they have announced they will increase their attacks on American ships, why we haven't seized this opportunity to destroy these bands is beyond me, but this problem will not go away on its own.
If you have any doubts about the type of people these pirates are...Do you know what the Maersk Alabama was loaded with? Containers full of medical and food relief and Aid from the US/ UN destined for Uganda and Somalia. These scumbags are trying to interfere with relief aid for their own people, for ransom money to go into their own pockets. The US does have the ability to wipe this dirt from the earth, but we wont. I wonder what will happen when they succeed taking over a cruise ship and killing innocent passengers...It can happen.