Here are some more hints as to the overall strategy for dealing with the piracy off the coast of Somalia. Not only are we going to aggressively pursue these guys on sea, but go after them on land as well. And it sounds like we have the blessing from the Somali government to do so, if the UN Security Council approves. Secretary of Defense Gates mentions a few of his thoughts on the land game as well. –Head Jundi
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Gates Calls for Action Against Somali Pirates
December 13, 2008
By Camilla Hall
…….Land pursuit operations would carry a high risk of harming innocent civilians because of the difficulty of identifying those guilty of piracy, U.S. Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Lieutenant Stephanie Murdock said yesterday.
“This has become a very good business and the first thing we need is better intelligence on who’s behind it,” Gates said. More information is needed on the culprits to minimize any collateral damage from land pursuit, Gates said. “With the level of information that we have now we are not in the position to do that kind of land attack,” he said. With “adequate intelligence” only, land attacks may be carried out, he added.
Gates also advised nations to prepare standard operating procedures against seaborne threats including piracy, terrorism, narcotics trafficking and smuggling. He said taking basic steps like speeding up or raising the ladders of the boats would be a good first move.
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Somalia backs U.S. plan to hunt pirates on land, water
12/12/2008
Reuters
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s government has welcomed a call by the United States for countries to have U.N. authority to hunt down Somali pirates on land as well as pursue them off its coast.
A surge in piracy this year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia has driven up insurance costs, brought the gangs tens of millions of dollars in ransoms and prompted foreign navies to rush to the area to protect shipping.
The U.S. delegation to the United Nations has circulated a draft resolution on piracy for the Security Council to vote on next week. A draft text seen by Reuters says countries with permission from Somalia’s government “may take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia, including in its airspace” to capture those using Somali territory for piracy.
“The government cordially welcomes the United Nations to fight pirates inland and (on) the Indian Ocean,” said Hussein Mohamed Mohamud, spokesman for President Abdullahi Yusuf.
“We’re also willing to give them a hand in case they need our assistance,” he said.
Somalia has seen continuous conflict since 1991 and its weak, Western-backed government is still fighting Islamist insurgents.
The chaos has helped fuel the explosion in piracy: There have been nearly 100 attacks in Somali waters this year, despite the presence of several foreign warships. Gunmen are holding about a dozen ships and nearly 300 crewmembers.
Among the captured vessels are a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil and a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying about 30 Soviet-era tanks.
There already are several international naval operations off Somalia, including a NATO anti-piracy mission. The European Union agreed Monday to launch anti-piracy naval operations in the area.
The U.N. special envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said Thursday that the pirates were “threatening the very freedom and safety of maritime trade routes, affecting not only Somalia and the region, but also a large percentage of world trade.”
Story Here
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U.S. Proposes Going Ashore to Hunt Pirates
December 11, 2008
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
UNITED NATIONS — In an effort to curb piracy off Somalia’s coast, the United States began circulating a Security Council resolution on Wednesday that would significantly beef up interdiction efforts by permitting foreign forces to attack pirate bases on land.