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Friday, December 30, 2011

Somali Pirates: EU to take on pirate shore support?

A hint that the Somali support infrastructure might - just might- be getting some cross hairs fixed on it at Germany: EU Mulls New Powers For Piracy Mission:
German officials say the European Union is considering expanding the scope of its anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa to allow the destruction of pirates’ equipment on the beaches of Somalia.
If so, it's about time. The key to pushing back the pirates is on the land and in the littoral waters of Somalia.

UPDATE: More here:
The EU is apparently considering ramping up the operation to target the pirates' weapons arsenals, speedboats and fuel depots on the beach. The plan foresees helicopters targeting the infrastructure from the sea. The aircraft would not, however, fire on people. The German Foreign Ministry stressed that the expanded mission would only involve destroying the onshore infrastructure and would not be "an operation on land."
Some opposition tool is whining:
Omid Nouripour, the defense spokesman for the Green Party's parliamentary group, was even more outspoken. He called the idea of targeting the pirates' onshore facilities "sheer madness." He spoke of the danger of mission creep should the pirates retreat further onshore in response to attacks.
Someone ought to explain to Omid Nouripour the difficulties imposed on the pirates by making them perform logistics 100 miles from the beach.

2 comments:

  1. Might just accidentally kills some pirates too.

    (Some great photos lately, thanks.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Did the ubiquitous U.N. have any say in this latest proposal, or what has taken so very long, in your estimation, Capt. Tempest?

    ReplyDelete