Thursday, January 8, 2009

US Involved In Another Bail Out Of Wealthy Criminal Interests

Us Navy ships operating off the coast of Somalia are not looking for Johnny Depp and his kind of pirate.


US to head anti-pirate patrols off Somalia
By BARBARA SURK, Associated Press -- Thu Jan 8, 7:41 am ET


DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A new international force to battle pirates off the Somali coast is being formed under American command in a bid to focus more military resources to protect one of the world's key shipping lanes, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.


But the new mission, expected to begin operations next week, will have no wider authority to strike at pirate vessels at sea or move against havens on shore. That raises questions whether it can significantly curb pirate flotillas after more than 110 ships were attacked last year.
International efforts to fight piracy have mounted in recent months. More than 20 nations are expected to take part in the new U.S.-led mission.


"This task force does not does have any greater rules of engagement," said Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for U.S. 5th Fleet based in Bahrain. "It does, however, bring a greater focus to counter-piracy operations under one command."


That could lead to more targeted strategies to foil the pirates at sea and gain information on their operations, Campbell told The Associated Press.


There are more than a dozen warships guarding Somalia's waters. Countries including the U.S., Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and India have naval forces off the Somali coast or on their way there. The U.S. military announcement did not mention the nations taking part in the counter-piracy force, but Campbell said it would likely include nations with ships already in the region.


The announcement said the new force will be headed by U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Terence McKnight.


The 2008 spike in pirate attacks on commercial vessels in August prompted U.S. Naval Central Command to establish a security corridor within the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean near Somalia.


A more robust military presence in the pirate-infested area off the coast of Yemen and Somalia has helped deter some attacks, but it has not stopped hijackings of commercial vessels.
More than a dozen ships with around 200 crew members remain in the hands of pirates, according to the International Maritime Bureau.


Among the most valuable ships the Somali pirates still hold for ransom are a Saudi supertanker, loaded with $100 million of crude oil and an Ukrainian vessel with Russian-made tanks and other heavy weapons on board. (These represent quite a pirate's treasure chest.)

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There's a little bit more to this story than bandit groups of Somali men turning to piracy for fun and profit. Somalia has essentially existed without a functioning central government since 1991. This has allowed it's coastline to become a dumping grounds for European hazardous waste and an open coast for all kinds of illegal commercial fishing for Asians and Europeans.


The illegal dumping was exposed by the 2004 Tsunami when broken containers washed up on Somali shores. The UN has admitted that this dumping has been going on for over a decade. Somali piracy actually began when out of work fisherman took it upon themselves to protect their coast from both the dumping and the fishing. Unfortunately their coast line is more extensive than our Atlantic coastline. That's a lot of coastline and is why it is possible for Europeans to both dump their toxic waste and fish the same waters.


No European government has admitted that their factories and hospitals are using the Somali coastline to dump their waste. Here's a quote from the UN envoy to Somalia:Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury, you name it.” Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to “dispose” of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: “Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention.”


How could there be any clean-up, compensation, or prevention when governments don't admit it's happening?


I have to hand it to the Mafia, they sure do seem to be an indispensable part of how Europe does business, especially in the 'cleaning up' of European messes.


So once again it's the US Navy to the rescue because the Somali coastal waterways are more than just convenient illegal fishing and dumping grounds, they are part of a strategic waterway between Asia and Europe, and the pirates who were once a sort of quasi coast guard are now a real threat stealing really important cargoes. They have managed to get the world's attention.


I hope this twenty nation anti piracy navy will go after both kinds of pirates, those that dump their cargoes and those that steal cargoes. In both cases the actions are criminal and need to be treated equally as such. It will be interesting to see how the US Navy proceeds.


In any event Somali coastal waters represent another example of how rich interests criminally exploit the third world and then find themselves having to fall behind their government's military or tax payer largess to bail them out. This is really just a naval version of a Wall Street bail out. When do we say enough is enough?


5 comments:

  1. Colleen:

    Were you able to location anything about a possible mafia/vatican connection in this situation? Historically, wherever the mafia does something internationally, the vatican is usually involved in some way.

    todays word ... no fooling ...

    boobs

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  2. I just burst out laughing. Boobs, no kidding. Wow, I guess that says it all.

    I wasn't really looking for a Vatican connection, but given the amount of money the Mafia is reputed to be making on this dumping enterprise of theirs, someone is laundering that money.

    Get this my word is lueter. That must be Somalian for looter.

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  3. Hi folks. My word is statesp - which is short for state sponsored piracy.. vatican state piracy.... ? Boobs. A great word Carl. That could mean any number of things to my wandering mind in the wilderness of this crazy world.

    The boobs in the Vatican Bank are laundering money? This is a question that must have an answer of yes or no. People should understand by now that there is a difference between the Vatican and the Church. Oh, what time will tell the differences because "all things shall be revealed."

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  4. Regretably Butterfly, far too many people do not recognize that distinction. To the vast majority of the non-catholic world, the vatican is the catholic church. Which is not surprising, given that is the message the vatican ambassadors spread. To the world, the Vatican and the catholic church are one in the same. The atrtocities of the vatican are the atrocities of the catholic church and catholics in general. And because of this, I am concerned that the vatican is setting up the laity for a new round of violence as more of their amoral and criminal behavior becomes public knowledge. The best case scenario would be for individuals and individual congregations to severe ties with the vatican. The fallout from that will be far less severe than the fallout from association with the vatican.

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  5. The disassociation with the Vatican is alive and well, yet we still do not see this. Believe in the action of the Holy Spirit my brother in Christ!

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