Somali pirates attacked another US ship Tuesday. This ship was also carrying food aid. Fortunately, the USS Bainbridge was nearby and they pirates were scared off. I wonder why the USS Bainbridge didn't track the pirates boat down and sink it. Perhaps, the rules of engagement they are operating under won't allow them to do that. According to cnn.com,
(CNN) -- The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship bound for Mombasa, Kenya, was attacked Tuesday by Somali pirates, according to a NATO source with direct knowledge of the matter.
"The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel, which sustained damage," said a statement from New York-based Liberty Maritime Corporation, which owns the vessel.
The ship was carrying U.S. food aid for African nations, the statement said.
The pirates never made it onto the ship and the vessel is now being escorted by a coalition ship, still bound for Mombasa, officials said.
Two senior defense officials said the Liberty Sun was being escorted by the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge. It is the ship carrying Richard Phillips, the captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked last week. Phillips spent days as a hostage of the pirates before being rescued Sunday.
The dramatic rescue of Captain Phillips may ultimately turn out to be a case of winning the battle but losing the war against the Somali pirates. This stupid stunt, ostensibly approved by President Obama, is bound to raise the stakes and put the lives of the present and future hostages from not only the US ships but also of ships flying flags of other countries captured by the pirates in grave danger. I am sure that the brethren of the pirates who were shot dead by the US sharp shooters in the bid to rescue Phillips would have learned a bitter lesson, namely, that it was a disastrous mistake to have let the other twenty crew members along with the ship to go free in exchange for the captain of the ship to be held as the lone hostage on a bobbing lifeboat short of fuel.
ReplyDeleteWhat is needed, therefore, is an internationally co-ordinated campaign to go after the pirates both on land and in sea. The US must resist the temptation once again to go it alone, as had become its habit during the Bush era.
BTW, why is not the vaunted capability of the US spy satellites which are supposedly equipped with cameras so precise that they can capture and transmit images of even minute objects in every detail put to use in this matter? One or more such satellites may be positioned over the pirate-infested expanse of the Indian Ocean and images of any vessels or boats suspected to be used by the pirates may be relayed to the nearest warship which can then seek and destroy them before they go into any offensive action.
Something I do not understand is "Rules of Engagement". It's WAR! Why are there "rules"? No one but us ever abides by them, so it's really to our disadvantage to have them. My 1st rule of war: There are no rules.
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