This just in from Samantha Quigley of the American Forces Press:
"The root cause of maritime piracy resides on land, and halting it requires an international solution," as per the Pentagon's head of African Affairs.
Quigley reported on a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, where African Affairs chief Daniel Pike testified today. Pike told committee members:
"The absence of a strong government in Somalia remains the single greatest challenge to regional security....[It] provides freedom of action for those engaged in piracy along the Somalia coast."
Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet, elaborated on that theme, Quigley reports:
Several years ago, the number of pirate attacks off the eastern coast of Somalia began to increase, [Gortney] said. In response, the U.S. 5th Fleet and the shipping industry moved the transit lane further off the coast.
It worked, and attacks decreased to just a few a year, Gortney said. But the situation changed in mid-August 2008, when a new clan of Somali pirates began attacking ships north of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. In just a few days, the number of pirate attacks went from three to 12.
"Ultimately, we knew the solution to the problem of piracy is ashore in Somalia itself," he said.
Look for this issue to become even more pressing in months to come, as the ruling clan continues to solidify its power.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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3 comments:
"Ultimately, we knew the solution to the problem of piracy is ashore in Somalia itself,"
Sums it up entirely. Problem with Somalia is that it's a very, very fluid environment. Human intelligence is needed, but severely lacking. Airstrikes are fun and all to watch on youtube, but if you don't hold the ground, you don't hold anything.
The US is still gun-shy when it comes to Somalia, and using proxies like Ethiopia isn't a good substitute for US boots, in a larger scale than SF teams, on the ground.
The current sea change in occupants of 1600 Penn, doesn't bode well for potential US action in the Horn. So, it's going to be up to the shipping companies to curtail future losses by hiring the modern version of privateers.
And they're going to have to be proactive rather than reactive.
Interesting analysis, Praetorian. Perhaps the shipping companies should seek (unenforceable) compensation from Somalia for forcing them to take on this outrageous expense.
Susan,
Considering Somalias major export is livestock, I'd say that's going to be a pretty big drive to pay off those debts. Get along little....Somali??? Plenty of oil offshore, but putting up rigs when the local yokels stuff their fishing boats with rpg's instead of lures kinda complicates things.
The Germans (considering history, Mario and Luigi should have better inroads into the area.) have had an on and off again police "presence" in Somaliland. But that's been pretty much confined to the north, and only in a training role.
Plenty of capabilities for real intel gathering in the north. One might even say a guy with NGO experience in the area, a sat phone and high speed laptop could bring things up to speed.
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