ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Duke's Damage Control</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style1 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="116" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="24" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="465" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="18" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="283" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="26"> <td width="624" height="26" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#149; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#149; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#149; <a href="teflon.html">THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#149; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">REACTIONS</a> &#149; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="1"> <td width="116" height="2574" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="489" height="1" colspan="3"></td> <td width="18" height="2574" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="2573"> <td width="489" height="2573" colspan="3" align="left" xpos="116" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5"><b> <br /> Somali Pirates Standoff</b></font><p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>by John M. Curtis<br> (310) 204-8700</b><br> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright April 9, 2009<br> All Rights Reserved.</i></font></p> <p><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span> <span class="style1">S</span>eized by Somali pirates April 8 off the Horn of Africa, U.S. Capt. Richard Phillips awaits his fate floating helplessly in a lifeboat with his Somali captors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> While the U.S.-flagged Danish freighter Masersk Alabama managed to regain control of the vessel, Phillips remained hostage agreeing, for the sake of his crew, to go with his captors in a lifeboat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Meanwhile, FBI hostage negotiators joined a U.S. Navy frigate attempting to free Capt. Phillips, the first U.S. seaman seized by pirates in 200 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Scores of other foreign freighters have been captured by Somali pirates, demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom in recent years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Somali, off the east coast of central Africa, virtually operates without a government, creating a safe-haven for terrorists and other outlaws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of Sept. 11, operated from Sudan and Somalia before moving to Afghanistan in 1992</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <![endif]>Before hitting the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001, Bin Laden suicide bombed the U.S.S. guided missile frigate Cole in the Somali Port of Aden Oct. 12, 2000, blasting a 25-foot hole, killing 17 U.S. sailors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It was just a matter of time before Somali pirates hit U.S. interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> World response to Somali pirates has been piecemeal, tolerating unlawful acts over the last few years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While there s no known connection with Somali pirates and Bin Laden, they represent a menacing problem to international maritime commerce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Negotiating with Somali pirates won t be easy but they re a different breed from Islamic terrorists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Driven by booty, Somali pirates aren t interested in political statements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With the lifeboat out of fuel, the U.S.S. Bainbridge on the scene and armed guards already aboard the Alabama, the U.S. has tightened its noose on the Somali pirates.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>More U.S. assets are on the way to the Horn of Africa to lend assistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Official U.S. position on hostage-taking and kidnapping prohibit ransoms, despite practical considerations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>To get Capt. Phillips out safely, hostage negotiators will have to meet at least some of the pirates demands, including cash and safe passage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>A shootout would likely end poorly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>President Barack Obama refused comment, suggesting that negotiations are presently underway for Phillips release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We want to ensure that we will have the capability that might be needed over the course of the coming days, said Cencom Commander Gen. David Petraeus, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Capt. Phillips finds himself in a 24 ft. fiberglass lifeboat, with enough food for about 34 people for 10 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder indicated FBI hostage negotiation team assisted the Navy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Calling the situation a  standoff, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko indicated that the pirates understood their limited options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> They can see it with their eyes, said Kolko, admitting that the pirates couldn t escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Holding Phillips gives them some leverage, perhaps for some cash and safe passage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They re hundreds of miles away from Somalia, preferring to harass ships off the Horn of Africa than the more heavily patrolled waters near the Port of Aden..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> He said the pirates were desperate, said Zoya Quinn, the wife of second mate Ken Quinn, speaking by cell phone and e-mail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Negotiating with hostage-takers involves a clever combination of empathy and intimidation, rather than a game of chicken to see who blinks first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Getting Phillips out safely should guide the FBI to compromise on areas typically nonnegotiable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Once Phillips is safely out, the military should pull no punches. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Using predator drones, the same kind used to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaidia in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the U.S. should hone in on Somali pirates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. authorities should show no mercy eradicating the scourge on the open seas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>French, Russian, Saudi Arabian and Chinese authorities have been too lax in dealing with the severity of the Somalia pirates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> They ve got only one guy, they ve go nowhere to hide him, they ve got no way to defend themselves effectively against the military who are on the way and they are hundreds of miles from Somalia, said piracy expert Roger Middleton of the London-based think tank Chatham House, believing the pirates are in  a very, very tight corner, seeing the leverage with U.S. authorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Seven ships were hijacked by Somali pirates during the last week, attesting to a critical need for military action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Negotiating for Phillips release won t solve the problem.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Somali pirates underscore the need for more international cooperation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>U.S. predator drone technology can go a long way in preventing more hijackings in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether or not the hijackers value their own lives shouldn t stop U.S. authorities from aggressively pursuing pirates wherever possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Before the problem gets solved, freighters should carry the firepower needed to stop pirates from profiting on human misery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> There s always a potential for tragedy here, and when people feel their options are limited, they sometimes react in more unpredictable ways, said retired FBI hostage negotiator Steve Romano.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While the U.S. does not officially negotiate with terrorists, they must deal with pirates to safeguard the life of Capt. Phillips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether or not authorities loose some ransom, it s a small price to pay for saving a courageous captain who sacrificed himself for his crew.</p> <p>&nbsp;<u><b>About the Author</b></u></p> <p><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He&#39;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet </a>and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.<u><br> </p> <p></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2573"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2573"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="116" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="116" height="1"></td> <td width="24" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="24" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="283" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="283" height="1"></td> <td width="18" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="18" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong>Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com">Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2002 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>