ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist&reg;.com: Even Utilities Must Pay Their Bills</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="598" height="1274" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="116" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="116" height="1"></td> <td width="31" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="31" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="267" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="267" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="79"> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> <td width="116" height="118" colspan="1" 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="31" height="79"></td> <td width="450" height="79" colspan="3" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="147"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> <td width="31" height="39"></td> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="267" height="39" colspan="1" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="329"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="20"> <td width="1" height="20"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="20"></td> <td width="597" height="20" colspan="5" rowspan="1" 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="7"> <td width="1" height="7"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="7"></td> <td width="116" height="1135" colspan="1" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="31" height="7"></td> <td width="182" height="7"></td> <td width="267" height="7"></td> <td width="1" height="7"></td> </tr> <tr height="1128"> <td width="1" height="1128"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1128"></td> <td width="480" height="1128" colspan="3" rowspan="1" valign="top" align="left" xpos="116" content csheight="1123"> <font size="5" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>Obama&#39;s Pirate Victory</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 13, 2009<br> All Rights Reserved.</i></font></p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style1"> N</span>avy Seal sharpshooters stationed on the destroyer Bainbridge picked off pirates from about 20-50 yards, holding Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips hostage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>President Barack Obama gave the green light to the Navy Friday, April 10 to use force if needed to save brave Capt. Phillips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Somali pirates commandeered his freighter April 8 carrying food and medicine for Kenya, he ordered his crew to lock themselves inside their cabins and offered himself as ransom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>By the time the crew seized control of the ship, the pirates escaped with Capt. Phillips in a 24-foot fiberglass lifeboat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He was held at gunpoint until diving off the boat April 8, in a failed escape, recaptured and threatened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Somali pirates hold about 12 cargo ships and 200 hostages from various countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When the pirates demanded $2 million ransom and safe passage, Obama decided it was time for action.</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>Cowing to pirates demands would have sent the wrong message not only to pirates but to America s enemies seeking any chink in the superpower s armor eight years after Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Somali pirates distinguish themselves from terrorists, boasting they don t kill or torture innocents in the course of their criminal activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Somali s anarchic coast stretches further than Western Europe including the British Isles, representing a formidable waterway joining the Arabian Sea to the Indian Ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Preventing piracy along the unwieldy coast is next to impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>A joint anti-piracy task force, including naval support from France, Russia, China, India, etc., hasn t dented the furious pace of Somali piracy in 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether or not they make political statements, pirates have disrupted maritime commerce for countries seeking safe passage via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea.</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>Like Islamic terrorists seeking to upend stable governments in the Middle East or fulfill Osama bin Laden s dream of a new Muslim caliphate that runs from Indonesia to Western Europe, Somali pirates blight the civilized world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Hijacking freighters with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, pirates have become the ocean s train and bank robbers, returning booty to criminal warlords now controlling Somali s ungoverned lands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama s decision to take the fight to the enemy prompted threats from Somali pirates to U.S. national security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> There really isn t a silver-bullet other than going into Somalia and rooting out the bases of the pirates, said James Carafano, a senior fellow at Washington s conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Multilateral action through the United Nations has gone nowhere, leaving Somali pirates with impunity to conduct criminal operations.</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>Americans haven t forgotten the disastrous Somali mission under former President s George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, resulting in 42 deaths, 18 resulted when two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down in 1993 by rebels, possibly loyal to Bin Laden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Clinton ordered U.S. forces out of Mogadishu in 1994 after terrorists dragged dead U.S soldiers through the streets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Just like Barack couldn t pay ransom for Capt. Phillips he also can t ignore pirate operations in the coastal town of Eyl, where numerous ships and hostages are kept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Foreign governments are worried about losing their ships and nationals should the U.S. attack pirate bases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The French and the Americans will regret starting the killing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We do not kill, but take only ransom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We shall do something to anyone we see as French or American from now, said a pirate named Hussein speaking to Reuters.</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>Obama can no longer count on multilateral action to deal with an untenable situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bin Laden fired many warning shots before launching Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Clinton fired Cruise missiles into Bin Laden s training camps after the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, it did nothing to deter him from Sept. 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Former President George W. Bush got it right after Sept. 11 taking the fight to the Taliban in Afghanistan less than a month later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While Capt. Phillips is safely in U.S. hands, Obama can t wait until Somali pirates plot their next attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Before the pirates become mobile, the Pentagon should dial in the coordinates and bomb terrorist camps in Eyl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Debating the doctrine of preemption or implementing a U.S. foreign policy doesn t prevent the U.S. from taking action against enemies announcing plans to attack the U.S.</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>Obama pulled off his first major military operation as commander-in-chief with force and precision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He redeemed bad memories of a botched U.S. hostage rescue mission April 12, 1980 in the Iranian desert, killing eight U.S. soldiers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike other countries lacking resources, the U.S. has what it takes to put Somali pirates out of business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> When President Thomas Jefferson sent the Navy to neutralize Barbary pirates in 1802, the world was beginning to take notice of a budding superpower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Despite setbacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. has more than enough resources to end Somali pirates reign of terror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Targeting pirate bases in Somali will help buy the civilized world more time to coordinate an effective multilateral response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Interdiction alone isn t enough to disrupt pirates networks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If there s any lesson from Sept. 11, the U.S. can t wait until the next attack.</p> <p><u><b>About the Author</b></u></p> <p><b>John M. Curtis</b> is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He&#146;s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He&#146;s the author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>. <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="75" height="25"> <tr> <td></td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="1" height="1128"></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;1999-2001 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>