Democracy Arsenal

« The Repulican's Robocall | Main | McCain's Irresponsible Syria Response »

October 27, 2008

Of Pirates and Mercenaries
Posted by The Editors

This is a post by NSN Intern Amanda Hillman

Wired’s Danger Room blog team has been posting the past few weeks on the nearly too-sensational-to-be-real Somali pirating story. Starting last month, Somali pirates gained worldwide attention when they hijacked the Ukrainian cargo ship, the Faina, laden with “$30 million worth of grenade launchers, piles of ammunition, even battle tanks” in the Gulf of Aden. The Somali pirates have demanded millions in ransom, reportedly between $8m and $35m; additionally, the hijackers have threatened to kill the crew of the Faina within days if their demands are not fully met. A coalition of countries with maritime interests in the area, including the governments of the United States and Russia, along with NATO, “are cooperating to try to recover the ship.” The single confirmed death related to the hijacking was that of the vessel’s captain, who suffered a stroke several days after the pirates boarded. Negotiations for the release of the remaining crew are still underway.

The waters off the coast of Somalia have seen “a surge in piracy” this year, Noah Shachtman writes; over 100 ships have been hijacked, with their crews and cargo held hostage. The situation has spurred discussions ranging from the prospect of Al Qaeda piracy to the perpetuation of instability and violence in Africa made possible by a lucrative global arms trade. Somalia-based piracy has threatened international shipping, including food aid, since the beginning of the civil war in that country in the early 1990’s. Adding military escorts to ships bearing cargo from the likes of the World Food Programme have resulted in a steady rise in shipping costs, hindering vital deliveries to some of the poorest areas in Africa. Upwards of ninety percent of all food aid from the WFP arrives by sea. Drought, corruption, inflation and instability have come to head for Somalia, and this latest rash of piracy only augments the looming crisis; almost four million people in Somalia alone will require food assistance/humanitarian aid by the end of this year. WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said recently that “the Horn of Africa region is facing the worse humanitarian crisis since 1984…” Needless to say, the situation is not helped by the ongoing standoff between Somali pirates and the international shipping community.  On October 7, 2008 the United Nations Security Council responded by adopting resolution 1838 “to fight piracy on the coast of Somalia by deploying naval vessels and military aircraft,” but it is unclear what, if any, effect this commitment will have.

Adding to the maritime maelstrom is the recent press release from Blackwater USA announcing the mercenary group’s availability to fight the growing piracy problem. “As a company founded and run by former Navy SEALS,” the press release reads, “Blackwater is uniquely positioned to assist the shipping industry in the Gulf of Aden and elsewhere.” The AP wrote yesterday, “Blackwater Worldwide and other private security firms _ some with a reputation for being quick on the trigger in Iraq _ are joining the battle against pirates plaguing one of the world's most important shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia. The growing interest among merchant fleets to hire their own firepower is encouraged by the U.S. Navy and represents a new and potential lucrative market for security firms scaling back operations in Iraq. NATO, with a flotilla of warships due to arrive in Somali waters this weekend, is trying to work out legal and regulatory issues surrounding the use of armed contractors before adopting a position on private security companies. But the U.S. Navy, part of the coalition already patrolling off the coast of Somalia, says the coalition cannot effectively patrol the 2.5 million square miles of dangerous waters and welcomes the companies.” Currently, “British firms dominate security work in the Gulf of Aden, but American companies are increasingly getting into the action, according an Associated Press examination of new anti-piracy efforts through interviews in East Africa, Europe and Washington."

Between the guns, drugs, mercs, and money, I’m on sensory overload.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451c04d69e2010535bce1d2970b

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Of Pirates and Mercenaries:

Comments

They supply cheapest rf cp for the player.
They have cheap rf gold. I usually
buy rf gold from them.
rf online goldThey have professional worker help you.

When you have eve isk, you will become strong. With eve online isk, you can upgrade and admire by others. You can buy eve online isk to start the journey of the world. So, do not hesitate, let us move to buy isk


I hope i can get Sho Online Mun in low price,
Yesterday i bought Sho Mun for my friend.

You can change a lot Cheap metin2 yang for play games. And you will enjoy yourself at the sametime. Playing online games can make much Cheap metin2 gold. Come and have a try.

You can change a lot Cheap metin2 yang for play games

You can change a lot Cheap metin2 yang for play games

Thank you, I got it. o(∩_∩)o

every interesting to read.I enjoyed well while reading.I will recommend my friends to read this one for sure.

There is no black and white colors, such as gray and red like a timeless classic, and eventually replica handbagsbecome worse, Homme Dior, black A06 wake up call, the foreigners rouge, further improve the design of the initial sales to noble pure deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) Homme Dior, Dior men will bring clean ao in front of us the overall structure, surrounded by a black dial, simplereplica handbags and stylish design style spirit of Dior Homme.

Forty years ago, Don ED hardy
blew off a Yale fine-art fellowship to pursue the rogue art of tattoo, a timeless and often taboo tradition that captivated him as a boy in the Orange County beach town of Corona del Mar. By 10 he was drawing cars and eagles on kids' backs and arms with wet colored pencils and Maybelline eyeliner. After that he begun to design the Ed hardy picture

At the San Francisco Art Institute in the early '60s, Hardy mastered the demanding art of intaglio etching under the tutelage of the late Gordon Cook, a no-jive blue-collar guy who instilled in Hardy a love of craft, Asian art and the quiet power of Giorgio Morandi's little still life pictures. Which like love kills slowly
But it worked out well for the plucky Hardy boy, who blurred the supposed boundary between "high" and "low" art and carved a path through the worlds of art and commerce. He has drawn images on torsos
, canvases and giant scrolls with equal conviction and aplomb.

e biodegradablechanel bags when you "stoop and scoop."
Dispose of animal waste according to the campground rules or bury it off-road.
Observe fire coguccinditions and always keep a full jug of water nearby.
Remove flammable brush near fire pits and keep campfires small.
Don't burn plastics and metalshermes.
Use non-toxic, phosphate-free, biodegradable cleaning supplies and sanitary additives.
Reduce the need louis vuitton for air-conditioning by parking in natural shade, opening windows, using awnings or portable sun shelters.
Wash air-conditionidesignerng filters when dirty, instead of buying new ones each time.
Reduce the need to turn on heat designer handbagsby parking in a sheltered spot, out of the north and west winds.

Post a comment

If you have a TypeKey or TypePad account, please Sign In.

Guest Contributors
Founder
Subscribe
Sign-up to receive a weekly digest of the latest posts from Democracy Arsenal.
Email: 
Powered by TypePad

Disclaimer

The opinions voiced on Democracy Arsenal are those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of any other organization or institution with which any author may be affiliated.
Read Terms of Use