Obama had it right in April, authorising that sniper attack. He should consider that withdrawal from Iraq, welcome though it is, is not enough if it is merely to transfer the forces to Afghanistan. The real threats are elsewhere. In fact, at least for now or anything like the foreseeable future, the real threat based in Somalia is precisely not the Islamists, but the Islamists’ enemies.
However, there is now talk of “dialogue”. About what? The pirates are plainly and simply that: robbers on the high seas. Their only demands are ransom demands. Their activities are no more or less than the outworking of human wickedness in general and of human greed in particular.
Such are the real threats.
The French were also absolutely right at that time, sending in their Special Forces against the Somali pirates. Yes, one of their own citizens died. But the rest did not. Whereas the Somali pirates did. The French Special Forces are available for this sort of work, the work for which, like ours and the Americans’, they are trained and paid. But ours and the Americans’ are not available. We all know why not.
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My resident granny (every single person over 25 should have one) was saying something a couple of days ago about the Russians planning to use force to rescue Russian hostages from Somali pirates. I must away and ask her what happened in the end ...
ReplyDeleteGood for them. Of course, they have the forces available.
ReplyDeleteIts unlikely the British Navy could do much. Last time I saw them on the news they were getting arrested by Iranians and making fools of themselves in the tabloids.
ReplyDeleteHardly in the best traditions of Nelson and all that.
England expects everu man....and woman ....will sell their story to the Daily Mirror or the Sun.
The Special Forces could. If we didn't have them wasting their time in Afghanistan.
ReplyDeleteBut both parties' running down of the Navy is a serious problem.