US Warship captures some pirates

[Michael]

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/01/c1main.nicholas.jpg
USS Nicholas

U.S. warship captures suspected pirate mother ship

A U.S. warship sank a pirate skiff and captured a pirate mother ship in the Indian Ocean on Thursday, according to a statement from U.S. Naval Forces Africa.

The frigate USS Nicholas came under fire from a pirate vessel shortly after midnight in international waters west of the Seychelles, according to a U.S. military statement.

The Nicholas returned fire and pursued the skiff as it fled, capturing it about 90 minutes later. Three suspected pirates aboard the skiff were taken into custody, along with two others aboard a suspected pirate mother ship that was nearby.
Source (http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/01/u-s-warship-captures-suspected-pirate-mother-ship/)

Nothing unusual here. Idiot pirates attacked US warship and got their butts kicked. No surprise.

What does seem noteworthy is the comments thread there at CNN. The level of ignorance and macho-bluster there is astounding. I suppose it really is true that many/most Americans just don't follow any news that isn't US news.

For what its worth, these silly pirates have previously attacked a Dutch Navy ship and a French Navy ship under similar circumstances. Similarly, the Dutch and the French have captured many pirates and pirate mother-ships.

But according to that CNN news article, the commentors are acting as if this is the first news they've ever heard of any pirates being captured by anyone, let alone pirates attacking a warship.

Lots of red-blooded, chest-thumping comments about "GO US NAVY! YEAH!" there too. Quite pathetic.

If the Canadian Navy takes out some pirates, I don't feel any adrenalin rush of testosterone, nor do I feel that it proves that CANADA RULZ. :shrug:

Ah well, picking on comments threads is like shooting fish in a barrel. I just found the comments in that thread to be particularly revealing. There is almost ZERO evidence of any reasoned or rational thought expressed there.

[Donkey]

But after they were captured, they all shouted "April Fools!" and had a good laugh with the US Sailors, and a lunch buffet.

[Non Sequitur]

Ah well, picking on comments threads is like shooting fish in a barrel. I just found the comments in that thread to be particularly revealing. There is almost ZERO evidence of any reasoned or rational thought expressed there.

well yes, but your looking in the wrong place for rational thought. Internet video and story comment thread posters are usually the lowest form of life on earth. It's like looking at pond scum when trying to find primates.

[Speakeasy]

We put a lot of damn money into that military, of course we're going to be excited when it does, well, anything. Of course, this hardly compares to the little known American holiday, "Simultaneous Ejaculation Day", which was founded on August 6, 1945. That was a bad day to be a tissue in the US.

In all seriousness, though, the internet isn't exactly the best place to get decent opinions from decent people (my posts are proof enough). Especially CNN.com, which has sort of morphed into the news equivalent of TMZ over the past year, running nothing but human interest stories.

Obviously, there's not much to get too excited about in this particular story. It may have the obvious "chuckle factor" because of the absurdity of the pirate's actions or the glee of seeing pirates getting their comeuppance for firing on a boat in the middle of the night only to have it be a US warship. But taking out a small handful of pirates is certainly not a sign of military prowess of any sort. We might as well cheer over the 'amazement' of the boat floating in the first place. I can certainly understand a bit of pride when those snipers shot those three pirates in that hostage situation, because that does take a certain amount of skill and we prevailed in what could very well have been a tragic situation for a US civilian.

[Americano]

I wonder what that one cost me, a frigate to capture five pirates.

[The Drunk Guy]

If the Canadian Navy takes out some pirates, I don't feel any adrenalin rush of testosterone, nor do I feel that it proves that CANADA RULZ. :shrug:

That's because you'll never have to worry about that happening. :owned:


Seriously, those folks probably think those are the same guys that are always burning movies and stealing Metallica songs. Not a lot of brainiacs in the general populace.

[Michael]

That's because you'll never have to worry about that happening. :owned:

That's just more arrogance and ignorance on this issue. :shrug:

Canadian Warship thwarts pirate attack

CEFCOM NR 09.009 - April 4, 2009

OTTAWA - HMCS Winnipeg, currently deployed in a NATO led counter-piracy mission known as Operation Allied Protector, thwarted a pirate attack of a merchant vessel in the Arabian Sea.

While engaging in naval escort duties Winnipeg observed several small skiffs approaching the Motor Vessel (MV) Pacific Opal. MV Pacific Opal radioed for assistance. In response, Commander Craig Baines, commanding officer of HMCS Winnipeg, ordered the immediate launch of the ship’s Sea King helicopter to investigate.

Winnipeg’s helicopter arrived on-scene putting itself between the vessel in distress and the pirate skiffs. The pirates pulled back and withdrew. The aircraft’s pilot Major James Hawthorne said, “Whatever their intentions were they complied with our instructions and allowed the merchant vessel to proceed.”

Source (http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?cat=00&id=2937)

I won't bore you with several other similar news reports involving other Canadian warships and Somali pirates. Fact is, the anti-piracy fleet operation off Somalia contains warships from most NATO nations and they've been there for quite some time.

I might also add that the Canadian Navy is the ONLY navy on the planet that 'plugs into' the US naval technology grid and allows Canadian warships to be fully integrated into US Carrier Battle Groups.

Btw, the US Navy has a relatively small presence off Somalia and the vast majority of warships in the NATO fleet there are non-US warships. Indeed, the largest number of ships is supplied by the Chinese navy right now.

Fact is the US has a massive shortage of suitable warships for this type of operation. Canada, China and many European nations have quite a few of the type of warship that is ideal for this operation (fast frigates) - US does not. That is to say, anti-piracy operations are not something the US Navy is well suited for.