Canadian piracy policy: Byers the enforcer/German hostage-rescue mission scuppered
Letter of mine in the Globe and Mail, May 2; for some reason the paper's online letters section is blank so I typed this up (their title) [Update: letter is now online]:
The Germans have had their own problems (I doubt we could even think of trying what they were planning):
Piracy policy polemicMore from the scourge of the high seas here; here's a sample of his usual way of thinking. Meanwhile, the government is working on a somewhat more robust policy than catch and release:
So, the University of British Columbia's Michael Byers thinks the Conservative government is soft on pirates (Ottawa's Piracy Policy Flouts Law, Experts Say - May 1): "It's ludicrous for the Harper government to claim that it can't arrest and prosecute pirates." Prof. Byers, an unsuccessful candidate for the NDP in the last federal election, is being rather disingenuous.
A strong human-rights advocate, he'd be one of the first to raise hell at the slightest hint of any possible "abuse" of a captured pirate by Canadian sailors, or, if Canada turned the pirates over to Kenya for trial (as some countries do), at the slightest hint that the Kenyan justice system is less than perfect. I rather imagine that concern over such hell being raised by our "progressive" experts is one reason the government is dealing with pirates so gingerly.
Mark Collins, Ottawa
The federal government is extending Canada's anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia and looking to close legal loopholes that result in the "catch-and-release" of perpetrators.This from the end of the official news release:
Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced yesterday that Canada has agreed to NATO's request to keep the HMCS Winnipeg patrolling the pirate-infested waters in the Gulf of Aden into June.
THREE ATTEMPTS
"Our men and women there are acting extremely courageously in deterring the attacks," he told CTV's Question Period. "We have at least three, if not more, attempts that have been made on ships where the HMCS Winnipeg has intervened and prevented those attacks."
MacKay said because Canadians are in a "flux zone" outside territorial limits, sailors can't arrest and charge suspects unless they are directly attacking a Canadian-flagged ship. The U.S., France and Britain have reached agreements with African countries to prosecute there, and Canada's foreign affairs department is "very aggressively" seeking ways for Canada to hold suspects to account...
...There are lots of good piracy details and photos at this Milnet.ca topic thread.For more information on Operation SEXTANT [as part of which the Winnipeg is deployed], visit: http://www.cefcom.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/sextant/index-eng.asp
Photos of HMCS Winnipeg's mission can be viewed at www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca
B-roll available at http://www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca/common/combatcamera/news/
The Germans have had their own problems (I doubt we could even think of trying what they were planning):
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
Geman Elite Troop Abandons Plan to Free Pirate
Hostages
In a massive secret operation, Berlin sent members of its elite GSG-9 police force [official site here] to Somalia to free hostages and a German freighter captured by pirates there, but the commandos were called off before the rescue effort could begin. The scuppered operation reveals deficits in Germany's security forces...
Last Wednesday [April 29], at approximately 7 p.m., the government's key state secretaries were sitting around the birch conference tables in the situation room, where they had met almost daily for the past three weeks to address a crisis brewing off the coast of Somalia. The officials were there to manage one of the biggest secret operations in postwar German history. Elite members of the GSG-9 police force were on the verge of boarding a German freighter, the Hansa Stavanger, which had been kidnapped by Somali pirates...
...More than 200 members of the elite police force, equipped with helicopters, speedboats and advanced weapons, had been secretly brought, via Kenya, to a location 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the German freighter. Although the dramatic narrative of the cancelled rescue operation is an example of great resolve on the part of German and American authorities, it also points to deficits. It shows that, in such extreme situations, the German government is essentially incapable of deploying its law enforcement authorities in a purposeful way...
posted by Mark, Ottawa at 1:22 p.m.
2 Comments:
maybe this is what Byers wants
Special cruise 2009 offer for adventurous travelers.
This unusual Somali cruise package departs from Sawakin (in the Sudan) and docks at Bagamoya in Tanzania ).
The cost is a bit high @ $800 per person double occupancy but I didn't find that offensive. What I found encouraging and enlightened is that the cruise is encouraging people to bring their 'High powered
weapons' along on the cruise. If you don't have weapons you can rent them right there on the boat. They claim to have a master blacksmith on board and will have reloading parties every afternoon. The cruise lasts from 4-8 days and nights and costs a maximum of $3200 per person double occupancy (4 days). All the boat does is sail up and down the coast of Somalia waiting to get hijacked by pirates.
Here are some of the costs and claims associated with the package:
US$800.00 /per day double occupancy (4 day max billing)
M-16 full auto rental $25.00/day - ammo at 100 rounds of 5.56 armour piercing ammo at $15.95
Ak-47 rifle @ No charge - ammo at 100 rounds of 7.62 communist bloc ball ammo at $14.95
Barrett M-107 .50 cal sniper rifle rental $55.00/day - ammo at 25 rounds 50 cal AP at $9.95
Crew members can double as spotters for 30.00 per hour (spotting scope included).
Far Out ---- they even offer RPG's at 75 bucks and 200 dollars for 3 standard loads
"Everyone gets use of free complimentary night vision equipment and coffee and snacks on the top deck from 7pm-6am." Meals are not included but seem reasonable. Most cruises offer a mini-bar.
These gung-ho entrepreneurs offer......... get this
"MOUNTED MINIGUN AVAILABLE @ $450.00 per 30 seconds of sustained fire"
Sign my arse up!
They advertise group rates and corporate discounts...... and even claim "FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY"
They even offer a partial money back guarantee if not satisfied. Here's some text from the ad:
"We guarantee that you will experience at least two hijacking attempts by pirates or we will refund half your money, including gun rental charges and any unused ammo (mini gun charges not included).
How can we guarantee you will experience a hijacking? We operate at 5 knots within 12 miles of the coast of Somalia. If an attempted Hijacking does not occur we will turn the boat around and cruise by at 4 knots. We will repeat this for up to 8 days making three passes a day along the entire length of Somalia. At night the boat is fully lit and bottle rockets are shot off at intervals and loud disco music beamed shore side to attract attention. Cabin space is limited so respond quickly. Reserve your package before Feb 29 and get 100 rounds of free tracer ammo in the calibre of your choice."
As if all that isn't enough to whet your appetite, there were a few testimonials:
"I got three confirmed kills on my last trip. I'll never hunt big game in Africa again. I felt like the Komandant in Schindler's list!"----
Lars , Hamburg, Germany
"Six attacks in 4 days was more than I expected. I bagged three pirates and my 12yr old son sank two rowboats with the minigun.
PIRATES 0 - PASSENGERS 32! Well worth the trip. Just make sure your spotter speaks English"
Ned, Salt Lake city , Utah USA
I haven't had this much fun since flying choppers in NAM . Don't worry about getting shot by pirates as they never even got close to the ship with those weapons they use and their shitty aim--reminds me of a drunken 'juicer' door gunner we picked up from the motor pool back in Nam" -
"Chopper' Dan ----Toledo USA.
"Like ducks in a barrel. They turned the ship around and we saw them bleed and cry in the water like little girls. Saw one wounded pirate eaten by sharks--what a laugh riot!! This is a must do.
Zeke-Minnahaw Springs Kentucky USA
Finally, someone had the common sense to cash in AND solve a major problem.
"[1]The Germans have had their own problems ([2]I doubt we could even think of trying what they were planning):""The US government, worried that the operation could turn into a suicide mission, [ostensible reason, IMO] was sending the USS Boxer back to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, where the German forces were to disembark. ... There are undoubtedly senior ministry officials in Berlin who are grateful to the Americans for halting an operation that could very well have ended in disaster. ... On Wednesday, Silberberg contacted his superior in Kabul to notify him of an unconfirmed piece of news that was making the rounds in Berlin: The US military[?3] was strongly opposed to the use of force to rescue the Stavanger and wanted to withdraw the Boxer.The rumor became official that afternoon, when US National Security Advisor James Jones called Christoph Heusgen, the chancellor's foreign policy advisor. At approximately 6:00 p.m., Heusgen notified the relevant state secretaries of the American decision. It was clear, even before the crisis team met that day, that the operation would have to be cancelled."I read the entire Der Spiegel article carefully. Re point [1], the Germans seem to have surmounted their organizational and logistical problems reasonably well, with the initial American naval help.
Jumping to point [3], it seems obvious to me that what brought the mission to a screeching halt was the sudden removal of American support, most especially pulling the USS Boxer out from under, so to speak, of the German commando force. IMO, that sudden removal of support was not a military or naval decision but a civilian political decision in Washington, a decision at the top. Barack Obama and/or Robert Gates, et. al.
Which brings us back to point [2], Mark's doubts that Canada could pull off such a hostage rescue in similar circumstances. Just my opinion, mind you, but Canada could do that as well as Germany could, assuming a modicum of steadfast American support, expressed by naval and or other means. Were Canada to have the rug pulled out from under it's Forces as Germany did, then that would also then become a Canadian "Mission Impossible". That is the telling variable. The Achilles heel is in Washington. Someone in Washington, or some persons ... starting that list with the initials BO, found reasons to go along with their default worldview of avoidance of confrontation and preference for the easy way out and for appeasement. So much easier and risk-free to just pull the rug out from under the Germans and make them just pay the money!
Post a Comment
<< Home