Thursday, October 2, 2008

Terrorists of the seas



THERE IS NOTHING romantic about the pirates who have been hijacking ships off the coast of Somalia. Theirs is a vicious business that endangers maritime workers of many nations, threatens ecological calamities, and pumps millions of dollars into local Islamist militias with links to Al Qaeda. Somali pirates may have made a serious mistake, however, when they seized a Ukrainian freighter last week that was carrying 33 heavy Russian tanks, grenade launchers, and large quantities of ammunition. Their mistake was to initiate a simultaneous confrontation with the United States Navy and a Russian frigate that is steaming toward the region from the Baltic Sea. more..http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2008/10/02/terrorists_of_the_seas/


Somali piracy threatens trade, boosts terrorists, analysts
Somalia pirates: US navy blockades hijacked cargo ship
they really hit the jackpot
Fuckin’ arrr, Jim lad.
The pirates would hardly have been able to believe their eyes as they inspected the hold of their latest conquest, the Faina.
The Ukrainian vessel was heading for the Kenyan port of Mombasa loaded down with rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and 30 Russian T-72 tanks.
“They really hit the jackpot this time,” said a regional arms expert. “There is not much they can do with the tanks, but the RPGs and the Zu-23 anti-aircraft guns will soon find their way into Somalia’s arms markets
I’m sure there’s a whole load of wealthy yahoos about the place who'd like driving T-72’s around their extensive lawns. The former CEO of some bailed out bank or brokerage, for instance, who gets to keep his pension pot and golden hello and who now needs something to occupy his time. Then the pirates take the money and buy some news you can use to sell on into Somalia and other lively places.

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