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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Taro who wrote (472019)	4/15/2009 1:21:47 PM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575426

Obama declares war on piracy - really! Obama Vows to Combat Somali Pirates By Paula Wolfson White House 15 April 2009 President Barack Obama (left), with Vice President Joe Biden, says the U.S. will seek to halt the increasing threat of piracy off the Horn of Africa, 13 Apr 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama says he is determined to halt piracy in the shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia. Mr. Obama spoke one day after the dramatic rescue of an American cargo ship captain who was held hostage by Somali pirates for five days. Richard Phillips was rescued on Sunday after members of an elite U.S. Navy unit shot three of his captors. President Obama ordered the military to take action if it was believed that Phillips' life was in danger. He said he is pleased with the results, noting that the captain's safety was his top concern throughout the standoff. "I am very proud of the efforts of the U.S. military and many other departments and agencies that worked tirelessly to resolve this situation," he said. Mr. Obama said the American people also have reason to be proud of the captain who offered himself as a hostage to protect the crew of his cargo ship. "I share our nation's admiration for Captain Phillips' courage and leadership and selfless concern for his crew," he said. The president's first public comments on the dramatic rescue came on Monday at an event at the U.S. Department of Transportation. His initial response was delivered Sunday in the form of a written statement. And in his remarks, the president made many of the same points. He vowed again that America will do all it can to end piracy in the region, working in concert with nations around the world. "We are going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks. We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise. And we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," he said. President Obama did not refer to a new round of threats from the pirates, who say they want revenge for the killing of three of their own in the rescue operation. At the U.S. Defense Department, spokesman Bryan Whitman said there is always concern that the use of force by the military could lead to reprisals. But he said the shootings might make the pirates less inclined to attack ships. He said that until now, the pirates have been operating almost with impunity. "I think the actions the United States military took - the other night, the other day, yesterday - could certainly have that affect where people are less inclined to engage in that type of activity," he said. Pirates hold more than 230 hostages from several countries. Andrea Phillips, the wife of the rescued cargo ship captain, says they remain in her thoughts. On Monday, she made her first appearance since the rescue. A bad case of laryngitis prevented her from speaking on her own behalf. Instead, she wrote a statement that was read by Allison McCool, an employee of the shipping company that employs her husband. "Andrea wants you all to remember that they are just one family that has been impacted. There are many more families going through what the Phillips have endured presently. And those families are in the prayers of the Phillips family," she said. It is unclear when Richard Phillips will be reunited with his family, although they have spoken by telephone. In her statement, Andrea Phillips said her husband considers the U.S. military to be the real heroes of his ordeal. voanews.com

To: Taro who wrote (472019)	4/15/2009 1:33:58 PM
From: combjelly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575426

"The liberal lines I've heard here go like this:" So, Bob is a liar too?

To: Taro who wrote (472019)	4/15/2009 5:33:43 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575426

The line I've heard is: Now that we have been successful in weeding out the bad pirates, should we do the same with the right?

To: Taro who wrote (472019)	4/15/2009 5:37:52 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575426

"Now we have accomplished nothing more than turning the pirate "street" against us. Brute force never solves anything." Somali pirates vow to kill American sailors By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY – 3 hours ago MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Somali pirates vowed to hunt down American ships and kill their sailors Wednesday and French forces detained 11 other hijackers in a high-seas raid, raising tensions a day after an abortive attack on a U.S. freighter loaded with food aid. Pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at the Liberty Sun, but its American crew successfully blockaded themselves inside the engine room. The ship was damaged in Tuesday's attack but escaped and was heading to Kenya under U.S. Navy guard. A pirate whose gang attacked the aid ship admitted Wednesday that his group was targeting American ships and sailors. "We will seek out the Americans and if we capture them we will slaughter them," said a 25-year-old pirate based in the Somali port of Harardhere who gave only his first name, Ismail. "We will target their ships because we know their flags. Last night, an American-flagged ship escaped us by a whisker. We have showered them with rocket-propelled grenades," boasted Ismail, who did not take part in the attack on the Liberty Sun. The move comes after U.S. Navy sharpshooters killed three pirates Sunday to win the release of a hijacked American sea captain, Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama. The French forces, meanwhile, launched an early morning attack on a pirate ship after spotting it Tuesday with a surveillance helicopter and observing the pirates overnight. The raid thwarted the bandits' planned attack on the Liberian cargo ship Safmarine Asia, the French Defense Ministry said. The statement called the pirate vessel a "mother ship" — usually a seized foreign ship that pirates use to transport speedboats far out to sea and resupply them. The ship was intercepted 550 miles (900 kilometers) east of the Kenyan city of Mombasa. The 11 detained pirates were being held on the Nivose, a French frigate among the international fleet trying to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden. France has traditionally been aggressive in fighting piracy — this was its ninth military operation against pirates. Three Somali pirates were in the French city of Rennes on Wednesday facing judicial investigation after being captured in a hostage rescue Friday. Several other pirates are also in French custody after being seized last year. Tuesday's attack on the Liberty Sun foiled the reunion between Phillips and the 19-man crew he saved with his heroism. Phillips had planned to meet his crew in Mombasa and fly home with them Wednesday, but was stuck on the USS Bainbridge when it was diverted to help the Liberty Sun. The crew left without him, flying to Andrews Air Force base in Maryland in a chartered plane. "We are very happy to be going home," crewman William Rios of New York City said before departing Wednesday. "(But) we are disappointed to not be reuniting with the captain in Mombasa. He is a very brave man." Third mate Colin Wright, from Galveston, Texas told ABC's "Good Morning America" that fighting off pirates gave him a new appreciation for life. "I'll just love to hug my mother," Wright said. "Everybody out there give your mother a hug. Yeah, don't wait. Life is precious. And what a beautiful world." The Liberty Sun had left Houston with a crew of 20 American sailors and a load of aid for the U.N. World Food Program. It warded off the pirates with evasive maneuvers, according to U.S. Navy Lt. Nathan Christensen of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. "We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets," Liberty Sun crewman Thomas Urbik, 26, wrote his mother in an e-mail. "We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. (A) rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire, too, but put out." By the time the Bainbridge arrived five hours later, the pirates had left. A small group of armed U.S. sailors from the Bainbridge went aboard the Liberty Sun to ensure its safe journey to Mombasa. Despite President Barack Obama's vow to take action against the rise in banditry and the deaths of five pirates in French and U.S. hostage rescues, brigands have seized four vessels and more than 75 hostages since Sunday's dramatic rescue of Phillips. Pirates released a Greek-owned cargo ship Wednesday and Greek authorities said all 24 crewmen on the Titan were in good health. The ship had been hijacked March 19 in the Gulf of Aden. In all, Somali pirates are holding over 280 sailors on 15 ships — at least 76 of those sailors captured in the last few days. Pirates have attacked 79 ships this year and hijacked 19 of them, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a piracy watchdog. Pirates can extort $1 million or more for each ship and crew seized off the Horn of Africa — and Kenya estimates they raked in $150 million last year. The United States has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross and Somali officials to help locate the families of the three pirates slain Sunday by Navy snipers so their remains can be returned, a senior U.S. official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. The difficulties in getting food aid delivered could leave some Somalis hungry. World Food Program spokesman Peter Smerdon said more food aid was to have been delivered by another cargo ship hijacked Tuesday, the Lebanese-owned MV Sea Horse. It was headed to Mumbai, India, to pick up 7,327 tons of WFP food for Somalia. read more......... google.com