“The existence of the sea means the existence of pirates”

Then

Year	Location		Event
1400-1300 BC	Mediterranean		Lukka sea raiders attack shipping from the coast of Asia Minor
1300-1200BC	Mediterranean		Lukka sea raiders ally with Hittites
1220-1186BC	Eastern Mediterranean		Area controlled by the 'Sea Peoples'
1000-900BC	Mediterranean		Minoans overrun by Dorian Greeks using Cretan cities as pirate bases
700-600BC	Mediterranean		Phoenician and Greek merchants attacked by pirates
500-400BC	Mediterranean		Athenian navy attacks Greek pirate islands Kithnos, Mikonos and the Sporades
200-100BC	Mediterranean		Carthaginian war distracts Rome, pirate communities grow
168BC	Mediterranean		Rome annexes Illyria to curb piracy
67BC	Mediterranean		Anti-pirate campaign by Roman general Pompey the Great eliminates Cilician sea raiders

click here for the complete timeline

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Now
Piracy attacks drop as nations step up patrols

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

Two months into an international anti-piracy campaign off the Somalia coast, the number of attacks against cargo ships is down sharply, senior military and diplomatic officials said Thursday.

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, told the House Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon is looking at the issue of internal strikes and acknowledged that, "ultimately, the solution to the problem of piracy is ashore — in Somalia."

Gortney, however, said the key will be to watch the progress over the next year, to see if the increased patrols, along with new agreements allowing suspected pirates to be prosecuted, will keep the level of attacks low.

On Thursday, the U.S. transferred seven pirates over to Kenyan authorities, who signed an agreement in January with the U.S. and Britain to try piracy suspects. Tanzania has expressed interest in forging a similar agreement, according to Stephen Mull, acting undersecretary of state for international security.

"There will be no lasting solution to the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden until Somalia's failed state is addressed," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo. "I fear that the situation on the ground in Somalia will be repeated in other failed states and in states with vast areas of ungoverned territory within their borders."

As many as 17 nations are participating in the increased patrols, and another eight or so are expected to join in the coming months. Gortney noted that officials are working to share information with all of the other navy ships, but some communication is a bit unorthodox.

click here for the complete news report

Pirates are not a new problem and the solutions that we will pursue will not be new either, just like terrorism.

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A bank wanted to safeguard their money vans, they had a lot of trouble with people robbing the vans while they went to deliver money to the ATMs, the irritating part was that the double barrel rifles of the one or two guards who safeguarded the van proved too big for the situation, the robbers were running away with the money in the time it took the guards to swing these huge guns around, or the robbers had their guns pointed at the heads of the guys carrying the money.

A security consultant and a transportation consultant were hired, they came out with some plans, one of them was implemented, the plan was solid, involved 5 guards in every van with shorter pump action shotguns that could load multiple rounds, and training for the guards to walk in a manner that made a attempt to rob the team very difficult nothing happened for a while, till the bank got the bills in their hand and then the same old situation returned.

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If the international community is hoping/waiting for the situation in Somalia to solve itself, well better start building ships exclusively for deployment into that region to ensure a safe route, otherwise most nations will have problem in providing the numbers when the original purpose for building the ships presents itself (i hopped around the net, fighting pirates does not seem to be one).

INS Tabar was recalled after the Mumbai tragedy and rightly so, it could have been tasked with a much greater role in the events that could have followed, which would have actually required the multi million dollar weapons, sensors, hardware and software.

So what can we do, UN tried its hand at peacekeeping in Somalia, i do not see any results, USA and its band of allies tried to influence the events, they do not seem to be doing a good job at it.

If no one is ready to send peace enforcers to Somalia we should start building a international navy to safeguard the seas, they are the only medium through which the unglamorous, every-day necessities that are so important can be transported.

It is the duty of every nation with a Navy to ensure safe passage in their territory, and the duty of the world to ensure that they make dangerous routes safe, especially in this age and time when we depend on these routes for our economic stability.

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On account of Insomnia and nothing to do:

Seventeen nations on a worthless conquest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

eight more are coming, what bout em rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Aurrr boat was sunk by a ship of thousand tons
A few guns and a rain of lead

naaaah not really good at this.

Non intrusive power projection.

As the LTTE retreats deeper into the jungles, hoping that a ceasefire would save them to fight another day or through other means, many of our fellow citizens want the government to do something about the situation, from forcing a ceasefire to the very few demanding to wipe out the LTTE.

Both options would be very difficult to implement given that the big bad dragon and its ever obedient green monster have their eyes set on the tear-drop island they have already made deep inroads into the island, the irony is that the LTTE is our bastard child.

A very interesting observation is that we have been involved in the conflict for a long time, even after the Military forces came back from the Island, Indian Navy has been at work cutting off the supply routes of LTTE and denying them opportunity to indulge in gun running and smuggling narcotics.

A direct involvement by our nation at this stage could have been counter productive, the recent activity in Tamil Nadu is a example of that. Providing the Sri Lankan military forces with what ever equipment we could and controlling the sea was&is a very effective way of helping to contain the LTTE, the naval efforts will go unnoticed in the media, as when operating that far away from land the only way media can get its hand on pictures and information of operations is if the Navy provides it to them.

A strong LTTE is about as useful for us as Mr. Bhindarnwale in golden temple, the reason behind saying that is that we know they will never become a peaceful organisation, and if we take action against them we will only help them to hurt us where it matters.

We should help push LTTE into a corner which should force them to behave in the desired manner, and the only safe way of doing this is by ensuring that they have a hard time at sea.

One of the difficulties the Navy faces and will continue to face in such operations is that the Navy is spread around several operations and duties in the region with too few ships for control, this is exactly the problem the Navy is trying to sort with its vision for 2022, they require more help and understanding from the governments that will be in power around the next decade (2010-2025)