It's bound to be mostly lost in the mainstream media thanks to swine flu and the Obama 100 days hype, but Richard Phillips testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today. In doing so, the captain of the MV Maersk Alabama called on lawmakers to open the way for at least some merchant sailors to be armed as part of a comprehensive anti-piracy policy that includes more military escorts.
The Chicago Tribune's Mark Silva has the story in an April 30 post in that paper's "The Swamp" blog. Silva reports that Phillips has a moderate stance on arming civilian crews -- he wants only the four most senior ranking officers aboard a given ship armed -- and that Phillips hopes for a greater U.S. Navy presence in escorting and protecting U.S. merchant vessels (emphases mine):
"First, I believe it is the responsibility of our government to protect the United States, including U.S.-flag vessels that are by definition an extension of the United States, their U.S. citizen crews, and our nation's worldwide commercial assets.
"So, it follows then that the most desirable and appropriate solution to piracy is for the United States government to provide protection, through military escorts and/or military detachments aboard U.S. vessels. That said, I am well aware that some will argue that there is a limit to any government's resources - even America's.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓" In fact, due to the vastness of the area to be covered - and the areas of threat are continually growing larger - our Navy and the coalition of other navies currently positioned in the Gulf of Aden region may simply not have the resources to provide all the protection necessary to prevent and stop the attacks...
"In my opinion, the targets - the vessels - can be "hardened" even beyond what's being done today and made even more structurally resistant to pirates.
"In addition, more can be done in terms of developing specific anti-piracy procedures, tools and training for American crews. I do however want to emphasize that contrary to some reports that I've heard recently, American mariners are highly trained and do receive up-to-date training and upgrading...
"I believe that discussions are underway now between the industry and government on the details of specific proposals to harden the vessels (the specifics of which should remain secret) and I am confident that we will soon have additional methods for protecting vessel and crew. And while they will be an improvement, there is no way they can be foolproof.
"I've also heard the suggestion that all we have to do to counter piracy is "just arm the crews". In my opinion, arming the crew cannot and should not be viewed as the best or ultimate solution to the problem. At most, arming the crew should be only one component of a comprehensive plan and approach to combat piracy.
"To the extent we go forward in this direction, it would be my personal preference that only the four most senior ranking officers aboard the vessel have access to effective weaponry and that these individuals receive special training on a regular basis.
"I realize that even this limited approach to arming the crew opens up a very thorny set of issues. I'll let others sort out the legal and liability issues but we all must understand that having weapons on board merchant ships fundamentally changes the model of commercial shipping and we must be very cautious about how it is done.
"Nevertheless, I do believe that arming the crew, as part of an overall strategy, could provide an effective deterrent under certain circumstances and I believe that a measured capability in this respect should be part of the overall debate about how to defend ourselves against criminals on the sea.
Capt. Phillips shown in AP Photo, via Chicago Tribune. Original caption: "Captain of the Maersk Alabama, Richard Phillips, prepares to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today."
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters
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"Nevertheless, I do believe
April 30, 2009 - 16:14 ET by bigtimer"Nevertheless, I do believe that arming the crew, as part of an overall strategy, could provide an effective deterrent under certain circumstances and I believe that a measured capability in this respect should be part of the overall debate about how to defend ourselves against criminals on the sea.
For me the only word I would change here is "could"...to "WOULD"
Bravo Capt. and you have our gratitude out here...big-time!
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
I think that maybe
April 30, 2009 - 22:42 ET by klchadwickI am feeling more than a bit sarcastic this evening but.....Barry doesn't even want to send troops to protect our civilians and interests abroad, and barely wants to give them guns, much less let the Average American have the freedom to own guns.
I completely agree with the Captain, and think that he is a great person to be stating this case since he is out there trying to do his job...off of the battlefield, yet this man sacrificed his freedom for days and it quite possibly could have been his life, in order to protect his guys. THIS is the type of leader that you want to look for which is exactly the subject I discussed in the past two posts on my blog.
Can you EVER imagine Obama giving himself up for anyone? He thinks that he is too important to even admit that he knew about the Air Force One fly-bys!!! I side 100% with the good Captain and there are two main reason why:
1) I was in the military and know the drill. I knew what I was volunteering for and still took the oath. These guys, while no doubt patriotic, are just trying to do their regular civilian jobs, not sign up to fight wars!
2) I have a very personal stake in this for another reason. My father is an airline pilot and a FFDO. My entire life, I used to worry and have always dreaded the words crash or hijacking. On 9/11, I will freely admit that my dad was the first person that I thought of, as I was unsure of where he was that day and knowing that he flies out of Logan, LaGuardia and Pittsburgh on just about every trip. Once I got ahold of my dad, my thoughts immediately went to the people on the plane and their families as well as those in the buildings and their families. I can't even say how much of a relief it is knowing that my dad is carrying while sitting in the cockpit. While everyone thinks their parents (and especially dad) practically invincible, I know that nothing is going to happen to my dad or his plane and passengers on his watch.
http://politicaldessert.wordpress.com
kich... Have you or your
April 30, 2009 - 22:52 ET by bigtimerkich...
Have you or your Dad heard anything about this?
I heard about this the day I saved it here...anyway, I have heard nothing at all about this issue, so I am really wondering if this a a fact or even true....yet.
I am seriously wanting to know if you can find out.
(PM me if it is later on down the road....thanks)
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
I think that if some of the
April 30, 2009 - 16:42 ET by ForeverOnTheRightI think that if some of the crew is to be allowed to be armed, they should also be trained. I also think that the people who train them should be the Israelis that repelled the one pirate attack on that one ship, I forget from what country.
Gee, you would think that
April 30, 2009 - 17:03 ET by jdhawkGee, you would think that Captain Phillips was flying an airplane not piloting a ship. Seems to me we have already had this arugment. I think it was right after September 11, but I could be wrong . . . Anybody remember the outcome . . . anyone?
Shouldn't we look to history?
April 30, 2009 - 18:37 ET by suburbaniteIt seems to me that the merchants could adopt the convoy tactics used during WWII against German U-boat attacks. Also, it seems like there is a lot of open space on some of the ships. So why not put a Cobra attack helicopter on one of the ships in the convoy. After a couple Cobra strafing runs against pirate ships, the pirates will lose their desire for their chosen vocation me thinks.
"Fight the good fight every moment
It's your only way" Triumph
I think the best example of
May 1, 2009 - 07:56 ET by BruzillaI think the best example of how this policy would work would be to look at the carjackings of tourists in Miami in the early 1980s. The scenario was that a gang of theives would follow a car of tourists from the airport, ram their car and make them stop, then rob them. After arresting a couple of these guys, they learned that the reason the theives targeted the tourists was because Florida had passed a law that allowed Florida drivers to keep a loaded handgun in their car, and the theives knew that tourists wouldn't have guns, so they looked for cars leaving the airport with a rental tag. The state did away with rental tags, and once the theives couldn't tell which cars were sheep, and which were armed wolves, the attacks stopped.
What's really noteworthy here is that while Floridians could have a gun in their car, very few, about 2%, actually did. But even that small amount was enough of a risk to theives to scare them off. So I don't think we need to arm every ship, or even many of them. I think leting the pirates know that any ship out there could be loaded up with armed crewman would be enough to get them looking elsewhere to make their money.
Piracy is an old crime to be resolved by old means.
May 1, 2009 - 14:07 ET by CTPut a BOUNTY on their heads and make it open season on Pirates!
No Limits