Yemen just sentenced six pirates to the death penalty. 27 years is the minimum under his plea, the Judge actually could give him more. 27 years means he could be out in 13 years, paroled, and that is not enough time for someone that was involved in armed kidnap and ransom. Piracy should no longer be viewed as a minor annoyance, but a severe predatory practice led by killers. Somaliland is strict on piracy. The pirates we visited in prison there, had 10 years and were not even caught in the act. Their convictions represented Conspiracy to Commit Piracy, they were caught in the planning stage.

Im wondering if Lloyds will ever insure Novoship again? Very risky assaulting a floating fire ball. The pirates also forgot their their own golden rules of adapt and overcome and swarm tactics. Once they had this huge ship they needed more men to secure it. No way could they hold it with only 11 men, sounds as if their greed got the better of them.

Really great. This needs to be in Main Stream Media for some positive PR for Puntland & Somalia. I can see about arranging that... we have very positive media influences.

Is this it? Somalia: Puntland's vice president launches project to help troubled youth 5 May 5, 2010 - 4:01:29 PM Puntland vice president opens reform project for youth The Vice President of Somalia’s northern state of Puntland Abdi-samad Ali Shire has on Wednesday launched a multi-million project to help individuals who denounced piracy reform their lives for better. The project, a joint collaboration between Norway-funded NCA and Puntland ministry of Justice, Religious Affairs and Rehabilitation is to help give skill training and capacity building to the youth who have abandoned the risky piracy business. Vice President Ali Shire said there is need to rehabilitate and create jobs for the youth in order to discourage them from venturing into the risky menace. NCA regional representative Gaim Kebreb on his part said the project would have great impact on both the former sea gangs and their colleagues who are at the moment in the sea. Puntland authority’s use of mosques and public forums to highlight the negative impact of piracy on the local community has paid off with many suspected pirates denouncing their actions. Piracy off the coast of Somalia, which has been on increase in recent past, has greatly damaged Puntland’s economy inlets including livestock exports and the fishing industry, while bringing vices like alcohol and prostitution. The semi-autonomous state is relatively peaceful and prosperous compared with southern Somalia.

Hey Cowke.... is this available in English anywhere? I`d really like to take a look at it, and my Translator (my wife) isn't in right now.

Originally posted by General Duke: quote:Originally posted by Jacphar: ^xaajiyoow Aabe Meles goormuu ku icritaafi horta? The regional leader of NW Somalia has met a few French men. However he has yet to get recognition from uncle Guleh & His dad Melez. Funny. Uncle Guelleh.... now there is a real country Rapist.

Did I read that correctly, it is to be located in LassQooray ?

I dont find their stats to be accurate. To many insurgencies that have lasted well over 100 years disprove their findings, but being the respected institution that Rand is, it will wind up bearing some weight somewhere.

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG965/

Congrats to P.I.S.

Long Live General Duke !

interesting website, thanks Maaddeey

Sayid you seem well informed, and of course I expect alot of caution and resistance on the part of Somalis and their respective govts. I am hoping to gauge those reactions and use this forum as a sounding board, such as yours, well done. So all remarks all welcome, and Ill do my best to explain in detail what we hope to accomplish. Of course, the goal of any company is to make money, and that is not a crime in and of itself. What it boils down to is how the company conducts their business that is important and has a positive outcome for all involved. You may not be aware that Hart put up $5 Million USD of their own money for their previous program, and the program had some success. In one and half years it generated over $13.5 Million USD for the Puntland Govt. It doesnt seem like much but it was a small pilot program and had to dis-engage after the civil war there made the program unworkable any longer. I think you would agree that the govts in Somaliland and Puntland could use some help in securing their EEZs and coastlines from internal/external threats. The govts of Somali are slightly overwhelmed with this problem and I think you would agree, a private initiative may be able to curb the problem and start some small semblance of stability through starting a micro-economic system. BTW Tritin/OPSEC are not players in regards of what we are offering. They are a company that offers long range radar interfaced optics for spotting small skiffs at sea. Saying they have opened offices in Hargeisa and Berbera have proven to be a little "ambitious" as I have been to both places, and I just cant locate them, nor will they respond to our requests for meetings there, and for us to "Demo" their new system on the open waters of the GOA. Thanks for the information on SOMCAN. Not surprising if greed and corruption were involved, causing their failure. It really does appear a complete and total history of greed, corruption and criminality. Al Habibi, SOMCAN, Top Cat Marine the list goes on. Puntland fishing resources are estimated to be capable of $350 Million USD per year. If properly managed the govt can see all of that money one day. They must be doing something wrong now or they would be seeing it themselves right now, would they not? I would suggest they follow the TFGs lead and employ an international accounting firm such as PWC (Price Waterhouse Cooper), to Escroe account all the money we will make for them. Neither side steals any of the money made, it wont be possible. Eliminate the corrputable side of this resource, and you have a winner. Our money comes via the USG funding this program, not by the money we make for Puntland. I hope that clears some things up for you, and thanks for your comments.

Navy looks for ways other than armed patrols to fight Somali pirates. A top admiral says US Navy armed patrols can't chase Somali pirates indefinitely. Other ways must be found to get to the source of piracy off the coast of Somalia. By Gordon Lubold, Staff writer / April 16, 2010 Washington The US Navy will be unable to continue long-term operations against pirates off the coast of Somalia, and it’s looking for other ways to solve the growing problem, according to a top admiral. Suspected Somali pirates more active, but US Navy fighting back USS Nicholas captures Somali pirates. What to do with them? As Somali pirates continue to find attacking cargo ships in the West Indian Ocean profitable, they have become more and more aggressive, forcing the international community to send naval ships from more than a dozen countries to help patrol the vast waters off Somalia. But the patrols are expensive and deprive the global fleet of precious resources, and they can’t continue such costly operations, says Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, the top naval commander in Europe and Africa. “I don’t think we can sustain the level of operation we’ve got down there forever,” said Fitzgerald. *Fitzgerald did not indicate the Navy would abandon the mission any time soon. Instead, his remarks suggest that the answer to piracy may lie elsewhere – especially if it becomes a more violent activity. He says the shipping industry should ensure it is doing everything to deter attacks, including hiring armed security guards, as well as taking other nonlethal actions to thwart pirates. “The maritime industry has got to make a decision about how seriously they want to take this on,” he said, in a roundtable discussion with reporters at the Pentagon this week. Naval patrols have been effective About 40 naval vessels patrol those waters at any one time, including as many as 10 US Navy ships. Those patrols have been effective. The US Navy’s presence alone has thwarted several attacks, including one Friday in which a helicopter from the destroyer Farragut scared off an attack from a pirate skiff. Last week, the USS Ashland, a Navy amphibious ship, received small-arms fire from a pirate skiff. When the ship returned fire and the skiff caught fire, the pirates jumped into the water and Navy personnel rescued them. Over the past 10 days, the Navy has apprehended 21 suspected pirates. The industry has resisted hiring security guards in part out of fear of escalating the violence on the high seas. There are also legal issues with having weapons aboard ships that port in various countries, industry officials have said. The Maersk Alabama, a US-flagged ship, was pirated twice, including once last year when its captain was held until the pirates were killed by US military sharpshooters. The second time it was attacked, it had armed security guards aboard who thwarted the attack. But those guards were there because the US government contracts with Maersk Line, Limited to ship military supplies to the war zone. “Our company policy is we don’t want weapons on board our vessels, and we don’t allow them except in instances where governments or authorities mandate us to do so,” says Kevin Speers, a spokesman for Maersk Line, Limited. He noted that various carriers, including his own, have taken a number of nonlethal measures to avoid attack. Legal issues with captured pirates From the US Navy’s point of view, there are long-term legal questions about what to do with captured pirates. Typically, they are low-level operators from Somalia who provide little in the way of useful intelligence for addressing a problem that costs the shipping industry millions of dollars a year. Fitzgerald says the solution is for the US to go after the source of piracy. While he didn’t rule out using military force, he said following the money might be a good place to start. Kenyan officials have told Fitzgerald that money from Somalia is being used to buy up high-end real estate there and in Ethiopia with what appears to be the proceeds from piracy. Indeed, the US has begun to get serious about going after money earned by pirates. President Obama on Tuesday gave Treasury officials additional powers to sanction or freeze assets of individuals involved in piracy, the Associated Press reported. According to the executive order signed by Mr. Obama, the justification for the broader powers is US national security. “The deterioration of the security situation and the persistence of violence in Somalia, and acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” writes Obama in his executive order.

Nope, not a middle man or interested in tarnishing the good govt of Puntlands name either. Quite the opposite, we want to help the governments of Puntland & Somaliland. Nor are we white boys with guns wanting to float around the ocean chasing pirates. That is not a solution. We are geared more towards creating coastal and inland jobs, our original program gave amnesty to current pirates if they would take a job with the coast guard, they were trained (yes regrettably, some became pirates themselves) but on a larger scale this time and more closely monitored by dual national Somali managers from the west we will hire to work closely with the govts in an overall fisheries management program that will catch and prosecute poachers, manage fishing and environmental resources and prevent toxic waste dumping. This effort will create a huge amount of jobs and we hope to tie this in with the new USAID TIS Program. I should probably add we are offering non-lethal services, but shouldn't be viewed as a humanitarian type company completely either. Anything to do with weapons or arms, as it would be foolish to think we could do business un-protected, would be in the hands of the locals.

Yes, did see it thanks. One of the reasons for my post. You may have seen mention of Hart Security in that article, my old supervisors employer, we did an anti-poaching/piracy gig in Puntland in 99-01 for the govt there. We are trying to bring the amnesty/job program back there with Intl support...put the people/pirates back to work similar to the program back in 1999, it worked fairly well before.

or heaven forbid...one of the dreaded kidnappers? Ohh, Im so afraid !

Why, are you racist Sayid? Thank you, Thankful, good idea. I do have a phone # for the Minister of Information, didnt think of that. As far as me being white or a stranger I dont believe either is a factor that should concern you Sayid unless you are personally concerned for my safety? If thats the case I thnk you deeply and why not post all of your personal contact info here

I have a vested interest in contacting them, as they might very well benefit by my contact, and the phone number I have for them in UAE does not seem to go to them anymore.

A private Somali anti-piracy company. Does anybody know if they are still there ?

That CFR paper also had some Phd co-authors, and they work for US DoS. It is good advice, dis-engagement, not abandonment. I believe the writings of Dr Meglomattis from Ecoterra, east african affairs expert, suggest the same, and it is rare we see him concur with his arch rival, DoS Dr Peter Phram.

You are speaking about my friend in CFR, Bronwyn Bruton, and she is not advising any abandonment, quite the contrary. She is advising political dis-engagement, and for foreign govts not to meddle inside Somali Politics, and to let them form their own solutions to their own problems. The U.S. will continue to show political support for the TFG and other regions in Somalia, one being the new USAID TIS-Transition Initiative Somalia (TIS)program. This huge funded program supports all parties and addresses and provides funds for everything from institution building, to road and school construction etc etc etc. The good Dr is reading into the CFR paper waaaaaay to much. Here is an interesting job behind the program: 2010-03-05 : Transition Initiative for Somalia Program Manager Solicitation Number: SOL-623-EA-10-011 Agency: USAID Agency for International Development Office: Overseas Missions Location: East Africa USAID-Kenya Notice Type: COMBINE Synopsis USAID seeks to employ a US Personal Services Contractor (PSC) to manage its Transition Initiative for Somalia (TIS) program. The TIS program will support quick-impact, results-based activities to demonstrate the positive impact of the political reconciliation process. This will include making small grants to communities and local/national governments and generating employment to help deter youth from joining insurgent groups. Community-driven, quick-impact programs in targeted areas should increase economic opportunities in the short term, build confidence in the peace process and contribute to the development of a more comprehensive recovery plan. The program will address the urgent need for income generation and job creation. The program will work with civil society organizations and local stakeholders to involve beneficiary communities in all phases of project identification and implementation. Specific project activities include small-scale infrastructure rehabilitation of clinics, markets, local government buildings, and irrigation canals. Other projects may be road repair, water and sanitation projects, and small scale microfinance. This program will be managed out of the East Africa Regional Office in USAID's Mission in Nairobi. Contact Marcelline A. Ochola, Acquisition & Assistance Specialist, Phone 254208622462, Fax 254208622680/2682, Email mochola@usaid.gov - Amina Fazaldeen, Acquisition & Assistance Specialist, Phone 254208622491, Fax 254208622680/2682, Email afazaldeen@usaid.gov Place of Performance USAID/EA/LPC P.O Box 629, Village Market -00621 Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi KE

very interesting, thanks for that Cowke. With the TFG not receiving the 2500 Somali soldiers stuck now in Kenya, these additional troops should certainly help.

....AND, what is the Carmo Academy?

Question: Who is the old white Dude ?