You Don't Bring Super Sonic Missiles to a Gun Fight

[Seth]

"Unfortunately, while being transferred to a US warship, all 4 suspects jumped overboard and were eaten by sharks"

I think the "Reavers" solution is instructive...strap the corpses to the bow of the vessel.

[Ian]

"Unfortunately, while being transferred to a US warship, all 4 suspects jumped overboard and were eaten by sharks"

I think the "Reavers" solution is instructive...strap the corpses to the bow of the vessel.

'Tis a shame that the Navy no longer hangs men from yardarms or makes them walk the plank.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"Unfortunately, while being transferred to a US warship, all 4 suspects jumped overboard and were eaten by sharks"

I think the "Reavers" solution is instructive...strap the corpses to the bow of the vessel.

'Tis a shame that the Navy no longer hangs men from yardarms or makes them walk the plank.

Keel hauling. An idea whose time has returned.

[.Morticia.]

Don’t Expect The World’s Navies to Save You from Pirates

The pirate infested waters off of Somalia are now patrolled by 34 warships from 15 nations, a coalition determined to stop the brigands. But the grisly murders of four Americans aboard a captured yacht shows that the anti-pirate coalition can’t protect every seafarer, even when it takes early action to free hostages.

Those, at least, are the early conclusions that the U.S. Navy is drawing. The pirates that captured the S/V Quest on Friday were about 100 miles from the Somali northern coast, midway to an Indian Ocean island called Socotra that Yemen controls. But that’s practically their backyard. Despite the efforts of the anti-piracy coalition, the pirates’ reach has actually expanded — “all the way up into the North Arabian Sea, off of the coast of India, down to Madagascar,” Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, told reporters yesterday.

......

Early on Tuesday, a rocket propelled grenade hurtled from the Quest to the Sterett, followed by the sounds of gunfire — what Fox believes was the execution of the hostages. A raiding team of Special Operations Forces had yet to fire its guns or come aboard the Quest, leading Fox to tell reporters that the U.S. couldn’t have killed the hostages by mistake during the ensuing battle. That raiding team shot one pirate dead, killed another with a knife, and took the remaining 13 prisoner. Even before it boarded, Fox said, “several pirates appeared on deck and moved up to the bow with their hands in the air in surrender.”

So at least some of the pirates were negotiating — and even surrendering. The Navy brought overwhelming force: an aircraft carrier, two destroyers and a guided missile cruiser. But despite the seemingly-rational hijackers and the U.S. Navy’s big-time advantage, the pirates still killed their hostages.......

I think this is a good example of American efficiency: an aircraft carrier, two destroyers and a guided missile cruiser was required to follow 15 guys on a low speed yacht. No wonder Osama bin Laden can't be found.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02 ... m-pirates/

wouldn't it be cheaper, and nicer, to use the money spent on defence giving real aid to somalians

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You mean we don't?

[Ian]

wouldn't it be cheaper, and nicer, to use the money spent on defence giving real aid to somalians

Indeed, the only way the outside world can really stop Somali piracy is to do away with the conditions that allow it to flourish.
But how do we do that, exactly? I'm not sure Somalia's government would accept any assistance, considering there isn't any central Somali government to speak of. And we've already tried international aid before:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Provide_Relief
followed by
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Restore_Hope
followed by
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu_(1993)

[Coito ergo sum]

wouldn't it be cheaper, and nicer, to use the money spent on defence giving real aid to somalians

Are you under the impression that we haven't provided real aid to Somalians?

Or, are you under the impression that if ships show up with money, food and supplies that Somali pirates will stop pirating? How much tribute would be enough?

[Coito ergo sum]

And, frankly, the basic premise of this thread - "you don't bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight," is completely false. You DO bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight. If you want to win a gun fight, you bring the biggest and best gun you have and you fire it as early and as often as you can until your opponent is dead. You swat flies with a sledge hammer and fight fire with gasoline. That's what wins fights. Pussy footing around and hand-wringing over "proportionality" and pretending that the reason they're shooting at us is because we're not "nice" enough is ignorant of the way the world works.

[Gawd]

And, frankly, the basic premise of this thread - "you don't bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight," is completely false. You DO bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight. If you want to win a gun fight, you bring the biggest and best gun you have and you fire it as early and as often as you can until your opponent is dead. You swat flies with a sledge hammer and fight fire with gasoline. That's what wins fights. Pussy footing around and hand-wringing over "proportionality" and pretending that the reason they're shooting at us is because we're not "nice" enough is ignorant of the way the world works.

Tell me how it works out when you launch some missiles and blow up the captives along with everything in sight. And I would pay you good money (not American) to "swat flies with a sledge hammer". Post a video up and I'll wire you the money.

[Coito ergo sum]

And, frankly, the basic premise of this thread - "you don't bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight," is completely false. You DO bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight. If you want to win a gun fight, you bring the biggest and best gun you have and you fire it as early and as often as you can until your opponent is dead. You swat flies with a sledge hammer and fight fire with gasoline. That's what wins fights. Pussy footing around and hand-wringing over "proportionality" and pretending that the reason they're shooting at us is because we're not "nice" enough is ignorant of the way the world works.

Tell me how it works out when you launch some missiles and blow up the captives along with everything in sight. And I would pay you good money (not American) to "swat flies with a sledge hammer". Post a video up and I'll wire you the money.

Tell me how it works when you hand wring so much that the captives get shot in the head by the pirates. I'll tell you how it works when the pirates know that if they take ships on the high seas they will wind up dead. Bigger problems will arise by allowing this shit to continue - it needs to be nipped in the bud.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

And, frankly, the basic premise of this thread - "you don't bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight," is completely false. You DO bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight. If you want to win a gun fight, you bring the biggest and best gun you have and you fire it as early and as often as you can until your opponent is dead. You swat flies with a sledge hammer and fight fire with gasoline. That's what wins fights. Pussy footing around and hand-wringing over "proportionality" and pretending that the reason they're shooting at us is because we're not "nice" enough is ignorant of the way the world works.

Tell me how it works out when you launch some missiles and blow up the captives along with everything in sight. And I would pay you good money (not American) to "swat flies with a sledge hammer". Post a video up and I'll wire you the money.

I see you haven't grown out of the Clausewitzless phase.

[Gawd]

And, frankly, the basic premise of this thread - "you don't bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight," is completely false. You DO bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight. If you want to win a gun fight, you bring the biggest and best gun you have and you fire it as early and as often as you can until your opponent is dead. You swat flies with a sledge hammer and fight fire with gasoline. That's what wins fights. Pussy footing around and hand-wringing over "proportionality" and pretending that the reason they're shooting at us is because we're not "nice" enough is ignorant of the way the world works.

Tell me how it works out when you launch some missiles and blow up the captives along with everything in sight. And I would pay you good money (not American) to "swat flies with a sledge hammer". Post a video up and I'll wire you the money.

Tell me how it works when you hand wring so much that the captives get shot in the head by the pirates. I'll tell you how it works when the pirates know that if they take ships on the high seas they will wind up dead. Bigger problems will arise by allowing this shit to continue - it needs to be nipped in the bud.

That's exactly why you don't use an entire naval group just to rescue one boat. The supersonic missiles are useless and will just blow up who you are trying to rescue. It is a waste of money and ships to send a whole carrier group to do something that should only take one patrol boat.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Speaking sloooooowly here. You'd be bitching if they didn't send anybody. You'd be bitching if they sent a smaller force. You just need to bitch. Get a life.

[Coito ergo sum]

And, frankly, the basic premise of this thread - "you don't bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight," is completely false. You DO bring supersonic missiles to a gun fight. If you want to win a gun fight, you bring the biggest and best gun you have and you fire it as early and as often as you can until your opponent is dead. You swat flies with a sledge hammer and fight fire with gasoline. That's what wins fights. Pussy footing around and hand-wringing over "proportionality" and pretending that the reason they're shooting at us is because we're not "nice" enough is ignorant of the way the world works.

Tell me how it works out when you launch some missiles and blow up the captives along with everything in sight. And I would pay you good money (not American) to "swat flies with a sledge hammer". Post a video up and I'll wire you the money.

Tell me how it works when you hand wring so much that the captives get shot in the head by the pirates. I'll tell you how it works when the pirates know that if they take ships on the high seas they will wind up dead. Bigger problems will arise by allowing this shit to continue - it needs to be nipped in the bud.

That's exactly why you don't use an entire naval group just to rescue one boat. The supersonic missiles are useless and will just blow up who you are trying to rescue. It is a waste of money and ships to send a whole carrier group to do something that should only take one patrol boat.

Tell us, then, what you do use.

[Gawd]

Hovercraft.