Career Limiting Moves...

[Dalmatian190]

Hmmm, I'm a pirate.

"What are we going to do today, Brain?"

"What we always do Pinky, fire upon the U.S. Navy!"




Updated: 3:42 p.m. ET March 18, 2006
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Two U.S. Navy warships exchanged gunfire with suspected pirates Saturday off the coast of Somalia, and one suspect was killed and five others were wounded, the navy said.

Seven other suspects were taken into custody after the early-morning shootout, said Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

No sailors were wounded in the battle, which occurred at about 5:40 a.m. local time, approximately 25 nautical miles off the Somali coast in international waters.

The battle started after the USS Cape St. George and USS Gonzalez, which were patrolling as part of a Dutch-led task force, spotted a 30-foot fishing boat towing smaller skiffs and prepared to board and inspect the vessels.

The suspected pirates were holding what appeared to be rocket-propelled grenade launchers, the navy said. When the suspects began shooting, naval gunners returned fire with mounted machine guns, killing one man and igniting a fire on the vessel.

Three suspects were seriously wounded and being treated on one of the Navy ships, Brown told The Associated Press. A Dutch Navy medical team was en route.

The suspects’ nationalities were unknown.

The Navy boarding teams confiscated an RPG launcher and automatic weapons, the statement said.

The Cape St. George, a guided-missile cruiser, and Gonzalez, a guided-missile destroyer, were conducting maritime security operations in the area. They are based in Norfolk, Va.

The International Maritime Organization has warned ships to stay away from the Somali coast because of pirate attacks, which surged to 35 last year from two in 2004.

On March 15, the U.N. Security Council encouraged naval forces operating off Somalia to take action against suspected piracy. Pirate attacks against aid ships have hindered U.N. efforts to provide relief to the victims of a severe drought in the area.

The pirate raids are part of the anarchy wracking Somalia, which has had no effective government since 1991, when warlords ousted a dictatorship and then turned on each other.

[mcaldwell]

"What are we going to do today, Brain?"

"What we always do Pinky, fire upon the U.S. Navy!"

LOL!

Somebody must've been chewing a hell of a lot of Khat to get that kind of nerve.

[DaSharkie]

Ya just hafta wonder about the intelligence of some folks.

I mean do you really think that you are going to get away with opening fire on a flagged vessel of any Navy in the world (with the possible exception of France )?

I am sure that some freaking twit Muslim Radical Cleric will further their cause by saying that this is more oppression and terrorism by the United States on the "Peaceful people."

[EFD840]

In one corner we have the Somali pirates:

a 30-foot fishing boat towing smaller skiffs, armed with small arms, light automatic weapons, and rocked propelled grenades

In the other we have the USS Gonzales:

An Arleigh Burke class guided missle destroyer, 504 feet long, displacing over 8,400 tons, carrying 98 anti-ship, anti-aircraft, and tomahawk land attack missles along with a 5" rapid fire cannon and various smaller weapons.

And the USS Cape St. George:

A Ticonderoga class guided missle cruiser, 565 feet long, displacing nearly 10,000 tons, carrying 122 anti-ship, anti-aircraft, and tomahawk land attack missles along with two SH-60 helicopters, two 5" rapid fire cannon and various smaller weapons.

Sometimes you've got to wonder what people are thinking...

[PattyV]

Sometimes you've got to wonder what people are thinking...

That they were better off giving it a go rather than letting the Navy board their ship and end up dangling from the end of a rope. I dont know...just a thought... Its a little hard to cover up the fact that you are pirates once you have been boarded.
Lets put it this way:
You arrive on an EMS call...the victim is deceased but you try to resuscitatte him...you know that you probably wont succeed...but hey, if you do then you are better off than you were 5 minutes ago.