Useful

**danny842003** · 24-11-2009, 18:46

Originally Posted by saladin

Government instructions or Admiralty orders ?

Or goverment instructions to the Admiralty, then orders to the fleet?

**mad_mick** · 24-11-2009, 18:48

Whats wrong with nice a few well armed British Military sections having a bit of R&R on cargo ships, catching a tan, going up and down the Somalian coast. Observing the wildlife.

**vvaannmmaann** · 24-11-2009, 18:51

STOP PRESS
Matelot's mustering outside Daily Wail HQ to hand over ipods to Mr Hastings.

**chocolate_frog** · 24-11-2009, 18:52

Aren;t the pirate skiffs fitted with quite fast motors?

How was a RFA supposed to catch them? And seeing as they are only civvies on board (in effect) what were they supposed to do if they caught them?

**clownbasher** · 24-11-2009, 19:01

Originally Posted by jagman

I would prefer that too but times have changed.
With the political weasles we have in government then the RN is stuck with the RoE they have got.
I would be much happier watching half the Royal Navy bobbing around off the coast of Somalia lobbing 4.5" at anybody with a AK47 too. Can you see it happening?

I was thinking along these lines the other day, too.

Given the difficulties of intervening, such as happened here, and the relative ineffectiveness of an apparently fairly sizeable multinational fleet bobbong about off the coast of Somalia and around the Horn, with no real coordination between them, wouldn't it be a lot more effective to tackle the problem at source?

Couldn't some raiding parties be put ashore to cause some serious wreckage? Hole all the boats in harbour?

If judged a bit too risky - visions of another Black Hawk Down - how about some heavy shore bombardment, either 4.5" (perhaps some foreign navies still have some heavier calibres?) or a few missiles lobbed at pirate infrastructure / property?

As I understand it, there are pirate "cities" on the coast with visible proceeds of the spoils, in the shape of large villas etc. You could act with relatively little collateral damage. Plus Somalia is a basket case failed state that cannot control the problem and will continue to export its problems if left unchecked. There need be no compunction about attacking Somalian territory as the concept of "sovereign" territory is a nonsense in this case.

**mad_mick** · 24-11-2009, 19:12

They have a 1 dimensional tactic, travel 200 miles off the coast in a skiff and fire AK47's with the odd RPG 7 threat. Someone (that being one) with a GPMG and a box of 50/50 tracer should fix the problem. Avoid getting a hole in the boat 200 miles from mummy is a good deterrent.

**T24D** · 24-11-2009, 19:13

Another classic case of someone who wasn't there sitting in judgement on someone who was.

An unfair slur on 'Royal'

**T24D** · 24-11-2009, 19:13

Another classic case of someone who wasn't there sitting in judgement on someone who was.

An unfair slur on 'Royal'

**Dunservin** · 24-11-2009, 19:24

Originally Posted by saladin

Originally Posted by Dunservin

Originally Posted by saladin

" I see no signal"

Nelson, Battle of Copenhagen, 2nd Apr 1801.

"Human rights watchdog details the killing of civilians in Iraq by British armed forces and armed groups"

Amnesty International, 11 May 2004.

(Link)

Quite how is that link relevant ? "Amnesty wants all killings investigated" is not exactly news....

Your quote from Nelson is even staler news but there wasn't quite the same concern about wantonly blasting away at suspect pirates and their hostages in his day. Such occurrences would be described as atrocities today and dealt with accordingly.

Originally Posted by saladin

Back to the case in point - Jack doing SFA to assist citizens ion trouble and the apologists on here saying that its all the politicians fault. Maybe so - but the RN was quite happy to "Waive the Rules" under other circumstances - just how accidental were the repeated rammings of Icelandic gunboats by RN vessels ....none of which just happened to have recently had a few hundred tons of concrete placed in the bows either.... ?

Government instructions or Admiralty orders?

There's more than a subtle difference between heading off aggressive Icelandic gunboats and blowing them out of the water or shooting their crews. As for lobbing a few shells at shore targets, the ensuing coverage of mutilated women and children on the tea time news would be splendid PR for our Armed Forces, wouldn't it?