In Rescue of Captain, Navy Kills 3 Pirates
Medeshi
In Rescue of Captain, Navy Kills 3 Pirates
By ROBERT D. McFADDEN and SCOTT SHANE
Published: April 12, 2009
Navy Seal snipers rescued an American cargo ship captain unharmed and killed three Somali pirates in a daring operation in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, ending a five-day standoff between United States naval forces and a small band of brigands in a covered orange lifeboat off the Horn of Africa.
Acting with President Obama’s authorization and in the belief that the hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips, was in imminent danger of being killed by captors armed with pistols and AK-47s, snipers on the fantail of the destroyer Bainbridge, which was towing the lifeboat on a 100-foot line, opened fire and picked off the three captors.
Two of the captors had poked their heads out of a rear hatch of the lifeboat, exposing themselves to clear shots, and the third could be seen through a window in the bow, pointing an automatic rifle at the captain, who was tied up inside the 18-foot lifeboat, senior Navy officials said.
It took only three remarkable shots — one each by snipers firing from a distance at dusk, using night-vision scopes, the officials said. Within minutes, rescuers slid down ropes from the Bainbridge, climbed aboard the lifeboat and found the three pirates dead. They then untied Captain Phillips, ending the contretemps at sea that had riveted much of the world’s attention. A fourth pirate had surrendered earlier.
Shortly after his rescue, Captain Phillips was taken aboard the Bainbridge, underwent a medical exam and was found to be in relatively good condition for a 53-year-old seafarer who had been held since Wednesday by pirates who had demanded $2 million for his life. He called home and was flown to the Boxer, an amphibious assault ship also off the Somali coast. Arrangements were being made Sunday night for his return home to Vermont.
“I share the country’s admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “His courage is a model for all Americans.”
Jubilation over the dramatic rescue reached from the White House to Underhill, Vt., Captain Phillips’s hometown, and from personnel aboard the Bainbridge to the cheering, fist-pumping 19-member crew of the captain’s cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, docked in Mombasa, Kenya.
Captain Phillips, who was said to be resting comfortably, spoke to officials of the Maersk Line, who quoted him as saying: “The real heroes are the Navy, the Seals, those who have brought me home.” He also spoke to his wife, Andrea, and two college-aged children in Underhill, where dozens of yellow ribbons fluttered on the white picket fence of his home and two small American flags jutted up from the lawn.
“This is truly a very happy Easter for the Phillips family,” said Alison McColl, a Maersk representative assigned to speak for the family. “They are all just so happy and relieved,” she said. “I think you can all imagine their joy and what a happy moment it was for them.”
On the family’s behalf, Ms. McColl thanked the nation and the people of Vermont for their prayers and support. “Obviously, this has been a long journey for the family,” she said. John Reinhart, president and chief executive of Maersk Line Ltd., praised the Navy and federal officials for their performance. “Everyone’s worked around the clock,” he said. “It’s magnificent to see the outcome.”
While the outcome was a triumph for America, officials in many countries plagued by pirates said it was not likely to discourage them. Pirates are holding a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the Malaysia-based International Maritime Bureau.
In Somalia itself, other pirates reacted angrily to the news that Captain Phillips had been rescued, and some said they would avenge the deaths of their colleagues by killing Americans in sea hijackings to come.
“Every country will be treated the way it treats us,” Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding a Greek ship anchored in the pirate den of Gaan, a central Somali town, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying in a telephone interview. “In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying.”
Aboard the Maersk Alabama, a 17,000-ton cargo ship, Captain Phillips’s crew erupted in cheers, waved American flags and fired off flares. When four pirates attacked the ship on Wednesday, the crew escaped harm after the captain offered himself as a hostage. He told his crewmen to lock themselves in cabins, and allowed himself to be taken at gunpoint into the lifeboat in which the pirates fled.
Over the ensuing days, according to official accounts of the episode, the pirates made repeated threats to kill the captain as their motorized lifeboat moved about 30 miles off the Somali coast. It was closely watched by United States warships and helicopters in an increasingly tense standoff.
Talks to free the captain began Thursday, with the commander of the Bainbridge communicating with the pirates under instructions from F.B.I. hostage negotiators flown to the scene. The pirates threatened to kill Captain Phillips if attacked, and the result was tragicomic: the world’s most powerful navy vs. a lifeboat.
Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of the United States naval forces in the region, said in a briefing in Bahrain that despite ransom demands from the pirates the United States had not discussed any ransom and had talked to the pirates only about the release of Captain Phillips and the pirates’ surrender.
The Defense Department twice sought Mr. Obama’s permission to use force to rescue Captain Phillips, most recently on Friday night, senior defense officials said. On Saturday morning, the president agreed, they said, if it appeared that the captain’s life was in imminent danger.
By Friday, with several warships within easy reach of the lifeboat, the negotiations had gone nowhere. Captain Phillips jumped into the sea, but was quickly recaptured. On Saturday, the pirates fired several shots at a small boat that had approached from the Bainbridge.
By the weekend, however, the pirates had begun to run out of food, water and fuel. That apparently provided the opening officials were hoping for. In briefings, senior officers who spoke anonymously because they had not been authorized to disclose information said that the pirates agreed to accept food and water. A small craft was used to deliver them and it apparently made several trips between the Bainbridge and the lifeboat.
On one trip, one of the four pirates — whose hand had been gashed during the capture of Captain Phillips — asked for medical treatment and, in effect surrendering, was taken in the small boat to the Bainbridge. Justice Department officials were studying options for his case, including criminal charges in the United States or turning him over to Kenya, where dozens of pirates have faced prosecution. Three pirates were left on board with Captain Phillips.
Meanwhile, members of the Navy Seals were flown in by fixed-wing aircraft. They parachuted into the sea with inflatable boats and were picked up by the Bainbridge. On Sunday, the pirates, their fuel gone, were drifting toward the Somali coast. They agreed to accept a tow from the Bainbridge, the senior officials said. At first, the towline was 200 feet long, but as darkness gathered and seas became rough, the towline was shortened to 100 feet, the officials said. It was unclear if this was done with the pirates’ knowledge.
At dusk, a single tracer bullet was seen fired from the lifeboat. The intent was unclear, but it ratcheted up the tension and Seal snipers at the stern rail of the Bainbridge fixed night-vision scopes to their high-powered rifles, getting ready for action.
What they saw was the head and shoulders of two of the pirates emerging from the rear hatch of the lifeboat. Through the window of the front hatch they saw the third pirate, pointing his AK-47 at the back of Captain Phillips, who was seen to be tied up.
That was it: the provocation that fulfilled the president’s order to act only if the captain’s life was in imminent danger, and the opportunity of having clear shots at each captor. The order was given. Senior defense officials, themselves marveling at the skill of the snipers, said each took a target and fired one shot.
“This was an incredible team effort,” Admiral Gortney said when it was over. “And I am extremely proud of the tireless efforts of all the men and women who made this rescue possible.”
Robert D. McFadden reported from New York, and Scott Shane from Washington. Mark Mazzetti contributed reporting from Washington, Serge F. Kovaleski from Underhill, Vt.; and employees of The New York Times from Somalia.
Somali pirates vow to take on US military might if attacked
Medeshi
Somali pirates vow to take on US military might if attacked
Xan Rice in Nairobi and Matthew Weaver
guardian.co.uk, Friday 10 April 2009
Stranded Somali pirates holding an American hostage in the Indian Ocean under the gaze of a US destroyer vowed today to fight if they are attacked.
The US navy last night called in a team of FBI negotiators and moved the USS Bainbridge into position to try to secure the release of Richard Phillips, who was being held by four Somali gunmen in a lifeboat some 300 miles off the Horn of Africa. But despite an apparently hopeless position, the pirates showed no signs of giving in.
"We are safe and we are not afraid of the Americans," one of the pirates told Reuters by satellite phone. "We will defend ourselves if attacked."
The statement intensifies the confrontation between the pirates and the world's greatest military power as more American warships make their way to the stand-off.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said it appeared the lifeboat, which was no longer tethered to the Maersk Alabama, had run out of fuel. Helicopters had also been deployed to the scene, while a P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft was securing aerial footage. "FBI negotiators stationed at Quantico [in Virginia] have been called by the navy to assist with negotiations with the Somali pirates and are fully engaged in this matter," an FBI spokesman said.
Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama, had offered himself as a hostage during a dramatic turn of events in which the gunmen escaped in the ship's lifeboat with their captive after the 20-strong American crew overpowered them and retook control of the vessel. A spokesman for Maersk, the largest container shipping company in the world, said yesterday that Phillips was believed to be unharmed. His family had gathered at his farmhouse in Vermont waiting for news.
Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, said the Alabama had left the scene and was sailing under armed guard towards Mombasa, Kenya – its original destination – where it was expected to dock tomorrow. None of the crew members were hurt in the attack.
"They will release the captain, I think, maybe today or tomorrow, but in exchange for something. Maybe some payment or compensation, and definitely free passage back home," Mwangura told Reuters.
A stalemate appeared to have been established in which neither side had much room for negotiation. The gunmen know they are likely to be arrested if they give their hostage up while still far out to sea. In Harardheere, one of the notorious pirate strongholds in Somalia, an associate of the gang said that two boatloads of gunmen had left the port to try to assist their colleagues.
"Our friends are still holding the captain but they cannot move, they are afraid of the warships. We want a ransom and, of course, the captain is our shield. The warships might not destroy the boat as long as he is on board."
The Alabama was the sixth ship to be hijacked off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast in a week, and is believed to be the first American-flagged merchant vessel to be attacked by pirates anywhere since the early 19th century. The surge in attacks has coincided with a return to calm seas after the monsoon period, and has seen the main pirate gangs shift their focus away from their favoured hunting ground in the Gulf of Aden, off northern Somalia, which is now patrolled by at least 15 warships in separate EU, US and Nato-led forces.
It is likely that the pirates used a previously captured mothership from which to launch their speedboat before attacking the Alabama. Normally at least nine or 10 gunmen form part of an attack team, and it is not known why just four men armed with AK-47s tried to take the large container ship, usually a difficult vessel to hijack due to its speed and the height of its deck. The ship is carrying thousands of tonnes of food aid, some of it meant for Somalia.
According to second mate Ken Quinn, who spoke by telephone to CNN, the pirates sank their speedboat shortly after boarding the Alabama early on Wednesday. The crew managed to regain control of the ship from the pirates by "brute force", according to another crew member's account. Phillips is reported to have convinced the gunmen to board the lifeboat after agreeing to go with them in order to secure the safety of his fellow sailors.
Somali pirates vow to take on US military might if attacked
Xan Rice in Nairobi and Matthew Weaver
guardian.co.uk, Friday 10 April 2009
Stranded Somali pirates holding an American hostage in the Indian Ocean under the gaze of a US destroyer vowed today to fight if they are attacked.
The US navy last night called in a team of FBI negotiators and moved the USS Bainbridge into position to try to secure the release of Richard Phillips, who was being held by four Somali gunmen in a lifeboat some 300 miles off the Horn of Africa. But despite an apparently hopeless position, the pirates showed no signs of giving in.
"We are safe and we are not afraid of the Americans," one of the pirates told Reuters by satellite phone. "We will defend ourselves if attacked."
The statement intensifies the confrontation between the pirates and the world's greatest military power as more American warships make their way to the stand-off.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said it appeared the lifeboat, which was no longer tethered to the Maersk Alabama, had run out of fuel. Helicopters had also been deployed to the scene, while a P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft was securing aerial footage. "FBI negotiators stationed at Quantico [in Virginia] have been called by the navy to assist with negotiations with the Somali pirates and are fully engaged in this matter," an FBI spokesman said.
Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama, had offered himself as a hostage during a dramatic turn of events in which the gunmen escaped in the ship's lifeboat with their captive after the 20-strong American crew overpowered them and retook control of the vessel. A spokesman for Maersk, the largest container shipping company in the world, said yesterday that Phillips was believed to be unharmed. His family had gathered at his farmhouse in Vermont waiting for news.
Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, said the Alabama had left the scene and was sailing under armed guard towards Mombasa, Kenya – its original destination – where it was expected to dock tomorrow. None of the crew members were hurt in the attack.
"They will release the captain, I think, maybe today or tomorrow, but in exchange for something. Maybe some payment or compensation, and definitely free passage back home," Mwangura told Reuters.
A stalemate appeared to have been established in which neither side had much room for negotiation. The gunmen know they are likely to be arrested if they give their hostage up while still far out to sea. In Harardheere, one of the notorious pirate strongholds in Somalia, an associate of the gang said that two boatloads of gunmen had left the port to try to assist their colleagues.
"Our friends are still holding the captain but they cannot move, they are afraid of the warships. We want a ransom and, of course, the captain is our shield. The warships might not destroy the boat as long as he is on board."
The Alabama was the sixth ship to be hijacked off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast in a week, and is believed to be the first American-flagged merchant vessel to be attacked by pirates anywhere since the early 19th century. The surge in attacks has coincided with a return to calm seas after the monsoon period, and has seen the main pirate gangs shift their focus away from their favoured hunting ground in the Gulf of Aden, off northern Somalia, which is now patrolled by at least 15 warships in separate EU, US and Nato-led forces.
It is likely that the pirates used a previously captured mothership from which to launch their speedboat before attacking the Alabama. Normally at least nine or 10 gunmen form part of an attack team, and it is not known why just four men armed with AK-47s tried to take the large container ship, usually a difficult vessel to hijack due to its speed and the height of its deck. The ship is carrying thousands of tonnes of food aid, some of it meant for Somalia.
According to second mate Ken Quinn, who spoke by telephone to CNN, the pirates sank their speedboat shortly after boarding the Alabama early on Wednesday. The crew managed to regain control of the ship from the pirates by "brute force", according to another crew member's account. Phillips is reported to have convinced the gunmen to board the lifeboat after agreeing to go with them in order to secure the safety of his fellow sailors.
FBI raids 3 Minneapolis money-transfer shops
Medeshi
Categorized News
FBI raids 3 Minneapolis money-transfer shops
Posted on 10 April 2009
Federal agents raided three Minneapolis money transfer businesses that mainly serve the Somali community Wednesday, seeking records of financial transactions to several African and Middle East countries.
E.K. Wilson, a special agent for the FBI in Minneapolis, confirmed that agents searched the businesses on the city’s south side to track money transactions, but wouldn’t disclose any further details.
The businesses are Qaran Express and Aaran Financial, both in the Karmel Mall, near W. Lake Street and Pillsbury Avenue S., and North American Money Transfer Inc., also known as Mustaqbal Express, at the Village Market Mall, at E. 24th Street and Chicago Avenue S.
While it’s not clear that the raid was directly connected to a continuing federal investigation into the possible link between terrorist groups and the disappearances of seven to 20 young Somali men in the Twin Cities over the past two years, it appears to be part of an effort since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to crack down on financial connections to terrorist networks and operations overseas.
Two months after the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, federal agents froze the assets of five Somali-related operations at three locations in Minneapolis because of suspicions that they were laundering money to Osama bin Laden or his terrorist organization Al-Qaida. In the end, none was the subject of federal criminal indictments.
Somali residents had bemoaned the shutdowns, saying that the businesses were their only way of getting money to impoverished relatives in Somalia.
“We’ve been through this before,” said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul. “What happened today is the beginning of a long story, so we don’t want the community to panic.”
Source: Star Tribune staff - written By LORA PABST and RICHARD MERYHEW
Categorized News
FBI raids 3 Minneapolis money-transfer shops
Posted on 10 April 2009
Federal agents raided three Minneapolis money transfer businesses that mainly serve the Somali community Wednesday, seeking records of financial transactions to several African and Middle East countries.
E.K. Wilson, a special agent for the FBI in Minneapolis, confirmed that agents searched the businesses on the city’s south side to track money transactions, but wouldn’t disclose any further details.
The businesses are Qaran Express and Aaran Financial, both in the Karmel Mall, near W. Lake Street and Pillsbury Avenue S., and North American Money Transfer Inc., also known as Mustaqbal Express, at the Village Market Mall, at E. 24th Street and Chicago Avenue S.
While it’s not clear that the raid was directly connected to a continuing federal investigation into the possible link between terrorist groups and the disappearances of seven to 20 young Somali men in the Twin Cities over the past two years, it appears to be part of an effort since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to crack down on financial connections to terrorist networks and operations overseas.
Two months after the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, federal agents froze the assets of five Somali-related operations at three locations in Minneapolis because of suspicions that they were laundering money to Osama bin Laden or his terrorist organization Al-Qaida. In the end, none was the subject of federal criminal indictments.
Somali residents had bemoaned the shutdowns, saying that the businesses were their only way of getting money to impoverished relatives in Somalia.
“We’ve been through this before,” said Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul. “What happened today is the beginning of a long story, so we don’t want the community to panic.”
Source: Star Tribune staff - written By LORA PABST and RICHARD MERYHEW
U.S. navy, pirates negotiate over hostage captain
Medeshi
U.S. navy, pirates negotiate over hostage captain
MOGADISHU/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy negotiated on Thursday with Somali pirates who held an American ship captain hostage in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, their first such seizure of a U.S. citizen.
The gunmen briefly hijacked the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama freighter Wednesday, but the 20 American crew retook control after a confrontation far out at sea where pirates have captured five other vessels in a week.
Four gang members were holding the captain, Richard Phillips, on the ship's lifeboat after he apparently volunteered to be a hostage for the sake of his crew.
The Bainbridge, a U.S. warship, arrived on the scene before dawn and U.S. soldiers boarded the Maersk Alabama.
Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, top U.S. naval commander in the region, told CNN talks with the pirates had begun, while other military officials said more force was on the way to the area.
"We have USS Bainbridge on station currently negotiating with the pirates to get our American citizen back," Gortney said from his base in Bahrain, adding that the assault on the Maersk Alabama could mark a new phase in the international struggle against piracy in the region.
"We've always thought that one of the potential game changers out there is a U.S. flag vessel with U.S. citizens on board and we're there ... and that's where we are right now."
Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. government was working "around the clock" on the crisis, but top officials indicated they were ready to wait out the delicate negotiations.
The saga added to challenges faced by President Barack Obama less than three months after he took office. [nN09285492] Analysts said it could galvanize political support for a more active U.S. security presence on crucial trade routes off Africa's coasts.
"21ST CENTURY RESPONSE"
In a statement the Danish-owned freighter's operator, Maersk Line Ltd, said its ship had left the area but that the lifeboat remained in sight of the warship.
"The captain has been in touch with the crew and with the USS Bainbridge. He has radio contact and has been provided with additional batteries and provisions. The most recent communication indicates that the captain is unharmed," the company said.
The Pentagon said it was seeking a peaceful solution but was not ruling out any options to free the captain.
His capture and the attack on his ship has refocused attention on Somali piracy, as happened last year when heavily armed sea gangs hijacked dozens of vessels, including a Saudi supertanker with $100 million of oil and a Ukrainian ship with 33 tanks.
The Saudi and Ukrainian boats fetched about $3 million each.
The attacks have occurred for years but hit unprecedented levels in 2008. Pirates hold 18 vessels with a total of 267 hostages, many of them from the Philippines, according to the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme.
Reached by Reuters via satellite phone, the pirates on the lifeboat sounded desperate. "We are surrounded by warships and don't have time to talk," one said. "Please pray for us."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had been called in to assist, and its negotiators were fully engaged in resolving what Attorney General Eric Holder called the first act of piracy against a U.S. vessel "in hundreds of years".
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the lifeboat appeared to be out of fuel and that "a number of assets" were being used to resolve the situation.
"Piracy may be a centuries-old crime, but we are working to bring an appropriate, 21st century response," she said at a joint appearance with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Australian foreign and defense ministers.
The upsurge in piracy has disrupted shipping in the strategic Gulf of Aden and busy Indian Ocean waterways, delayed delivery of food aid for drought-hit East Africa, increased insurance costs and made some firms send cargoes round South Africa instead of through the Suez Canal, a critical route for the oil trade.
Ships from Europe, the United States, China, Japan and others have been patrolling waters off Somalia, mainly in the Gulf of Aden, to prevent further attacks.
PIRATES HOLD CAPTAIN AS "SHIELD"
Pirates say they are undeterred and will move operations further out into the Indian Ocean.[nL9657729]
"The solution to the problem, as ever, is the political situation in Somalia," said analyst Jim Wilson, of Lloyds Register-Fairplay. "Until there is peace on land there will be piracy at sea."
The hijacking may spur new U.S. interest in a maritime security initiative for insecure but commercially important sea lanes of East Africa and in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea off the west coast, Eurasia Group analyst Philippe de Pontet said.
"This particular attack raises the stakes for Washington and may galvanize support for a broader security posture off the coasts of Africa," de Pontet said in a note.
The Maersk Alabama was sailing from Djibouti to Mombasa with a cargo of food aid for Somalia and Uganda when it was attacked about 300 miles off Somalia.
The ship's second mate, Ken Quinn, told CNN the four pirates sank their own boat after they boarded the Alabama.
The captain talked the gunmen into the ship's lifeboat, allowing the crew to overpower one of the pirates. The crew eventually freed their captive, Quinn said, but did not get the captain back in return.
In Somalia's Haradheere port, an associate of the gang said they were armed and ready to defend themselves.
"Our friends are still holding the captain, but they cannot move, they are afraid of the warships," he told Reuters. "We want a ransom and, of course, the captain is our shield. The warships might not destroy the boat as long as he is on board."
A U.S. defense official told Reuters the U.S. military would have a bigger presence in the area in the next 48 hours.
"We're definitely sending more ships down to the area," the official told Reuters. He said one of the ships would be the USS Halyburton, a guided missile frigate that has two helicopters on board.
The official said he believed the pirates had enough food and water in the lifeboat to last about a week to 10 days.
(Additional reporting by Washington bureau and Daniel Wallis, Andrew Cawthorne in Nairobi; Writing by Daniel Wallis, Andrew Cawthorne, and Andrew Quinn, editing by Mark Trevelyan, Frances Kerry and Paul Simao)
U.S. navy, pirates negotiate over hostage captain
MOGADISHU/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy negotiated on Thursday with Somali pirates who held an American ship captain hostage in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, their first such seizure of a U.S. citizen.
The gunmen briefly hijacked the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama freighter Wednesday, but the 20 American crew retook control after a confrontation far out at sea where pirates have captured five other vessels in a week.
Four gang members were holding the captain, Richard Phillips, on the ship's lifeboat after he apparently volunteered to be a hostage for the sake of his crew.
The Bainbridge, a U.S. warship, arrived on the scene before dawn and U.S. soldiers boarded the Maersk Alabama.
Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, top U.S. naval commander in the region, told CNN talks with the pirates had begun, while other military officials said more force was on the way to the area.
"We have USS Bainbridge on station currently negotiating with the pirates to get our American citizen back," Gortney said from his base in Bahrain, adding that the assault on the Maersk Alabama could mark a new phase in the international struggle against piracy in the region.
"We've always thought that one of the potential game changers out there is a U.S. flag vessel with U.S. citizens on board and we're there ... and that's where we are right now."
Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. government was working "around the clock" on the crisis, but top officials indicated they were ready to wait out the delicate negotiations.
The saga added to challenges faced by President Barack Obama less than three months after he took office. [nN09285492] Analysts said it could galvanize political support for a more active U.S. security presence on crucial trade routes off Africa's coasts.
"21ST CENTURY RESPONSE"
In a statement the Danish-owned freighter's operator, Maersk Line Ltd, said its ship had left the area but that the lifeboat remained in sight of the warship.
"The captain has been in touch with the crew and with the USS Bainbridge. He has radio contact and has been provided with additional batteries and provisions. The most recent communication indicates that the captain is unharmed," the company said.
The Pentagon said it was seeking a peaceful solution but was not ruling out any options to free the captain.
His capture and the attack on his ship has refocused attention on Somali piracy, as happened last year when heavily armed sea gangs hijacked dozens of vessels, including a Saudi supertanker with $100 million of oil and a Ukrainian ship with 33 tanks.
The Saudi and Ukrainian boats fetched about $3 million each.
The attacks have occurred for years but hit unprecedented levels in 2008. Pirates hold 18 vessels with a total of 267 hostages, many of them from the Philippines, according to the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme.
Reached by Reuters via satellite phone, the pirates on the lifeboat sounded desperate. "We are surrounded by warships and don't have time to talk," one said. "Please pray for us."
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had been called in to assist, and its negotiators were fully engaged in resolving what Attorney General Eric Holder called the first act of piracy against a U.S. vessel "in hundreds of years".
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the lifeboat appeared to be out of fuel and that "a number of assets" were being used to resolve the situation.
"Piracy may be a centuries-old crime, but we are working to bring an appropriate, 21st century response," she said at a joint appearance with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Australian foreign and defense ministers.
The upsurge in piracy has disrupted shipping in the strategic Gulf of Aden and busy Indian Ocean waterways, delayed delivery of food aid for drought-hit East Africa, increased insurance costs and made some firms send cargoes round South Africa instead of through the Suez Canal, a critical route for the oil trade.
Ships from Europe, the United States, China, Japan and others have been patrolling waters off Somalia, mainly in the Gulf of Aden, to prevent further attacks.
PIRATES HOLD CAPTAIN AS "SHIELD"
Pirates say they are undeterred and will move operations further out into the Indian Ocean.[nL9657729]
"The solution to the problem, as ever, is the political situation in Somalia," said analyst Jim Wilson, of Lloyds Register-Fairplay. "Until there is peace on land there will be piracy at sea."
The hijacking may spur new U.S. interest in a maritime security initiative for insecure but commercially important sea lanes of East Africa and in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea off the west coast, Eurasia Group analyst Philippe de Pontet said.
"This particular attack raises the stakes for Washington and may galvanize support for a broader security posture off the coasts of Africa," de Pontet said in a note.
The Maersk Alabama was sailing from Djibouti to Mombasa with a cargo of food aid for Somalia and Uganda when it was attacked about 300 miles off Somalia.
The ship's second mate, Ken Quinn, told CNN the four pirates sank their own boat after they boarded the Alabama.
The captain talked the gunmen into the ship's lifeboat, allowing the crew to overpower one of the pirates. The crew eventually freed their captive, Quinn said, but did not get the captain back in return.
In Somalia's Haradheere port, an associate of the gang said they were armed and ready to defend themselves.
"Our friends are still holding the captain, but they cannot move, they are afraid of the warships," he told Reuters. "We want a ransom and, of course, the captain is our shield. The warships might not destroy the boat as long as he is on board."
A U.S. defense official told Reuters the U.S. military would have a bigger presence in the area in the next 48 hours.
"We're definitely sending more ships down to the area," the official told Reuters. He said one of the ships would be the USS Halyburton, a guided missile frigate that has two helicopters on board.
The official said he believed the pirates had enough food and water in the lifeboat to last about a week to 10 days.
(Additional reporting by Washington bureau and Daniel Wallis, Andrew Cawthorne in Nairobi; Writing by Daniel Wallis, Andrew Cawthorne, and Andrew Quinn, editing by Mark Trevelyan, Frances Kerry and Paul Simao)
C.I.A. Closing Secret Overseas Sites for Terror Detainees
Medeshi
C.I.A. Closing Secret Overseas Sites for Terror Detainees
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: April 9, 2009
WASHINGTON -- The Central Intelligence Agency announced on Thursday that it will no longer use contractors to conduct interrogations, and that it is decommissioning the secret overseas sites where for years it held high-level Al Qaeda prisoners.
In a statement to the agency's work force, the director, Leon E. Panetta, said that the secret detention facilities were no longer in operation, but he suggested that security and maintenance have been continued at the sites at taxpayers' expense.
"I have directed our agency personnel to take charge of the decommissioning process, and have further directed that the contracts for site security be promptly terminated," Mr. Panetta said. "It is estimated that our taking over site security will result in savings of up to $4 million."
The C.I.A. has never revealed the location of its overseas facilities, but intelligence officials, aviation records and news reports have placed them in Afghanistan, Thailand, Poland, Romania and Jordan, among other countries. Agency officials have said that fewer than 100 prisoners were held in them over several years.
In his first week in office, President Obama banned coercive interrogation and ordered the closing of the agency's detention program, though the agency can still hold prisoners for short periods.
Mr. Panetta's statement, along with a classified letter about interrogation policy that he sent Thursday to the Senate and House intelligence oversight committees, underscored the new administration's sharp break with one of the most controversial programs of the Bush administration.
Starting in 2002, with the approval of President Bush and the Justice Department, the C.I.A. used harsh physical pressure against about 30 Qaeda prisoners, agency officials have said. Some of the treatment, including the technique known as waterboarding, has been described as illegal torture by an array of legal authorities, human rights groups, the International Committee of the Red Cross and several Obama administration officials, including Mr. Panetta.
A 2007 Red Cross report made public this week by The New York Review of Books concluded that the agency's entire program violated international law, both by using torture and through the "enforced disappearance" of terrorist suspects. The report, based on interviews with 14 Qaeda prisoners now held by the United States military at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, described prisoners being slammed into walls, forced to stand for hours with arms handcuffed to the ceiling, confined in a small box, kept awake for days on end and exposed to cold temperatures.
In the statement, Mr. Panetta vowed to continue the "global pursuit" of Al Qaeda and its allies. But he said that interrogators will use traditional methods and not physical force, and that the interrogators will be government employees.
"C.I.A. officers, whose knowledge of terrorist organizations is second to none, will continue to conduct debriefings using a dialog style of questioning that is fully consistent with the interrogation approaches authorized and listed in the Army Field Manual," Mr. Panetta wrote.
"C.I.A. officers do not tolerate, and will continue to promptly report, any inappropriate behavior or allegations of abuse. That holds true whether a suspect is in the custody of an American partner or a foreign liaison service," he wrote, ruling out asking other countries' interrogators to question suspects on behalf of the agency using the banned methods.
Former military psychologists working under contract for the agency helped design the harsh interrogation procedures, and contractors carried out some interrogations, as well as performing medical and security tasks, according to former agency officials. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had proposed legislation banning contractors from conducting interrogations, saying the job was too important to outsource.
The Senate committee recently began an investigation of the detention and interrogation program that is expected to take about a year, and senior Senate and House members have called for a broader and more public "truth commission" to investigate interrogation and other past counterterrorism programs.
On Thursday, Mr. Panetta said the agency would cooperate with Congressional reviews. But by speaking openly about interrogation policy, he may be trying to discourage additional investigations. He restated his opposition to investigation or prosecution of C.I.A. officers for their involvement in the program.
"Officers who act on guidance from the Department of Justice -- or acted on such guidance previously -- should not be investigated, let alone punished," Mr. Panetta wrote. "This is what fairness and wisdom require."
C.I.A. Closing Secret Overseas Sites for Terror Detainees
By SCOTT SHANE
Published: April 9, 2009
WASHINGTON -- The Central Intelligence Agency announced on Thursday that it will no longer use contractors to conduct interrogations, and that it is decommissioning the secret overseas sites where for years it held high-level Al Qaeda prisoners.
In a statement to the agency's work force, the director, Leon E. Panetta, said that the secret detention facilities were no longer in operation, but he suggested that security and maintenance have been continued at the sites at taxpayers' expense.
"I have directed our agency personnel to take charge of the decommissioning process, and have further directed that the contracts for site security be promptly terminated," Mr. Panetta said. "It is estimated that our taking over site security will result in savings of up to $4 million."
The C.I.A. has never revealed the location of its overseas facilities, but intelligence officials, aviation records and news reports have placed them in Afghanistan, Thailand, Poland, Romania and Jordan, among other countries. Agency officials have said that fewer than 100 prisoners were held in them over several years.
In his first week in office, President Obama banned coercive interrogation and ordered the closing of the agency's detention program, though the agency can still hold prisoners for short periods.
Mr. Panetta's statement, along with a classified letter about interrogation policy that he sent Thursday to the Senate and House intelligence oversight committees, underscored the new administration's sharp break with one of the most controversial programs of the Bush administration.
Starting in 2002, with the approval of President Bush and the Justice Department, the C.I.A. used harsh physical pressure against about 30 Qaeda prisoners, agency officials have said. Some of the treatment, including the technique known as waterboarding, has been described as illegal torture by an array of legal authorities, human rights groups, the International Committee of the Red Cross and several Obama administration officials, including Mr. Panetta.
A 2007 Red Cross report made public this week by The New York Review of Books concluded that the agency's entire program violated international law, both by using torture and through the "enforced disappearance" of terrorist suspects. The report, based on interviews with 14 Qaeda prisoners now held by the United States military at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, described prisoners being slammed into walls, forced to stand for hours with arms handcuffed to the ceiling, confined in a small box, kept awake for days on end and exposed to cold temperatures.
In the statement, Mr. Panetta vowed to continue the "global pursuit" of Al Qaeda and its allies. But he said that interrogators will use traditional methods and not physical force, and that the interrogators will be government employees.
"C.I.A. officers, whose knowledge of terrorist organizations is second to none, will continue to conduct debriefings using a dialog style of questioning that is fully consistent with the interrogation approaches authorized and listed in the Army Field Manual," Mr. Panetta wrote.
"C.I.A. officers do not tolerate, and will continue to promptly report, any inappropriate behavior or allegations of abuse. That holds true whether a suspect is in the custody of an American partner or a foreign liaison service," he wrote, ruling out asking other countries' interrogators to question suspects on behalf of the agency using the banned methods.
Former military psychologists working under contract for the agency helped design the harsh interrogation procedures, and contractors carried out some interrogations, as well as performing medical and security tasks, according to former agency officials. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had proposed legislation banning contractors from conducting interrogations, saying the job was too important to outsource.
The Senate committee recently began an investigation of the detention and interrogation program that is expected to take about a year, and senior Senate and House members have called for a broader and more public "truth commission" to investigate interrogation and other past counterterrorism programs.
On Thursday, Mr. Panetta said the agency would cooperate with Congressional reviews. But by speaking openly about interrogation policy, he may be trying to discourage additional investigations. He restated his opposition to investigation or prosecution of C.I.A. officers for their involvement in the program.
"Officers who act on guidance from the Department of Justice -- or acted on such guidance previously -- should not be investigated, let alone punished," Mr. Panetta wrote. "This is what fairness and wisdom require."
Planet War » Time to Fight Pirates
Medeshi April 9, 2009
Planet War » Time to Fight Pirates
The unfolding pirate hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia raises a fundamental question. Should the United States negotiate the release of the U.S. captain, taken hostage when the pirates failed in the primary objective of seizing the ship (also to be held for ransom)? Or, should the U.S. refuse to negotiate and instead escalate to more lethal measures, perhaps using Special Operations Forces to hit the pirate bases on land? The military escalation option is apparently under consideration awaiting approval from President Obama. The official line from the Obama Administration thus far has been very measured -- they are "monitoring the situation closely," which is diplomatic-speak for "waiting to decide" and does not simply mean "we are watching cable news like the rest of you."
Negotiating the release is the short-term easy thing to do, but it makes the pirate situation worse over the long-run. Every time the pirates receive ransom, their incentive to take additional hostages increases and their capacity to do so improves because they buy more advanced equipment. I think the negotiate and ransom approach is a dead-end and I do not see a viable alternative to military force. President Obama likes to compare himself to famous American presidents. The last American president who faced the problem of pirates off the African coast was a very famous one, Thomas Jefferson, and he ultimately opted for force. I think that is what Obama will need to do. What is your view?
Planet War » Time to Fight Pirates
The unfolding pirate hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia raises a fundamental question. Should the United States negotiate the release of the U.S. captain, taken hostage when the pirates failed in the primary objective of seizing the ship (also to be held for ransom)? Or, should the U.S. refuse to negotiate and instead escalate to more lethal measures, perhaps using Special Operations Forces to hit the pirate bases on land? The military escalation option is apparently under consideration awaiting approval from President Obama. The official line from the Obama Administration thus far has been very measured -- they are "monitoring the situation closely," which is diplomatic-speak for "waiting to decide" and does not simply mean "we are watching cable news like the rest of you."
Negotiating the release is the short-term easy thing to do, but it makes the pirate situation worse over the long-run. Every time the pirates receive ransom, their incentive to take additional hostages increases and their capacity to do so improves because they buy more advanced equipment. I think the negotiate and ransom approach is a dead-end and I do not see a viable alternative to military force. President Obama likes to compare himself to famous American presidents. The last American president who faced the problem of pirates off the African coast was a very famous one, Thomas Jefferson, and he ultimately opted for force. I think that is what Obama will need to do. What is your view?
Somaliland : Democratisation Programme Steering Committee
Medeshi
Democratisation Programme Steering Committee
PRESS RELEASE
The donors supporting the Somaliland democratisation programme have followed with deep concern recent developments, which gravely undermine the achievements of the post-1991 consensus.
The donors are assessing the implications of these developments for their continued support for the democratisation programme in Somaliland.
The donors insist that there is no alternative to dialogue among the parties in the present circumstances, and call urgently on the political leadership to show restraint, maturity and respect for the democratic aspirations of the people.
Nairobi & Hargeisa, 8 April 2009
Democratisation Programme Steering Committee
PRESS RELEASE
The donors supporting the Somaliland democratisation programme have followed with deep concern recent developments, which gravely undermine the achievements of the post-1991 consensus.
The donors are assessing the implications of these developments for their continued support for the democratisation programme in Somaliland.
The donors insist that there is no alternative to dialogue among the parties in the present circumstances, and call urgently on the political leadership to show restraint, maturity and respect for the democratic aspirations of the people.
Nairobi & Hargeisa, 8 April 2009
Bolder than ever
Medeshi
American sailors kidnapped
Bolder than ever
Apr 8th 2009From Economist.com
Pirates kidnap 20 American sailors off the coast of Somalia
PIRATES have struck again. On Wednesday April 8th it was confirmed that Somali gunmen had hijacked an American-operated container ship, the 17,500 tonne Maersk Alabama. The American crew of 20 were taken hostage after what has been described as a sustained night-time attack. Maersk, the Danish company that owns the vessel, reports that the men aboard are believed to be safe. It is thought to be the first time that an American crew has been seized.
The attack came after a terrible few days for shipping in the pirate-infested waters off Africa’s north-east coast. Six vessels, including a British-owned one, have been seized in the previous week or so. Fifteen were taken last month. Just two were taken in January and February.
The news is alarming for several reasons. It shows that audacious and well-armed Somali pirates remain undeterred by fleets of warships that have been deployed in the area to try to put them out of business. The European Union force alone has six ships and two planes. The Americans have their own ships on patrol, as do the Chinese, the Indians, Russians and several other countries. Roughly a dozen anti-piracy patrols now exist off the coast. Yet they seem almost powerless to spot or intercept the small inflatable skiffs employed by pirates to sneak up on their victims.
The patrols seem to have forced the pirates to operate further out to sea—the Alabama was boarded some 300 miles east of Somalia, well into the Indian Ocean. Yet this does not seem to have curtailed their effectiveness. At least one expert has suggested that the number of seizures only fell off in the first two months of the year because of poor weather, rather than the fear of getting caught or killed. If previous cases are anything to go by, the Alabama will now be sailed to the coast of Somalia where the pirates (see picture above) will guard the vessel and demand a ransom for the ship and crew, which they will duly receive.
This time, perhaps, things might turn out a little differently. The fact that so many Americans have been captured might spur the United States into taking firmer action, maybe even against the pirates’ home bases. Captured American citizens would be of interest to the various militant Islamic militias that operate in Somalia, such as the al-Shabab. No one is quite sure of the exact links between these militias and the pirates. But the Americans, who have a large military base in Djibouti, just north of Somalia, are monitoring events closely.
The seizure of the Alabama, which was carrying food aid, and the recent increase in piracy is also a reminder of the desperate state that Somalia is now in. Apart from a few thousand African Union troops hanging on in Mogadishu to keep some semblance of order in the capital, the country has been virtually abandoned to the militias and clans that have ripped it apart since 1991. In such a deeply poor and wretched place, it is not surprising that pirates are willing to take ever-greater risks to ply their trade. After all, they have nothing to lose—apart from what they can grab on the high seas.
Bolder than ever
Apr 8th 2009From Economist.com
Pirates kidnap 20 American sailors off the coast of Somalia
PIRATES have struck again. On Wednesday April 8th it was confirmed that Somali gunmen had hijacked an American-operated container ship, the 17,500 tonne Maersk Alabama. The American crew of 20 were taken hostage after what has been described as a sustained night-time attack. Maersk, the Danish company that owns the vessel, reports that the men aboard are believed to be safe. It is thought to be the first time that an American crew has been seized.
The attack came after a terrible few days for shipping in the pirate-infested waters off Africa’s north-east coast. Six vessels, including a British-owned one, have been seized in the previous week or so. Fifteen were taken last month. Just two were taken in January and February.
The news is alarming for several reasons. It shows that audacious and well-armed Somali pirates remain undeterred by fleets of warships that have been deployed in the area to try to put them out of business. The European Union force alone has six ships and two planes. The Americans have their own ships on patrol, as do the Chinese, the Indians, Russians and several other countries. Roughly a dozen anti-piracy patrols now exist off the coast. Yet they seem almost powerless to spot or intercept the small inflatable skiffs employed by pirates to sneak up on their victims.
The patrols seem to have forced the pirates to operate further out to sea—the Alabama was boarded some 300 miles east of Somalia, well into the Indian Ocean. Yet this does not seem to have curtailed their effectiveness. At least one expert has suggested that the number of seizures only fell off in the first two months of the year because of poor weather, rather than the fear of getting caught or killed. If previous cases are anything to go by, the Alabama will now be sailed to the coast of Somalia where the pirates (see picture above) will guard the vessel and demand a ransom for the ship and crew, which they will duly receive.
This time, perhaps, things might turn out a little differently. The fact that so many Americans have been captured might spur the United States into taking firmer action, maybe even against the pirates’ home bases. Captured American citizens would be of interest to the various militant Islamic militias that operate in Somalia, such as the al-Shabab. No one is quite sure of the exact links between these militias and the pirates. But the Americans, who have a large military base in Djibouti, just north of Somalia, are monitoring events closely.
The seizure of the Alabama, which was carrying food aid, and the recent increase in piracy is also a reminder of the desperate state that Somalia is now in. Apart from a few thousand African Union troops hanging on in Mogadishu to keep some semblance of order in the capital, the country has been virtually abandoned to the militias and clans that have ripped it apart since 1991. In such a deeply poor and wretched place, it is not surprising that pirates are willing to take ever-greater risks to ply their trade. After all, they have nothing to lose—apart from what they can grab on the high seas.
Hundreds flee inter-clan clashes in Somaliland
Medeshi
Hundreds flee inter-clan clashes in Somaliland
HARGEISA, 8 April 2009 (IRIN) - Hundreds of families in Somalia's self-declared republic of Somaliland have fled inter-clan fighting in the mid-west Satiile area in Gabiley region, officials said.
The fighting, the second flare-up in three months, started on 7 April after a group of men drove into Satiile settlement area and shot dead a local farmer and wounded his brother.
Ahmed-Bare Sa’id Kibar, a village elder in Satiile, said at least 200 families had fled from Xar-Makahiil, Dacawalay, Laaca, Maslayaha, Jaldhaabta and Satiile farmland settlements to Adado Dhaadheeray, Kalabaid. Some of the families had fled to Gabiley, the region's capital, he added.
Elabe Mohamoud Hufane, the deputy mayor of Dilla District in Awdal region, said: "We received reports mid-morning yesterday that a man, identified as Ahmed Yasin Kule, had been shot dead on his farm while his brother survived and managed to flee.
"We went there to calm the situation with the district police; we were told the men who shot dead Ahmed Yasin were from Elberdale area in the north, where a land-based conflict had started some time ago."
In late February, two men were shot dead following inter-clan fighting between the Reer Hared of Gabiley region and the Reer Nour of Awdal region. The conflict dates back to 1998 when the clans confronted each other over the war between the Somali National Movement (Somaliland's liberation organisation in 1981-1991) and the army, which was loyal to the late Mohamed Siyad Barre, then Somali president. At the time, the Reer Nour supported Barre while Reer Hared supported the liberation movement.
Over the past two decades, attempts to reconcile the two were made and a ceasefire agreed but the issue has since transformed into a land conflict, focusing on a farming development project founded by Sheikh Muhumed Rage in the late 1950s.
After the February clashes, a committee from Somaliland's upper house of parliament, the Guurti, toured the region. The committee was also in the area when the latest clashes erupted, according to Hufane.
"We met several dozen families fleeing to Dilla District, and we spoke to them urging them not to flee but they went ahead saying they feared for their security," Hufane said.
HARGEISA, 8 April 2009 (IRIN) - Hundreds of families in Somalia's self-declared republic of Somaliland have fled inter-clan fighting in the mid-west Satiile area in Gabiley region, officials said.
The fighting, the second flare-up in three months, started on 7 April after a group of men drove into Satiile settlement area and shot dead a local farmer and wounded his brother.
Ahmed-Bare Sa’id Kibar, a village elder in Satiile, said at least 200 families had fled from Xar-Makahiil, Dacawalay, Laaca, Maslayaha, Jaldhaabta and Satiile farmland settlements to Adado Dhaadheeray, Kalabaid. Some of the families had fled to Gabiley, the region's capital, he added.
Elabe Mohamoud Hufane, the deputy mayor of Dilla District in Awdal region, said: "We received reports mid-morning yesterday that a man, identified as Ahmed Yasin Kule, had been shot dead on his farm while his brother survived and managed to flee.
"We went there to calm the situation with the district police; we were told the men who shot dead Ahmed Yasin were from Elberdale area in the north, where a land-based conflict had started some time ago."
In late February, two men were shot dead following inter-clan fighting between the Reer Hared of Gabiley region and the Reer Nour of Awdal region. The conflict dates back to 1998 when the clans confronted each other over the war between the Somali National Movement (Somaliland's liberation organisation in 1981-1991) and the army, which was loyal to the late Mohamed Siyad Barre, then Somali president. At the time, the Reer Nour supported Barre while Reer Hared supported the liberation movement.
Over the past two decades, attempts to reconcile the two were made and a ceasefire agreed but the issue has since transformed into a land conflict, focusing on a farming development project founded by Sheikh Muhumed Rage in the late 1950s.
After the February clashes, a committee from Somaliland's upper house of parliament, the Guurti, toured the region. The committee was also in the area when the latest clashes erupted, according to Hufane.
"We met several dozen families fleeing to Dilla District, and we spoke to them urging them not to flee but they went ahead saying they feared for their security," Hufane said.
Somali pirates hijack ship; 20 Americans aboard
Medeshi April 8, 2009
By KATHARINE HOURELD, Associated Press Writer Katharine Houreld, Associated Press Writer –
NAIROBI, Kenya – Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship with 20 American crew members onboard, hundreds of miles from the nearest American military vessel in some of the most dangerous waters in the world.
United Kingdom maritime officials have been able to contact the vessel and were told "everyone is OK," according to a U.S. defense official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
British maritime and defense officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
The 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama was carrying emergency relief to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was hijacked, said Peter Beck-Bang, spokesman for the Copenhagen-based container shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk. It was the sixth ship seized within a week, a rise that analysts attribute to a new strategy by Somali pirates who are operating far from the warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden.
The company confirmed that the U.S.-flagged vessel has 20 U.S. nationals onboard.
Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said that it was the first pirate attack "involving U.S. nationals and a U.S.-flagged vessel in recent memory." She did not give an exact timeframe.
Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House was monitoring the incident closely and "assessing a course of action."
"Our top priority is the personal safety of the crew members on board," Gibbs said.
When asked how the U.S. Navy plans to deal with the hijacking, Campbell said she would "not discuss nor speculate on current and future military operations."
It was not clear whether the pirates knew they were hijacking a ship with American crew.
"It's a very significant foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration," said Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of the British company Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd. "Their citizens are in the hands of criminals and people are waiting to see what happens."
Brooks and other analysts interviewed by the AP declined to speculate on whether American military forces might attempt a rescue operation. A senior Navy official in Washington said the Obama administration was talking to the shipping company to learn "the who, what, why, where and when" of the hijacking.
The U.S. Navy confirmed that the ship was hijacked early Wednesday about 280 miles (450 kilometers) southeast of Eyl, a town in the northern Puntland region of Somalia.
Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau, a piracy watchdog group in Kuala Lumpur, said depending on the speed of the ship, and where the pirates wanted to take it, it could take a day or two to reach shore.
U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said the closest U.S. ship at the time of the hijacking was 345 miles (555 kilometers)away.
"The area, the ship was taken in, is not where the focus of our ships has been," Christensen told The Associated Press by phone from the 5th Fleet's Mideast headquarters in Bahrain. "The area we're patrolling is more than a million miles in size. Our ships cannot be everywhere at every time."
Somali pirates are trained fighters who frequently dress in military fatigues and use speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and various types of grenades. Far out to sea, their speedboats operate from larger mother ships.
Most hijackings end with million-dollar payouts. Piracy is considered the biggest moneymaker in Somalia, a country that has had no stable government for decades. Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think-tank Chatham House, said pirates took up to $80 million in ransoms last year.
A NATO official said from Brussels that the alliance's five warships were patrolling the Gulf of Aden at the time of attack.
"That's where most of the shipping goes through and we can provide most of the protection in that vital trade route," said the official who asked not to be identified under standing rules.
The official said the taking of the crude-filled Saudi supertanker Sirius Star also happened in open water far off the Somali coastline. The Sirius Star was released in January,
NATO has five warships that patrol the region alongside three frigates from the European Union. The U.S. Navy normally keeps between five to 10 ships on station off the Somali coast. The navies of India, China, Japan, Russia and other nations also cooperate in the international patrols.
NATO sees piracy as a long-term problem and is planning to deploy a permanent flotilla to the region this summer. On March 29, a NATO supply ship itself came under attack by Somali pirates who appear to have mistaken it for a merchant ship. The crew quickly overcame the attackers, boarded their boat and captured seven.
This is the second time that Somali pirates have seized a ship belonging to the privately held shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk. In February 2008, the towing vessel Svitzer Korsakov from the A.P. Moller-Maersk company Svitzer was briefly seized by pirates.
Before this latest hijacking, Somali pirates were holding 14 vessels and about 200 crew members, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
___
Associated Press writers Barbara Surk in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Pauline Jelinek in Washington; Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen; and Tom Maliti and Anita Powell in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.
NAIROBI, Kenya – Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship with 20 American crew members onboard, hundreds of miles from the nearest American military vessel in some of the most dangerous waters in the world.
United Kingdom maritime officials have been able to contact the vessel and were told "everyone is OK," according to a U.S. defense official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
British maritime and defense officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
The 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama was carrying emergency relief to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was hijacked, said Peter Beck-Bang, spokesman for the Copenhagen-based container shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk. It was the sixth ship seized within a week, a rise that analysts attribute to a new strategy by Somali pirates who are operating far from the warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden.
The company confirmed that the U.S.-flagged vessel has 20 U.S. nationals onboard.
Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said that it was the first pirate attack "involving U.S. nationals and a U.S.-flagged vessel in recent memory." She did not give an exact timeframe.
Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the White House was monitoring the incident closely and "assessing a course of action."
"Our top priority is the personal safety of the crew members on board," Gibbs said.
When asked how the U.S. Navy plans to deal with the hijacking, Campbell said she would "not discuss nor speculate on current and future military operations."
It was not clear whether the pirates knew they were hijacking a ship with American crew.
"It's a very significant foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration," said Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of the British company Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd. "Their citizens are in the hands of criminals and people are waiting to see what happens."
Brooks and other analysts interviewed by the AP declined to speculate on whether American military forces might attempt a rescue operation. A senior Navy official in Washington said the Obama administration was talking to the shipping company to learn "the who, what, why, where and when" of the hijacking.
The U.S. Navy confirmed that the ship was hijacked early Wednesday about 280 miles (450 kilometers) southeast of Eyl, a town in the northern Puntland region of Somalia.
Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau, a piracy watchdog group in Kuala Lumpur, said depending on the speed of the ship, and where the pirates wanted to take it, it could take a day or two to reach shore.
U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said the closest U.S. ship at the time of the hijacking was 345 miles (555 kilometers)away.
"The area, the ship was taken in, is not where the focus of our ships has been," Christensen told The Associated Press by phone from the 5th Fleet's Mideast headquarters in Bahrain. "The area we're patrolling is more than a million miles in size. Our ships cannot be everywhere at every time."
Somali pirates are trained fighters who frequently dress in military fatigues and use speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and various types of grenades. Far out to sea, their speedboats operate from larger mother ships.
Most hijackings end with million-dollar payouts. Piracy is considered the biggest moneymaker in Somalia, a country that has had no stable government for decades. Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think-tank Chatham House, said pirates took up to $80 million in ransoms last year.
A NATO official said from Brussels that the alliance's five warships were patrolling the Gulf of Aden at the time of attack.
"That's where most of the shipping goes through and we can provide most of the protection in that vital trade route," said the official who asked not to be identified under standing rules.
The official said the taking of the crude-filled Saudi supertanker Sirius Star also happened in open water far off the Somali coastline. The Sirius Star was released in January,
NATO has five warships that patrol the region alongside three frigates from the European Union. The U.S. Navy normally keeps between five to 10 ships on station off the Somali coast. The navies of India, China, Japan, Russia and other nations also cooperate in the international patrols.
NATO sees piracy as a long-term problem and is planning to deploy a permanent flotilla to the region this summer. On March 29, a NATO supply ship itself came under attack by Somali pirates who appear to have mistaken it for a merchant ship. The crew quickly overcame the attackers, boarded their boat and captured seven.
This is the second time that Somali pirates have seized a ship belonging to the privately held shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk. In February 2008, the towing vessel Svitzer Korsakov from the A.P. Moller-Maersk company Svitzer was briefly seized by pirates.
Before this latest hijacking, Somali pirates were holding 14 vessels and about 200 crew members, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
___
Associated Press writers Barbara Surk in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Pauline Jelinek in Washington; Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen; and Tom Maliti and Anita Powell in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.
Saudis to invest 100 million dollars in farming in Ethiopia
Medeshi April 7 ,2009
A group of private Saudi investors plans to invest 375 million riyals ( U$ 100 million) to plant wheat, barley and rice in Ethiopia, one of the investors said. The recent inflation has resulted in food security topping the policy agenda in the Gulf Arab region. It emphasized the peninsula’s dependence on imports and forced countries to invest abroad to ensure supplies of staples like rice and wheat.
The investors will be setting up a company that will lead the investment. "We have opted for rice, barley and wheat because they are among the crops covered by the (Saudi) government's strategic food security programme," said Mohamed al-Musallam who chairs Dar Misc Economic and Administrative Consultancy firm. The investors plan to start in a year, and is in the process of assessing area and ratios for each crop. State-owned Saudi Industrial Development Fund is granting financing facilities to firms exploring agricultural investments abroad.
FoodBizDaily April 07 2009 - by staff writer
The investors will be setting up a company that will lead the investment. "We have opted for rice, barley and wheat because they are among the crops covered by the (Saudi) government's strategic food security programme," said Mohamed al-Musallam who chairs Dar Misc Economic and Administrative Consultancy firm. The investors plan to start in a year, and is in the process of assessing area and ratios for each crop. State-owned Saudi Industrial Development Fund is granting financing facilities to firms exploring agricultural investments abroad.
FoodBizDaily April 07 2009 - by staff writer
Is Khat an illegal drug?
Is Khat an illegal drug?
Courts may answer the question soon
Kurt Bugeja Coster
Times of Malta.
Qat on sale in Berbera, Somaliland
Qat on sale in Berbera, Somaliland.
Qat in Hargeisa, Somaliland
Courts may answer the question soon
Kurt Bugeja Coster
Times of Malta.
Qat on sale in Berbera, Somaliland
Qat on sale in Berbera, Somaliland.
Qat in Hargeisa, Somaliland
Qat in Hargeisa, Somaliland. In the early afternoon best qat arrives from Ethiopia and central streets of Hargeisa are jammed with cars of buyers, often important figures like politicians or wealthy businessmen sending their men to buy good stuff for them.
Photo : courtesy of SwiatoSlaw WojTkowiak's photostream
Medeshi April 7, 2009
Is Khat an illegal drug?
Courts may answer the question soon
Kurt Bugeja Coster
More than 50 kilogrammes of Khat, a popular amphetamine-like stimulant chewed across east Africa, have been seized since the first samples of the leaves were discovered by local police officers three years ago.
Although there appears to be a steady flow of the substance into the island, consumption remains mostly confined to Somalis and Eritreans, who have it brought over by family and friends living in the UK, where it is legal, according to Inspector Dennis Theuma.
Around 20 kilos were discovered recently in a suitcase that was abandoned at the airport. The leaves inside had rotted and lost their pharmacological properties by the time the police found them. In fact, it was the smell coming from the suitcase which raised the alarm.
Because the plant needs to be consumed fresh, it is usually wrapped in banana leaves.
In the UK its use has started spreading among the wider population, particularly youth. But Inspector Theuma says that because of the particular nature of the substance, especially the fact that it has to be sold fresh in large quantities, it is difficult to traffic outside private residences and immigrants' open centres.
The plant, Catha edulis, has been chewed by east Africans for hundreds of years and plays a big part in the social lives of both men and women. But it is banned across America, Canada and most of Europe, although legal in Britain.
In Malta, the illegality of the substance, particularly in leaf form, has not yet been tested.
A Somali man has been jailed for possession of khat but only because he admitted to the charges levelled against him straight away.
In the next couple of weeks, the courts will deliver a sentence in what may prove to be the real test case for the substance, the inspector says.
Aweys Maani Khayre, who was caught with 10 kilogrammes of khat in his luggage at the airport about a year ago, claimed he brought it to celebrate his birthday with family and friends and was not aware it was illegal here.
His lawyers, José Herrera and Veronique Dalli, argue that it is not the plant that is illegal but extracts of cathine and cathinone, its active ingredients. Khat is not illegal in its raw form, they hold.
Inspector Theuma, one of the prosecutors, counters that the plant leaves are chewed precisely to extract the two stimulating narcotics.
Mr Khayre told his interrogators he emigrated from Somalia to the UK about nine years ago and chewing khat was very popular in his home country, especially when socialising.
He was accused of trafficking because of the amount found in his luggage, an amount of leaves that in practice translates into just 25 grammes of the active ingredients.
Courts may answer the question soon
Kurt Bugeja Coster
More than 50 kilogrammes of Khat, a popular amphetamine-like stimulant chewed across east Africa, have been seized since the first samples of the leaves were discovered by local police officers three years ago.
Although there appears to be a steady flow of the substance into the island, consumption remains mostly confined to Somalis and Eritreans, who have it brought over by family and friends living in the UK, where it is legal, according to Inspector Dennis Theuma.
Around 20 kilos were discovered recently in a suitcase that was abandoned at the airport. The leaves inside had rotted and lost their pharmacological properties by the time the police found them. In fact, it was the smell coming from the suitcase which raised the alarm.
Because the plant needs to be consumed fresh, it is usually wrapped in banana leaves.
In the UK its use has started spreading among the wider population, particularly youth. But Inspector Theuma says that because of the particular nature of the substance, especially the fact that it has to be sold fresh in large quantities, it is difficult to traffic outside private residences and immigrants' open centres.
The plant, Catha edulis, has been chewed by east Africans for hundreds of years and plays a big part in the social lives of both men and women. But it is banned across America, Canada and most of Europe, although legal in Britain.
In Malta, the illegality of the substance, particularly in leaf form, has not yet been tested.
A Somali man has been jailed for possession of khat but only because he admitted to the charges levelled against him straight away.
In the next couple of weeks, the courts will deliver a sentence in what may prove to be the real test case for the substance, the inspector says.
Aweys Maani Khayre, who was caught with 10 kilogrammes of khat in his luggage at the airport about a year ago, claimed he brought it to celebrate his birthday with family and friends and was not aware it was illegal here.
His lawyers, José Herrera and Veronique Dalli, argue that it is not the plant that is illegal but extracts of cathine and cathinone, its active ingredients. Khat is not illegal in its raw form, they hold.
Inspector Theuma, one of the prosecutors, counters that the plant leaves are chewed precisely to extract the two stimulating narcotics.
Mr Khayre told his interrogators he emigrated from Somalia to the UK about nine years ago and chewing khat was very popular in his home country, especially when socialising.
He was accused of trafficking because of the amount found in his luggage, an amount of leaves that in practice translates into just 25 grammes of the active ingredients.
Schooling Future Somaliland Leaders
Medeshi
Schooling Future Somaliland Leaders
Posted: 04/06/2009
The village of Abaarso, located about 12 miles outside of Somaliland’s capital of Hargeisa, will house a revolutionary boarding school founded by an Emory alum where the next generation of Somali leaders will be educated and trained.
(Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Starr
Emory alum Jonathan Starr (’98C) resigned from his role as a hedge fund manager to build a nonprofit boarding school in Somaliland. Abaarso Tech, which is slated to open in the summer, is being built on land donated by a village elder. )
Unsatisfied with his job as a hedge fund manager, Jonathan Starr (’98C) left his lucrative job to pursue his long-time interest in helping talented yet underprivileged children.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after a gruesome civil war, is still undergoing post-war recovery and rebuilding its infrastructure. Because the region, located in the Horn of Africa, remains an unrecognized state, it is unable to borrow money from the World Bank to supplement its low annual government budget estimated at $40 million.
Abaarso Tech, slated to launch this July, is the second school in Somaliland to be established by a non-Somali. Because the government can’t provide enough funding or resources to run its public schools efficiently, the educational system — from elementary to the university level — is mainly run by private sectors. Abaarso Tech will recruit Somali students who place in the top 1 percent of the eighth grade exit exams in order to train the “absolute intellectual elite,” Starr said.
“We want these kids to go to Harvard. We want these kids to go to universities in the U.S. and come back and be leaders of this country,” Starr said.
Abaarso Tech is structured similarly to the American educational system; the four-year boarding school will house students from ninth to 12th grade. The school year will begin in the fall like the American system, with a Ramadan break rather than Christmas vacation as most Somalis are Muslims. First-year students will undergo an intensive “English boot camp,” then all the classes will be taught in English except for the Somali and Arabic language classes. The curriculum will focus on math, science and logical thinking with a focus on skills such as entrepreneurship and engineering.
The school will also provide an apprenticeship system for Somali university graduates who will co-teach with fluent English-speaking teachers. This system is designed for the Somali apprentices to take the teaching skills they learn at Abaarso Tech and apply them to their future careers.
For now, the enrollment system remains open for all qualified students, even those who can’t afford the tuition. Some students will be able to participate in work-study-like jobs at local businesses in order to gain hands-on experience while paying their way through school. Currently, the board of trustees — comprised of local businessmen, leaders and Starr — is working to build a donor base to sponsor students and to receive grants in order to guarantee long-term survival of Abaarso Tech.
“I’m not worried about the funding for the first couple of years. My hope is that there’s a number of different avenues that we can go down to help both on the revenue generation and also on the donors,” Starr said, adding that Abaarso Tech has the potential to generate interest from donors from various different groups of people, including supporters of the advancement of education in Africa and Somali diaspora activists.
Somali officials and residents of the Abaarso village are supportive of the school’s establishment, Starr said. The 150,000 square-meter land — approximately 1,615 square feet — was donated by an Abaarso elder, and the Somaliland president offered to provide any non-financial assistance.
“Schools are very important for the Somali community. Even during wars, ... you have these schools being run, and you have universities,” said Yusuf Osman, a Somali-born retired United Nations official and Starr’s uncle, who suggested that Starr actualize his passion in Somaliland. “[The founders of Abaarso Tech] have such good intentions, and they’re quite courageous. ... Everybody thinks of Somalia, and they think of war and they think of pirates. But [Starr] is not afraid of any of those things.”
In a relatively homogeneous ethnic society, Starr has experienced the inevitable culture shock. The strong clan ties are “incredible,” he said, adding: “We can use a little bit of it here [in America], the degree to which you go out of your way for your 20th cousin.” Starr said he also stands out as a foreigner, attracting attention from locals. When he visited a school in Hargeisa, a large group of students swarmed Starr as if he were a spectacle. One child, Starr recalled, asked him in English: “White man, what are you doing here?”
“I got a kick out of it,” Starr said.
But Starr said the warm hospitality he received from the Somali community encouraged him to carry out his plans without second thoughts.
When Starr greeted a local man with the Somali phrase for “good afternoon,” the man spoke back to him in Somali, welcoming him and treating him as if he were a fellow Somali.
“I say one word in Somali, and suddenly they think you’re Somali,” Starr said. “The people were so accepting.”
To apply to be a teacher at Abaarso Tech this summer, visit http://www.abaarsotech.org/— Contact Michelle Ye Hee Lee.
Emory alum Jonathan Starr (’98C) resigned from his role as a hedge fund manager to build a nonprofit boarding school in Somaliland. Abaarso Tech, which is slated to open in the summer, is being built on land donated by a village elder. )
Unsatisfied with his job as a hedge fund manager, Jonathan Starr (’98C) left his lucrative job to pursue his long-time interest in helping talented yet underprivileged children.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after a gruesome civil war, is still undergoing post-war recovery and rebuilding its infrastructure. Because the region, located in the Horn of Africa, remains an unrecognized state, it is unable to borrow money from the World Bank to supplement its low annual government budget estimated at $40 million.
Abaarso Tech, slated to launch this July, is the second school in Somaliland to be established by a non-Somali. Because the government can’t provide enough funding or resources to run its public schools efficiently, the educational system — from elementary to the university level — is mainly run by private sectors. Abaarso Tech will recruit Somali students who place in the top 1 percent of the eighth grade exit exams in order to train the “absolute intellectual elite,” Starr said.
“We want these kids to go to Harvard. We want these kids to go to universities in the U.S. and come back and be leaders of this country,” Starr said.
Abaarso Tech is structured similarly to the American educational system; the four-year boarding school will house students from ninth to 12th grade. The school year will begin in the fall like the American system, with a Ramadan break rather than Christmas vacation as most Somalis are Muslims. First-year students will undergo an intensive “English boot camp,” then all the classes will be taught in English except for the Somali and Arabic language classes. The curriculum will focus on math, science and logical thinking with a focus on skills such as entrepreneurship and engineering.
The school will also provide an apprenticeship system for Somali university graduates who will co-teach with fluent English-speaking teachers. This system is designed for the Somali apprentices to take the teaching skills they learn at Abaarso Tech and apply them to their future careers.
For now, the enrollment system remains open for all qualified students, even those who can’t afford the tuition. Some students will be able to participate in work-study-like jobs at local businesses in order to gain hands-on experience while paying their way through school. Currently, the board of trustees — comprised of local businessmen, leaders and Starr — is working to build a donor base to sponsor students and to receive grants in order to guarantee long-term survival of Abaarso Tech.
“I’m not worried about the funding for the first couple of years. My hope is that there’s a number of different avenues that we can go down to help both on the revenue generation and also on the donors,” Starr said, adding that Abaarso Tech has the potential to generate interest from donors from various different groups of people, including supporters of the advancement of education in Africa and Somali diaspora activists.
Somali officials and residents of the Abaarso village are supportive of the school’s establishment, Starr said. The 150,000 square-meter land — approximately 1,615 square feet — was donated by an Abaarso elder, and the Somaliland president offered to provide any non-financial assistance.
“Schools are very important for the Somali community. Even during wars, ... you have these schools being run, and you have universities,” said Yusuf Osman, a Somali-born retired United Nations official and Starr’s uncle, who suggested that Starr actualize his passion in Somaliland. “[The founders of Abaarso Tech] have such good intentions, and they’re quite courageous. ... Everybody thinks of Somalia, and they think of war and they think of pirates. But [Starr] is not afraid of any of those things.”
In a relatively homogeneous ethnic society, Starr has experienced the inevitable culture shock. The strong clan ties are “incredible,” he said, adding: “We can use a little bit of it here [in America], the degree to which you go out of your way for your 20th cousin.” Starr said he also stands out as a foreigner, attracting attention from locals. When he visited a school in Hargeisa, a large group of students swarmed Starr as if he were a spectacle. One child, Starr recalled, asked him in English: “White man, what are you doing here?”
“I got a kick out of it,” Starr said.
But Starr said the warm hospitality he received from the Somali community encouraged him to carry out his plans without second thoughts.
When Starr greeted a local man with the Somali phrase for “good afternoon,” the man spoke back to him in Somali, welcoming him and treating him as if he were a fellow Somali.
“I say one word in Somali, and suddenly they think you’re Somali,” Starr said. “The people were so accepting.”
To apply to be a teacher at Abaarso Tech this summer, visit http://www.abaarsotech.org/— Contact Michelle Ye Hee Lee.
Media Witness Return Of War Casualty For First Time In 18 Years
Medeshi
Media Witness Return Of War Casualty For First Time In 18 Years
RANDALL CHASE April 5, 2009
DOVER, Del. — For the first time since an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead was lifted, the media witnessed the arrival Sunday night of a soldier killed overseas.
After receiving permission from family members, the military opened Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to the press. An eight-member team wearing white gloves and camouflage battle fatigues carried the body of 30-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va., off a military jet in a solemn ceremony on a cool, clear night.
Myers was killed April 4 near Helmand province, Afghanistan, when he was hit with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said.
The ceremony under the yellowish haze of airport floodlights took about 20 minutes with Myers' wife and other family members in attendance.
Myers was a member of the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron with the Royal Air Force in Lakenheath, England, one of the bases the U.S. Air Force uses in the country. He was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery last year in recognition of his efforts in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Department of Defense said.
The new Pentagon policy gives families a choice of whether to admit the press to ceremonies at Dover, home to the nation's largest military mortuary and the entry point to the U.S. for service personnel killed overseas.
Critics of the previous policy had said the government was trying to hide the human cost of war.
President Barack Obama had asked for a review of the ban, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that the blanket restriction made him uncomfortable. The administration will let families decide whether to allow photographs.
For example, if several caskets arrive on the same flight, news coverage will be allowed only for those whose families have given permission.
The ban was put in place by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, at the time of the Persian Gulf War. From the start, it was cast as a way to shield grieving families.
There have been several exceptions since then, most notably in 1996 when President Bill Clinton attended the arrival of the remains of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 32 others killed in a plane crash in Croatia. In 2000, the Pentagon distributed photographs of the arrival of remains of those killed in the bombing of the USS Cole and in 2001, the Air Force distributed a photograph of the remains of a victim of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.
One objection to lifting the ban had been that if the media were present, some families might feel obligated to come to Dover for the brief, solemn ritual in which honor guards carry the caskets off a plane. Few families now choose to attend, in part because doing so means leaving home and the support system of friends at a difficult time. The sudden trip can also be expensive and logistically difficult to arrange.
DOVER, Del. — For the first time since an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead was lifted, the media witnessed the arrival Sunday night of a soldier killed overseas.
After receiving permission from family members, the military opened Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to the press. An eight-member team wearing white gloves and camouflage battle fatigues carried the body of 30-year-old Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va., off a military jet in a solemn ceremony on a cool, clear night.
Myers was killed April 4 near Helmand province, Afghanistan, when he was hit with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said.
The ceremony under the yellowish haze of airport floodlights took about 20 minutes with Myers' wife and other family members in attendance.
Myers was a member of the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron with the Royal Air Force in Lakenheath, England, one of the bases the U.S. Air Force uses in the country. He was awarded a Bronze Star for bravery last year in recognition of his efforts in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Department of Defense said.
The new Pentagon policy gives families a choice of whether to admit the press to ceremonies at Dover, home to the nation's largest military mortuary and the entry point to the U.S. for service personnel killed overseas.
Critics of the previous policy had said the government was trying to hide the human cost of war.
President Barack Obama had asked for a review of the ban, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that the blanket restriction made him uncomfortable. The administration will let families decide whether to allow photographs.
For example, if several caskets arrive on the same flight, news coverage will be allowed only for those whose families have given permission.
The ban was put in place by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, at the time of the Persian Gulf War. From the start, it was cast as a way to shield grieving families.
There have been several exceptions since then, most notably in 1996 when President Bill Clinton attended the arrival of the remains of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 32 others killed in a plane crash in Croatia. In 2000, the Pentagon distributed photographs of the arrival of remains of those killed in the bombing of the USS Cole and in 2001, the Air Force distributed a photograph of the remains of a victim of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.
One objection to lifting the ban had been that if the media were present, some families might feel obligated to come to Dover for the brief, solemn ritual in which honor guards carry the caskets off a plane. Few families now choose to attend, in part because doing so means leaving home and the support system of friends at a difficult time. The sudden trip can also be expensive and logistically difficult to arrange.
Somali pirates seize more vessels
Medeshi April 6, 2009
Somali pirates seize more vessels
Somali pirates have seized a British-owned cargo ship and a Taiwanese ship, maritime officials say, after capturing three other vessels over the weekend.
The UK-owned Malaspina Castle was boarded in the Gulf of Aden, while the Taiwanese ship was seized near the Seychelles, according to reports.
A French yacht, a Yemeni tugboat and a German ship were also captured in the pirate-plagued waterway at the weekend.
The region is heavily patrolled by a growing international naval coalition.
But correspondents say the pirates have been venturing further off coastal areas to evade the warships from more than a dozen nations patrolling the area in an attempt to deter the gangs.
The 32,000-tonne Malaspina Castle, which was carrying a cargo of iron, was seized on Monday morning.
The vessel, which flies a Panamanian flag, has a crew of 24 - from Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine and Philippines.
Andrew Mwangura, of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters news agency it is UK-owned but operated by Italians.
The Taiwanese fishing boat, with a crew of 29, was hijacked 260km (160 miles) from the Seychelles.
The French yacht, with four crew, was seized on Saturday off north-east Somalia.
It was being sailed by the pirates towards the Somali Puntland coast, said Kenya-based non-governmental organisation Ecoterra International, which monitors piracy.
The Yemeni tugboat was captured on Sunday, a day after the 20,000-tonne German container vessel, the Hansa Stavanger, was seized.
More than 130 pirates attacks, including close to 50 successful hijackings, were reported in 2008, threatening one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Somali pirates seize more vessels
Somali pirates have seized a British-owned cargo ship and a Taiwanese ship, maritime officials say, after capturing three other vessels over the weekend.
The UK-owned Malaspina Castle was boarded in the Gulf of Aden, while the Taiwanese ship was seized near the Seychelles, according to reports.
A French yacht, a Yemeni tugboat and a German ship were also captured in the pirate-plagued waterway at the weekend.
The region is heavily patrolled by a growing international naval coalition.
But correspondents say the pirates have been venturing further off coastal areas to evade the warships from more than a dozen nations patrolling the area in an attempt to deter the gangs.
The 32,000-tonne Malaspina Castle, which was carrying a cargo of iron, was seized on Monday morning.
The vessel, which flies a Panamanian flag, has a crew of 24 - from Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine and Philippines.
Andrew Mwangura, of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters news agency it is UK-owned but operated by Italians.
The Taiwanese fishing boat, with a crew of 29, was hijacked 260km (160 miles) from the Seychelles.
The French yacht, with four crew, was seized on Saturday off north-east Somalia.
It was being sailed by the pirates towards the Somali Puntland coast, said Kenya-based non-governmental organisation Ecoterra International, which monitors piracy.
The Yemeni tugboat was captured on Sunday, a day after the 20,000-tonne German container vessel, the Hansa Stavanger, was seized.
More than 130 pirates attacks, including close to 50 successful hijackings, were reported in 2008, threatening one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
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