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Do you support the U.S. military using force against pirates?
| Response | Percent | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 93% | 824 | |
| No | 3% | 33 | |
| Not sure | 2% | 23 | |
| Total | 880 | ||
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Comments
labmonkey 4 years, 1 month ago
Who the hell voted no?
xbusguy 4 years, 1 month ago
Hey lab, we must have pirates here too.
grammaddy 4 years, 1 month ago
Maybe they're afraid of giving this President too much power like they did the last one.
Easy_Does_It 4 years, 1 month ago
I think a lot of pirates read the LJWorld, at least 5 and counting.
Practicality 4 years, 1 month ago
This pirate problem has gotten out of hand. Send a Naval fleet over there for awhile to patrol and the next attack on shipping vessels by pirates start a two day bombing campaign on coastal cities.
CLARKKENT 4 years, 1 month ago
not only yes, but hell yes!!!!!!!!!!!
isn't that what you are doing babboy????????
BrianR 4 years, 1 month ago
Of course. ABC is reporting that pirates just seized four more ships. This is an international problem and I hope there is an international response.
Leslie Swearingen 4 years, 1 month ago
The posters on here have no idea what they are talking about. These pirates live lives that you cannot even begin to imagine. It is not about not being held or being spanked. It is about starving and watching your family starve and die from horrible diseases. Does that give them the right to break the law? No. Does it make for extenuating circumstances? Yes. There are consequences for actions however desperate the person may be and holding a gun to someones head is a sure way to get attention-in the wrong way. Why is there no government in Somalia?
MyName 4 years, 1 month ago
Hello? Doncha know about the small pirate community in Lawrence! Take them and their pro-pirate sympathizers and you've got a voting minority!
labmonkey 4 years, 1 month ago
Arm the merchant ships. A .50 caliber will do nicely against a speed boat. Arm crew members with 10mm glocks.
Yes babboy. My punk ass questions the people who said no.
Pywacket 4 years, 1 month ago
Kill 'em all.
If ever there was a justification for lethal force--by TRAINED PROFESSIONALS, this is it.
snap_pop_no_crackle 4 years, 1 month ago
It's good target practice.
natas 4 years, 1 month ago
I say if it involves US citizens that OUR military should be the ones intervening. (put the snipers to work)
gl0ck0wn3r 4 years, 1 month ago
"labmonkey (Anonymous) says… Arm the merchant ships. A .50 caliber will do nicely against a speed boat. Arm crew members with 10mm glocks."
You don't shoot much, do you? Bigger =/= better.
snap_pop_no_crackle 4 years, 1 month ago
Heaving bowling balls over the rail when the pirates pull alongside would be better than doing nothing.
labmonkey 4 years, 1 month ago
Glockowner-
I am also a glock owner and I do shoot every now and then.
You don't think an M2 would do wonders against a speed boat? Also, 10mm handguns have much more stopping power than a 9mm (the only reason I own a 9mm is the ammo is much cheaper...and I really don't plan on shooting anyone).
NavyVet 4 years, 1 month ago
Irish's comment re: the pirates having lives we can't imagine amuses. if the pirates are so poor, how did they get the means to motor out over 300 miles from shore? they're not poor. they're well armed and well financed. poor people who have terrible lives do not have the smarts or 'stuff' to board major vessels and extort millions of dollars. terrorists do. And if the Somali people believed they needed government, there would be an effective, functioning one. Or at least some semblance of one.
gl0ck0wn3r 4 years, 1 month ago
"labmonkey (Anonymous) says… You don't think an M2 would do wonders against a speed boat? Also, 10mm handguns have much more stopping power than a 9mm (the only reason I own a 9mm is the ammo is much cheaper…and I really don't plan on shooting anyone)."
It is a question of bring adequate firepower to the party. A M82A1 might be super duper cool, but is it required to do the job? No. A Winchester Model 70 would be more than equal to the task if the idea is to simply stop the boat. One doesn't need to stop the engine to stop the boat particularly when dealing with low-skill bullies. Similarly, there are very few people who are comfortable with a 10mm round. Why bother? A 9mm round is more than up to the task. "Stopping power" when debating calibers is largely a theoretical debate held by old men in gun shops. I'll take a 9mm over 95% of the idiots at the range firing calibers with more "stopping power" and I'll happily bet my abilities against theirs.
Further, one's set of choices is heavily restricted by the amount of training a crew would realistically get on any weapon system. An average US military person fires their personal weapons in training on average under four times a year. It is unrealistic to suggest a Taiwanese sailor should be expected to do more.
A better choice is outsourced security to companies like MPRI.
snap_pop_no_crackle 4 years, 1 month ago
Get medieval!
jaywalker 4 years, 1 month ago
Yes.
Liberty_one:
Surprised to see you take the 'isolationist' route. Not much point having the world's best navy if they're only patrolling the Outer Banks, the Keys, and the Golden Gate, is there?
Sigmund 4 years, 1 month ago
You know you're a complete waste of human flesh when even the dolphins can and will stop you.
BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/14/content_11184581.htm
Sigmund 4 years, 1 month ago
ArumerZwarteHoop (Anonymous) says… "but we can prevent an invasion by sea with tactical nukes much more effectively than with a large naval force."
Invasion by sea? Tactical nukes? I doubt the EPA will ever let you use a nuke and I think you are missing the whole invasion by land. Still if you wanted to nuke someone I suggest you start filling out the paperwork now. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1170064/Whats-nice-girl-like-doing-arsenal-like-Police-seize-20-year-old-guarding-vast-weapons-cache--including-anti-aircraft-gun.html
beatrice 4 years, 1 month ago
Lib_One, that was our Navy protecting and saving an American captain of a boat delivering food aid to Rwanda, Uganda, and Somalia. They did exactly what they should have done.
Well done Navy, well done!
Sigmund 4 years, 1 month ago
Liberty_One (Anonymous) says… "I don't think we need to spend so much money on the Navy where one carrier costs as much as other countries' entire naval force.That's the people's money being used to not to protect our country but to apply force to others."
Sometimes applying force to others is protecting our country. The purposes of Navies and Armies is to kill people and break things. This is not something you want to attempt on a budget or with the lowest cost bid.
compmd 4 years, 1 month ago
gl0ck0wn3r said: "A 9mm round is more than up to the task. “Stopping power” when debating calibers is largely a theoretical debate held by old men in gun shops. I'll take a 9mm over 95% of the idiots at the range firing calibers with more “stopping power” and I'll happily bet my abilities against theirs."
I couldn't have said it better myself. I always chuckle when I see people at the range blasting away with their $1000 .45ACP 1911 knockoffs. It really annoys them when they see me picking off cans from 50 yards out with my $200 WW2 era 7.62x25mm Tula Tokarev. Also, "stopping power" is irrelevant if your gun doesn't go bang. A brand new Beretta PX4 .40SW I borrowed jammed 3 out of 50 rounds on me, whereas my Tokarev has never failed. I'll take reliability and my skills over a larger caliber any day.
In theory, a bomb has more stopping power than a bullet, right? I've heard stories about soldiers from Iraq that aren't as afraid of roadside bombs as they are lone, quality shooters with a 60 year old SKS.
Daniel Speicher 4 years, 1 month ago
Man... Gonna have to quit downloading illegally, I guess. I mean, really... A $3000 fine is one thing... But, I can't have the military coming after me... These intellectual property laws are getting out of hand!
jumpin_catfish 4 years, 1 month ago
No, force is so George W. Bush. The military should send flowers and chocolates and have a talking circle. Everyone shares, everyone cares.
beatrice 4 years, 1 month ago
Jumpin_c, don't you hate it when your put downs don't actually apply to the situation.
Obama's first show of force: Mission Accomplished! (and we really mean it this time! Yippee!)
Pywacket 4 years, 1 month ago
Bea is right--and how refreshing it is that Obama, despite this actual victory, is not strutting around acting like he personally fired the sniper shots.
Every day in every way.... our country seems like a much better, more positive, more hopeful place than it was the past 8 years.
bearded_gnome 4 years, 1 month ago
however, there's indication that Obama dilly-dallied risking the captain's life when it could have been resolved this way a couple of days sooner.
Sigmund (Anonymous) says…
You know you're a complete waste of human flesh when even the dolphins can and will stop you.
beijing, April 14 (Xinhuanet) — Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
wow, then it must be true, did you find that at the wire service called the Dissociated Press?
bearded_gnome 4 years, 1 month ago
as to who voted "no" on the question, the propiriate position: Bozo-on-the-wrong-bus; Merrill; and maybe their families.
and remember, we're ultimately to blame for piracy. and also piracy is a totally valid political expression. all courtesy of the liberal Huffingtonpost.
Danimal 4 years, 1 month ago
I vote to kill them all, it's what the Law of the Sea requires.
thefez 4 years, 1 month ago
It is well within a modern navy's means to prevent these pirates from leaving shore - drones, helicopter patrols, ships off coast, etc. Many boats leaving Puntland are legitimate fishing boats along with the pirates. If a patrolling nation, France, USA, etc. simply said that NO boats would leave the coast until the piracy ends, I expect there would be some pretty spirited discussions along the coast - fishing without piracy or total blockade: piracy or food to eat. It would take some effort. It would probably work.
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