Fighting Pirates - Let Israel Do it
The solution to piracy on the high seas? Hire Israelis.
IBA, 27 Apr 2009, Cruise ship fends off pirate attack with gunfire
ROME – An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security forces exchanged fire with the bandits.
Six men in a small, white Zodiac-type boat approached the Msc Melody at about 1730 GMT Saturday and opened fire with automatic weapons, Msc Cruises director Domenico Pellegrino said. They retreated after the security officers returned fire and sprayed them with water hoses. The ship continued its journey with its windows darkened.
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Pellegrino said all Msc cruise ships around the world are staffed with Israeli security agents because they are the best trained.
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Pellegrino said the pistols on board the Melody were available to the commander and security agents. He said they were used as a deterrent, "in an emergency operation."
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The Melody was on a 22-day cruise from Durban, South Africa, to Genoa, Italy, when the pirates attacked late Saturday, slightly damaging the liner, Pinto said.
"After about four or five minutes, they tried to put a ladder up," Pinto told Sky TG24. "They were starting to climb up but we reacted, we started to fire ourselves. When they saw our fire, and also the water from the water hoses that we started to spray toward the Zodiac, they left and went away."
"They followed us for a bit, about 20 minutes, and continued to fire," he said.
Cruise line security work is a popular job for young Israelis who have recently been discharged from mandatory army service, as it is a good chance to save money and travel.
"We have always had great faith in their capacity, they have always been very qualified," Pellegrino said of the Israelis, though he declined to give the name of the firm.
The reason there is so much piracy in the Mediterranean is because the boat owners pay ransoms. Now that they have given millions in ransoms they have only whetted the appetites of thousands of more Somali pirate-wannabees. This is what happens when you negotiate with terrorists, or as the Somalis call it, the Obama-way.
I wonder how long it will be before the UN calls this type of defense by the Israeli Security firm a disproportionate response?
The only pirates I would negotiate with would have to look like the one at the top of this post. She can shiver my timbers anytime.
