Pirates

They don't have a few large ports like Brest, Toulon, that can be easily blockaded. The whole coast is dotted with tiny little fishing villages. You might find a close blockade rather difficult.
 
Newtons Bit said:
They don't have a few large ports like Brest, Toulon, that can be easily blockaded. The whole coast is dotted with tiny little fishing villages. You might find a close blockade rather difficult.
Click to expand...

Radar has quite a range. Bring in the Cyclone-class patrol boats, the FFGs and the helicopter carriers. If we cannot make it airtight, we can certainly sink so many vessels that they will have a hard time staying in the piracy business.
 
BenBurch said:
Radar has quite a range. Bring in the Cyclone-class patrol boats, the FFGs and the helicopter carriers. If we cannot make it airtight, we can certainly sink so many vessels that they will have a hard time staying in the piracy business.
Click to expand...

You don't think this crosses beyond the "war crimes" line?
 
BenBurch said:
Nope. Not in the slightest. Sinking belligerent vessels and blockading belligerent ports is the essence of naval warfare.
Click to expand...

But no state of war exists with Somalia. And even if it did, those are, for the most part, civilian ships. You can't destroy their property at will.
 
The would-be pirates can go back home to the farm and raise cattle.
It'll be a growth industry with little interference from the navys blockading the shoreline.
 
Newtons Bit said:
But no state of war exists with Somalia. And even if it did, those are, for the most part, civilian ships. You can't destroy their property at will.
Click to expand...

Actually, yes, you can. We sunk a whole hell of a lot of privately-owned "bottom" in WW-2.

We went to war against the Barbary Coast pirates early in our history as a nation as well.

With the killing of the Americans today, a state of war exists. We need to recognize that by declaring war.
 
BenBurch said:
Actually, yes, you can. We sunk a whole hell of a lot of privately-owned "bottom" in WW-2.
Click to expand...

Those were actually being used as part of the war effort. We also committed a great deal many things back then that would be war crimes today. Things are different.

We went to war against the Barbary Coast pirates early in our history as a nation as well.
Click to expand...

Those were actual nation states and we did declare war on them.

With the killing of the Americans today, a state of war exists. We need to recognize that by declaring war.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, we're just going to have to abide my modern rules of warfare. Indiscriminately sinking all ships is no longer part of that. I'm perfectly okay keeping a couple of carrier battle groups in that area with order to assist any merchantman who is under attack. With a dozen helicopters and planes up at any time we could probably have a response time of 15 minutes.
 
Newtons Bit said:
I'm perfectly okay keeping a couple of carrier battle groups in that area with order to assist any merchantman who is under attack. With a dozen helicopters and planes up at any time we could probably have a response time of 15 minutes.
Click to expand...

Sounds expensive.

Can we afford it?
 
Alferd_Packer said:
The use of flame throwers for instance.
Click to expand...

I was thinking more big ticket items like the bombing of Dresden, the fire bombing of Tokyo, the nuclear weapons...

I'm not ashamed of that being in our history. We fought wars differently and more brutally. That does't mean it is acceptable today, however.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom