MarEx Mailbag: Reader Response to Last Weeks MarEx Editorial and Other Articles, Too
The MarEx mailbag is heavy this week.
Last week’s lead editorial, entitled “Attacking Piracy: The Long Road to Nowhere,” garnered a significant number of “hits” from our readers and was even picked up by MARAD’s February 11th Newswatch vehicle. The editorial talked about a recent House Subcommittee hearing on International Piracy. The event, in our opinion, revealed little that was new, but also got to the heart of the problem. More importantly, the discussions highlighted why we are going nowhere fast in the fight against modern day piracy. You can read the piece by clicking HERE. You can also see what one of our readers thought about the article below:
Mr. Keefe:
I also tuned in to the hearing on my computer. You’re absolutely right that there was little new for anyone who has followed the issue. Nonetheless, it’s nice to see the issue get some “face time.” Regarding stabilizing Somalia—it is history’s lesson that piracy has only been effectively (albeit temporarily) suppressed only when the pirates have been deprived of their shore sanctuaries (the Caribbean in the 1700’s; the Barbary pirates in the 1800’s). The UN has been pleading for years for peacekeeping forces to operate under the auspices of the African Union, with no volunteers—nobody wants to get stuck in that quagmire. It’s worth remembering that the Barbary pirates didn’t stop completely after the USN and USMC (“to the shores of Tripoli”) forced free passage for US shipping. The end came only after the French took over their last stronghold—Algiers—in 1830. The French didn’t leave Algeria until 1962. Any involvement in Somalia is likely to be lengthy.
Keep up the interesting columns.
Regards,
John C. W. Bennett / Chief Executive Officer
Maritime Protective Services, Inc.
MarEx Editor’s Remarks: Thanks for weighing in, John. The matter did get some much needed “face time,” so I suppose that was indeed a good thing. Mr. Bennett later followed up with me and said, “On further reflection, one thing I did learn was that CTF 151, formed to focus on the anti-piracy mission as not all Coalition Maritime Forces assets have that tasking, has only five ships (4 US and 1 UK)—a far cry from the initial suggestions that up to 23 countries would participate.” A far cry, indeed.
Joe:
Watched the tape on the proceeding on pirates and agree with your article. You captured it perfectly. Deleting the "smoke blowing," the factual delivery was about 30 minutes; a lot of communication but little coordination. Anyway, nice article.
John Denham
MarEx Editor’s Remarks: Captain Denham often writes in to express his opinions. His depth of knowledge in many aspects of maritime affairs is well known. Good to hear from you, John. Read on for another.
Dear Joe:
President Jefferson and a number of European heads-of-state dithered about the Barbary pirates for many years, but paid the demanded ransoms anyway (so much for "millions for defense, not one penny for tribute").
The Barbary pirates were conquered, not by the United States Marines, but by a free-lance civilian named William Eaton who claimed to be a U.S. Army General (but was not). Eaton raised a private army in Egypt and marched west to Tunis where he overthrew the Sultan and put his own man on the throne. This true saga is the subject of a very readable book titled "The Pirate Coast" by Richard Zacks (Hyperion Books, New York, 2005).
All the best,
John C. Snedeker
MarEx Editor’s remarks: You learn something new every day. Thanks for writing – and reading MarEx. Here’s another:
Mr. Keefe,
The problems of Somalia are many and likely in the near term, insoluble.
However the problem of piracy is best handled by the lessons of history....hang'em high!
This action will effectively remove piracy as option for the local warlords and perhaps open opportunities for land based solutions. Allowing the pirates to garner huge payoffs from shipping companies only feeds the problem. By contrast eliminating pirates by direct military action not only protects the lives of mariners but also takes millions of dollars in "profit" from the local warlords thus helping limit their power and ultimately providing greater opportunity for future political stabilization.
The UN has of course shown itself incapable of dealing with the problem so it is up to the maritime nations of the world to take the issue head on and just wipe this scourge of humanity off the face of the earth.
But I digress....
Frederick Stonehouse
www.frederickstonehouse.com
MarEx Editor’s remarks: Mr. Stonehouse has strong opinions on the matter of piracy and Somalia. I would think he has many who agree with him. Thanks for writing, Frederick. PS: Mr. Frederick’s WEB site (shown above) outlines the many books that he has authored. It is worth a peek.
The next article refers to another piece from last week’s e-newsletter concerning the vulnerabilities of RFID technology as it relates to container security. The disturbing article and attached video did not elicit any response from DHS, despite being the number three most-read article last week. You can read that article and see the video demonstration by clicking HERE. Also, see what one our readers thought about the article and what it revealed:
Joe,
Thank you for passing the word (in your MarEx newsletter today) about the potential risks from RFID readers and the possible effects on port security.
It’s ironic that a strategy intended to improve port security might have such “unintended consequences” – and Maritime Executive is to be congratulated for its public service in helping to spread the word.
Regards,
Greg Salerno
VP - Corporate Media
www.remedialoffshore.com
MarEx Editor’s Remarks: Still no response from DHS on this one. I’ll keep you posted. The last letter references the apparent (I haven’t actually tried to get one yet) nightmare of obtaining the dreaded “TWIC” card. Read on:
Joe,
First off, thanks for all you have done and are doing for the maritime industry.
Here's what I wanted to email you about...
The other day a good friend and shipmate of mine went to renew his TWIC (he did the MMD & TWIC option to keep both on same expiry date so here he is already renewing his). Well, they want two forms of ID to renew the TWIC, right? Guess what? They will NOT take their own TWIC as one of the forms of ID to present for renewal!
Sadly enough, this is not a sea story.
All the best,
Keith Finnerty
MarEx Editor’s remarks: A TWIC won’t get you a TWIC, apparently. Anybody know why? Sounds absolutely moronic to me.