On Tuesday, joint military forces operating under the European flag launched an attack against a Somali pirate base ashore. An attack helicopter, believed to be operating off of a French amphibious assault ship, engaged targets on the ground with its machine gun. Five pirate skiffs — fast boats — were reported destroyed, as was a fuel dump and ammunition storage facility. This marked the first time that the Europeans — operating as the EU Naval Force (NAVFOR) — have taken offensive action against the pirates, and followed the capture of a Greek-flagged oil tanker by pirates last week.
The attack by the nine-ship strong European force is welcome. For too long the pirates have enjoyed a safe haven along the effectively lawless Somali coast. But even when touting their offensive action against a deserving target, the Europeans rushed to reassure the world that it was only a little attack, and barely even that: A press release put out by the EU NAVFOR hastened to reassure the world that no Somalis were injured during the attack on a pirate facility, and further, that no European personnel were ever actually on Somali soil. “At no point did EU Naval Force ‘boots’ go ashore,” the release reads.
For more: Pirates: Europe takes a tiny, gentle step in right direction against pirates | Full Comment | National Post
No comments:
Post a Comment