Somali pirates, meet Erik Prince

[DH1]

Just read this in my local paper, very interesting especially if you've read the interview Robert posted here a while back he did with him just before he left the US.

Prince training pirate fighters in Somalia

[Mattohn]

makes me think we will be seeing better trained pirates eventually

[JUST1MOR]

DH1, going to be interesting to see if this has any effect on the situation. From what I have "read" & from what the "news reporting" agencies aired, things can get pretty hairy real quick & no one seems to want to add any type of solution to the problem. Maybe Mr. Prince can come up with one with his experience & background.
Be safe.

[DH1]

On the face of it, it sounds like these fighters will pound down the pirates and warlords until they are insignificant or non existent. Fine..but now you've got lots of hightly trained young men and material in Somalia. Unless there's a miraculous revolution, I think these guys will become the new muscle.

EDIT:
Or maybe the pirates will see these guys living in better conditions with better pay and shinier guns and join them.

[JUST1MOR]

On the face of it, it sounds like these fighters will pound down the pirates and warlords until they are insignificant or non existent. Fine..but now you've got lots of hightly trained young men and material in Somalia. Unless there's a miraculous revolution, I think these guys will become the new muscle.
EDIT:
Or maybe the pirates will see these guys living in better conditions with better pay and shinier guns and join them.

. . . or at least it will show how strong their committment really is to their "so called" cause . . .
Be safe.

[sweet]

The problem is Prince probably has no clue who he is training...How many times have we seen Iraqi infiltrators blowing up those who they just trained with...Does Afghanistan ring a bell, like us training them to help fight the Soviets, time will tell on this one

[Ranger325]

Didn't RYP recently interview Prince? I seem to remember reading something online just before Prince move to the mideast - the UAE maybe (?)
Good interview - made me find my copy of 'Licensed to Kill' and start a re-read!!

Regards,
Ranger325
HEST/F LE#163
RP#544

[333rm]

Yeah, it's hard to say what the out come of such an undertaking like that could be?! Fighting it purely out on the open ocean is a losing battle, these bastards need to be wiped out where they sleep. Robert can answer this more than I, but I think they still laugh at us in "the Mog" for what Clinton lacked to do in 93. Now that warlords son, a former US Marine, moved back to run his father militia. We don't have any credible power there, hell they have no government. I think if it's done right and it's gonna have to be bloody, Prince will be able to achieve what all the Navy's tasked to fight the pirates haven't been able to. But there's always that chance he could be contributing to the cause...

[DH1]

I think if it's done right and it's gonna have to be bloody, Prince will be able to achieve what all the Navy's tasked to fight the pirates haven't been able to.

The US Navy is able to defeat them, but for some reason we don't. I'm assuming political reasons, just like everything else. Prince isn't tied to anything, so yea it's going to be as bloody as it needs to be to get the job done and get paid.

[RSnyder]

Blackwater floated (no pun intended) a proposal to put contractors on cargo ships and/or its own vessel. It sounded a little like privatized SEALs. This will be a good story to follow.

[RYP]

the truth is much simpler than that. Prince has advocated "relief with teeth" (read my book "Licensed to Kill" and is eager to help Somali's dying of drought. Puntland, via a middle eastern sponsor who doesn't like piracy and terrorism in its back yard, has engaged probably the best African counterinsurgency trainers in the world to put together a Somali Marine force which will enforce the laws of Somalia for the government.

I read the news reports and shake my head. Its like its a bad thing that an incorruptible person of means wants to help Somalis and defeat piracy by training locals.

But I spend a lot of time over there and the Somali's are busy sawing off the branch they are sitting on from the wrong side.

But if you need to anything about Somalia...that's my new thing.