Photo: U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, addresses an audience during a forum at the John F. Kennedy School of Government on the campus of Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass., Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Commander of the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, Petraeus spoke on a range of issues at the forum titled '21st Century Leadership: Lessons from the U.S. Military.' (AP Photo/Steven Senne)From Yahoo News/AP:
WASHINGTON – The global shipping industry should consider placing armed guards on its boats to ward off pirates who have become increasingly violent, the U.S. military commander who oversees the African coastline said Friday.
Gen. David Petraeus, who came to the Capitol to talk about a wide variety of issues, told a House committee Friday that just trying to outrun or block pirates from boarding cargo ships isn't enough to deter sea bandits off the Somali coast who are becoming more aggressive. The Pentagon is starting to study how to better protect merchant shipping, but hasn't yet come up with a formal plan.
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My Comment: To start arming ships will required an international consensus and a change in maritime law. But considering how naval piracy is now getting our of hand, and that it is only a question of time before pirates start to operate from other lawless and/or failed states, I do expect that a change in law will soon be happening.
The fact that an Italian cruise ship used firehoses and guns to beat back pirates (Sunday morning) .... a cruise ship with 1500 passengers .... one can only assume the carnage that would have entailed if security guards had no weapons and if these pirates were successful (see previous post).
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