13 December 2008: Bloomberg
By Camilla Hall
Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates called for steps to combat the rising threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia and said the U.S. needs more intelligence before it embarks on land pursuits.
Gates said companies and ships must use common sense, consider increasing their security personnel and be more vigilant about using recommended routes to stay safe.
Senior U.S. naval officers yesterday expressed concerns about pursuing pirates onto Somali territory, a policy advocated in a resolution the Bush administration submitted to the United Nations. While the U.S. is pushing the UN Security Council to authorize such pursuit, the resolution doesn’t signal any intention for the U.S. itself to chase pirates onto Somali territory, according to an American official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Under the United Nations Security Council resolution passed last week, members of the international community must work together to aggressively pursue and deter piracy,” Gates said at a security conference in Bahrain today.
The U.S. offered the draft resolution to the council Dec. 11. A vote may be held as early as next week, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit the UN, although questions raised by Indonesia about whether land pursuit would violate international law may delay consideration.
Land Pursuit
Land pursuit operations would carry a high risk of harming innocent civilians because of the difficulty of identifying those guilty of piracy, U.S. Fifth Fleet spokeswoman Lieutenant Stephanie Murdock said yesterday.
“This has become a very good business and the first thing we need is better intelligence on who’s behind it,” Gates said. More information is needed on the culprits to minimize any collateral damage from land pursuit, Gates said. “With the level of information that we have now we are not in the position to do that kind of land attack,” he said. With “adequate intelligence” only, land attacks may be carried out, he added.
Gates also advised nations to prepare standard operating procedures against seaborne threats including piracy, terrorism, narcotics trafficking and smuggling. He said taking basic steps like speeding up or raising the ladders of the boats would be a good first move.
Naval Vessels
The U.S. currently has six naval vessels in waters near Somalia, according to Murdock. U.S. allies have another six to eight ships in the region, she said.
The European Union earlier this month authorized deployment of a naval task force off Somalia in an effort to curb the problem. Somali pirates have attacked more than 32 ships, seized 12 of them and taken 230 crew members hostage since October.
Gates, who has been retained as defense secretary by President-elect Barack Obama, made his comments in a speech at the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain which brought more than twenty countries together to discuss regional security in the Gulf and Middle East. During the speech he promised “continuity” and “commitment” to the region.
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