Iranian navy rescuse US ship

[Destructionator XV]

http://presstv.com/detail/2012/05/24/24 ... m-pirates/

ranian Naval forces have rescued a US commercial vessel attacked by sea pirates in the Gulf of Aden.


The Public Affairs Office of the Islamic Republic’s Navy announced in a Thursday statement that its forces rescued a US commercial ship which had been attacked by several pirate boats near the Sea of Oman.

After receiving a distress signal from the American vessel, a naval fleet of Iran’s Navy, which was on a patrol mission in the area, sailed towards the US ship.

According to the statement, the pirate boats fled the area immediately as they spotted the approaching Iranian naval forces.

The crew of the American ship, the statement added, thanked the Iranian naval fleet for its timely response to their request for help. It then continued safely on its journey toward its intended destination.

In line with international efforts against piracy, Iran's Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard maritime trade and particularly the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.

The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for more than 20,000 vessels traveling annually between Asia, Europe and the Americas.

BUT IF AMERICA'S MILITARY ISN'T THERE WHO WILL SAVE THE PEOPLE FROM THE PIRATES??????????????

[Comrade Tortoise]

BUT IF AMERICA'S MILITARY ISN'T THERE WHO WILL SAVE THE PEOPLE FROM THE PIRATES??????????????

You're joking right? Have you looked at the order of battle for Iran? They have one of the stronger navies in the region, and they lack the ability to project sufficient force to adequately control the region of the ocean susceptible to attack by pirates. Did they do a good job here? Yes. Are the able to take over for the gigantic multinational taskforce that takes turns doing the job? No. Even the god damn swedes have their navy involved in this shit.

[rhoenix]

So... Self-Destructobot basically posted a news article, and started trolling before any comments were even made.

Dude, you're not good at this. Get a better hobby.

[frigidmagi]

Good of the Iranians to help out. Given the small size and brown water nature of their navy, this wasn't an easy mission for them. Still we should send them a letter of thanks or something, it's important to use positive reinforcement as well as negative.

Anyone heard anything about the Japanese or Chinese ships that were suppose to be operating in the area?

[Destructionator XV]

I haven't heard about Chinese or Japanese anti-piracy efforts for a while.

I did hear Japan is considering changing their constitution to take part in more international military adventures though. (Iran has been offering forces for UN peacekeeping missions too lately.)

I don't really like the idea; we need more constitutions that say no to war, not less.

[General Havoc]

Can't say I thought I'd be saying this any time soon, but I tip my hat to the Iranian Navy. Many thanks, boys. Next round's on me.

[Comrade Tortoise]

I haven't heard about Chinese or Japanese anti-piracy efforts for a while.

I did hear Japan is considering changing their constitution to take part in more international military adventures though. (Iran has been offering forces for UN peacekeeping missions too lately.)

I don't really like the idea; we need more constitutions that say no to war, not less.

Are you... high? What the fuck are we supposed to do if a tinpot dictator or leader of a rebel army in some god-forsaken African or Balkan shit-hole decides he wants to genocide an ethnic group? Write strongly worded letters? Do you think a sit-in will stop an army of drugged and brainwashed 12 year olds like the RUF or God's Liberation Army from coming into a village, raping the women and girls (including babies), killing or enslaving the men, and turning all the boys into child soldiers? You miserable fantasy-enraptured wretch of a human being. This is earth. You make the best feasible ethical choices you can, given a reality that exists and is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Japan going on more foreign "adventures", like being available as a check against the naked aggression of the Bond-Villain Nation called North Korea, or involving itself in UN peacekeeping missions is a god damn good thing. Why? Because it is either that, or we rely more heavily on troops from the third world pulling shifts in war-torn failed states. Why is this bad? Because those troops are as likely to rape a village as protect it from being raped. The Japanese learned their god damn lesson about that back in 1945, even if they did so less-well as the germans. Their military is well equipped, well-trained, and professional. Hell, even Iran would be better for this sort of work than many of the nations upon which the UN relies.

Universal commitment to peace without exception or the willingness of third parties to intercede only works until someone decides they want something someone else has. Then those who are unarmed, or who keep a defense force inferior to an attack force get steam rolled. If the attacking force is sufficiently ruthless/devoid of virtues like sanity or ethics, no amount of non-violent action on the part of the occupied will do anything. The Belgians, Dutch and Danes, and Norwegians learned both these lessons the hard way.

[Destructionator XV]

What the fuck are we supposed to do if a tinpot dictator or leader of a rebel army in some god-forsaken African or Balkan shit-hole decides he wants to genocide an ethnic group?

"You can't kill your people! I ALREADY DID!!!!!!!!!"

You miserable fantasy-enraptured wretch of a human being. During the Rwandan genocide, a handful of UN peacekeepers simply guarded some refugees... and the killers backed off.

What would have happened if there were 5000 people who simply stood there, getting in the way? Odds are, the genocide wouldn't have happened.


We often use soldiers as peacekeepers, but they are very different jobs. A soldier's job is to defeat the enemy. He can be cross trained as a peacekeeper, but that's not his primary duty. We do have people who's primary job is to keep the peace though: police officers.

(Alas, too many police officers are losing sight of that duty. We need some police reform too to make sure this problem doesn't get worse. I'm against drugs, but the war on drugs is part of the problem and ending it might be a big step toward helping to get our police problems back under control.)


Now, if you've gotten to the point where you need to send thousands of police officers into another country, it means something has already gone wrong. Back to Rwanda, for instance: when we heard about the hate speech propaganda being sent on the radio, we could have started putting some diplomatic pressure on them. It might have prevented it from getting out of control in the first place.


Proactive war is one of the worst things humankind has done. Proactive peace and human development is on the other side of the spectrum.

Hell, even Iran would be better for this sort of work than many of the nations upon which the UN relies.

Iran has recently started doing some UN missions too, which I don't like. I think they are doing it in an attempt to look like a team player.

Universal commitment to peace without exception or the willingness of third parties to intercede only works until someone decides they want something someone else has.

Then we buy it from them. Thankfully, the vast majority of people aren't like you. The vast majority of people are generally decent, especially in good times.

[Destructionator XV]

LOL I just realized my statement would bring a whole new meaning to "world's policeman"!