UN approves piracy land pursuit

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a US resolution allowing countries to pursue Somali pirates on land as well as at sea.

It is an extension of the powers countries already have to enter Somali waters to chase pirates.

Countries will need the permission of the transitional Somali government
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'Necessary force'

It gives authority for one year for countries to use "all necessary measures" by land or air to stop anyone using Somali territory to plan, help or carry out acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7786652.stm

[tularetom]

1. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Just another fucking bush mess left for a Democratic president to cleanup.

Remember Black Hawk Down?

[dipsydoodle]

2. A while after Black Hawk Down

while waiting for my car to be serviced , I got chatting with a guy also waiting and it turned out he was SAS and had already been out there. He reckoned that part of the issue arose because the marines were acting like cowboys - as a result the Indians got them.

[Mike Daniels]

4. Last I heard the Security Council was more than just the US

and all it takes is one country on the SC to shoot down any proposal.

Given that the piracy taking place now is affecting more countries than just the US I fail to see how Bush alone is behind this new strategic tact or why the SC should give in to the demands of someone who's on his way out in about 30 days.

[balantz]

3. Blackwater? n/t

[Alamuti Lotus]

5. Decent idea strictly in context-horrible, horrible precedent..

First of all, there is no "Somali Government" to approve or disapprove of such foreign adventures. Yeh, there's a few weak warlords still rallying around Yusuf & Ethiopian occupation forces and the UN is desperate enough to throw a few duchats and press shots at it, but nothing with the legitimacy to allow foreign governments to invade their lands.
At any rate, most of these major powers up in arms are committing major acts of piracy and armed robbery by land and sea (referred to in sanitized terms with an air {smoking cloud?} of legitimacy, of course), so there's also that little matter to contend with..