Modern Warfare, At Sea

While many gamers have recently been enjoying the new title "Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2" navies around the world have been busy coming up with their own forms of modern warfare. The article below gives an interesting look at what could be the warship of the future, at least for the United States.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33431534/ns/us_news-military

West Coast of Africa New Pirate Haven?

A new pirate attack off the coast of Benin highlights the West Coast of Africa as an area of growing maritime violence.

Spanish boat freed

Good news, a Spanish ship has been released by pirates today. This article by the BBC wonders how much ransom was paid and also gives some updates on other naval hostage situations. The ending of this article was particularly interesting as it reveals the complex roots of naval violence.

"Somali pirates, using "mother ships" to launch their small-boat attacks on vessels, have extended their range to an area off the Seychelles in recent months in order to evade the navies patrolling the Horn of Africa.

More than 10 ships and 200 hostages are currently being held by pirates operating in waters off Somalia.

Many of the pirates began as fishermen and say they are stopping illegal foreign fishing boats stealing Somali fish, BBC international development correspondent Mark Doyle reports.

The upsurge in piracy in the region is a consequence of the failure to find a solution to Somalia's political disputes, our correspondent notes.

The weak central government faces an Islamist insurgency and parts of the country have broken away to form autonomous regions."

The BBC also kindly provides this helpful video on how to counter pirate attacks.

Yarrr maties, violence on the seas is a laughing matter

You know I can't say I've ever been a huge fan of South Park, but when I told my friend I was doing some research on piracy in Somalia he informed me that there was a South Park episode on that. Thrown in with the usual vulgarity and jokes (some great some not so much) was a very interesting line delivered by one of the pirates about the truly desperate state these pirates often find themselves in. When it comes down to it, these people are resorting to violence often as a last resort and that is something that the international community seriously has to consider when dealing with them. Say what you will about South Park but their writers can be quite insightful. If their brand of comedy is your thing I recommend taking a look at it. Otherwise if you're a military person or just want to get a better view of the military element of dealing with piracy take a look at this training video from EU NAVFOR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6-fBCzMCaM&feature=related

for more information on the EU mission check out their website
http://www.mschoa.org/About.aspx