Friday, October 17, 2008

Avast, me hearties! "Bile" from "Puntland" says we're to blame for the Somalis' "booty."

You've got to love any reporter who can combine "Bile," "Puntland" and "booty" in one action-packed article.

Apparently these, er, terms come together frequently in the wacky, pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia:

Somali gunman south of Mogadishu, September 2008, Sept. 2008A Somali gunman south of Mogadishu, September 29, 2008. (Via Yahoo News) (AFP/File/Ali Musa)

Via Yahoo News:

* * *

"World powers have neglected Somalia for years on end, and now its problems are touching the world..." said Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, adviser to the president of Puntland, the semi-autonomous Somali region that is the pirates' base.

* * *

Somalia's pirates have become bolder, more heavily armed and more sophisticated as they have raked in millions in ransoms from shipping companies and possibly governments unwilling to risk fatalities.

The booty has paid for global positioning systems, satellite telephones and weapons, including 20 mm cannons, Brown said.

* * *

In the meantime, the international momentum is being driven by the growing flotilla off Somalia.

India says it is sending warships, and South Korea is considering dispatching vessels. Russia has sent a missile frigate.

A NATO flotilla of seven ships — destroyers from the U.S. and Italy, frigates from Germany, Greece, Turkey and Britain — is also headed in. NATO says its priority will be escorting World Food Program ships that deliver basic rations for 3 million hungry Somalis.

* * *


Trying to help "hungry Somalis." Isn't that how Bill Clinton and Les Aspin got a bunch of our soldiers killed during the Battle of Mogadishu - the subject of Black Hawk Down?

Anyway, why should we listen to a guy named "Bile" from "Puntland" who says we're to blame for the Somalis' "booty"?

Doesn't he know that Talk Like a Pirate Day has come and gone?

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