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zubber

US guided-missile drones fly over Indian Ocean
Sun, 25 Oct 2009 0744 GMT

The 36-foot-long Reapers are the size of a jet fighter and can fly about 16 hours.


US guided-missile drones fly over Indian Ocean

US guided-missile drones fly over Indian Ocean
Sun, 25 Oct 2009 0744 GMT

The 36-foot-long Reapers are the size of a jet fighter and can fly about 16 hours.


The US military says it has deployed its drones capable of carrying missiles to patrol waters off Somalia in a move to clamp down on piracy.

The deputy commander for the US Africa Command, Vice Adm. Robert Moeller, said unmanned planes called MQ-9 Reapers were stationed on the island nation of Seychelles.

The drones are being deployed to patrol the Indian Ocean in search of pirates, the commander said in an interview with the Associated Press.

The patrols began this week, according to military officials.

The drones are capable of carrying a dozen guided bombs and missiles. They would not immediately be fitted with weaponry, but military officials did not rule out doing so in the future.

Moeller said the aircraft would primarily be used against pirates, adding that they could also be used for other missions.

Washington says the deployment is a response to the rising piracy in a country that is without an effective government since the overthrow of the last military rule under Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.

Earlier reports had said that US operatives were expected to fly unmanned surveillance aircrafts from American ships off its coast to spy on the Somali pirates.

The developments come as the White House seeks grounds to establish a major military presence in Africa.

Peter Chalk, an expert on piracy at the Washington-based RAND Corp., said he believed the new drones would be "largely irrelevant" in bringing an end to the lawlessness because problems with Somalia's government need to be addressed first. Otherwise, piracy will persist, he added.

AGB/DT

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BobR

Cowardly way to fight a war, but what can you expect from America anymore. At least they won't waste time taking prisoners.

Dug

Um, it's not a war.

Panda

And the women and kids in Pakistan and Afghanistan that the US drones are murdering aren't soldiers either.

Pity the Yanks didn't strap a few missiles on these drones and take out a few pirates instead of killing innocent civilians with em. US rules of engagement though I suppose.

Dug

What the fuck are you talking about dipshit. This thread is about pirates, not Pakistan or Afghanistan, I'm sure there ARE threads about Pakistan and Afghanistan though. Perhaps you should go and find them.

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CAIR Chairman Omar M. Ahmad. "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran . . . should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth."

Panda

OH! You've been promoted to moderator now have you?

Actually, this thread is about drones and their proposed use against pirates. The same drones used to kill civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan. So of course there is going to be some discussion as to the ethics and legality of using such a weapon.

If you dont like the way the discussion is going, then perhaps YOU should go elsewhere.

Rural Surin

Doesn't matter the label. Most buy into it. Drones....part of the broader metaphore of this story.

Rural Surin

Pirates? Privateers? Swashbuckling Buccaneers? As are the reflective courses of history, one has to ask: Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys?

withnallstoke

There's the rub.

lom

Yepp, the afro's are prolly a bit easier to rule over than the arabs.

Rural Surin

Ah....but the secret is that the U.S. has always had a military presence in Africa. Just another surface extension of the worldwide military empire.

Panda

Surveillance is about all these drones will do.

International laws re piracy actually protect the pirates at the expense of their victims. As it stands a countries navy can not arrest or kill pirates attacking merchant ships from another country. So the whole exercise of having all these various countries navys out there patrolling the area is pretty well useless unles they just happen to be lucky and intervene in a hijacking of one of their own countries ships. Otherwise they have just got to let the hijackers go and ensure they have safe passage home or back to the mother ship.

Drones are certainly no protection except for surveillance purposes. All this talk about how they are "capable" of carrying missiles is really nothing more than some muscle flexing with no real teeth unless exceptional circumstances arise.

RPETER65

Wait and see

Panda

Would you care to expand on that rather cryptic comment there RPETER65?

RPETER65

Not sure why my comment would be cryptic, merely stating wait and see what they use the drones for, I guess saying I beleive your assesment to be a bit premature.

Panda

Not sure why my comment would be cryptic, merely stating wait and see what they use the drones for, I guess saying I believe your assessment to be a bit premature.[/quote]

Would you care to explain why you think my assessment is premature?
Anyone can join in this discussion you know.
I take it you are inferring these surveillance drones may end up firing missiles at pirates? Under the present situation that would be exceptionally unlikely. An armed drone would have to be within range when the pirates were in the process of attacking a US merchant ship.

Dont be afraid to come out and say what you are thinking here.

Bung

Good idea. At least they will use them for something worthwhile.

donald36

Bomb the bstards

Muadib

What's a few Afghan women and children when the Brits slaughtered an estimated 10 million Indians in the process of 'colonizing' India...

Newsvine - British atrocities in India exposed - chopping off hands, mass murder in Indian Holocaust

As far as the OP, the Predators can & do carry guided missiles... What happens in the middle of the Indian Ocean stays there...

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Dug

Pirates! FUCKING PIRATES!