Photo: Vice Adm. Bill Gortney doubted the wisdom of attacking the pirates.From Press TV:
The US commander tasked with tackling Somali piracy, has balked at the idea of attacking the bandits from land or the air.
On Friday, the commander of the US Navy's 5th Fleet said a land or aerial attack could target civilians as the pirates are "irregulars -- they don't wear uniforms," Reuters reported.
"If you're going to do kinetic strikes into the pirate camps, the positive ID and the collateral damage concerns cannot be overestimated," said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney.
The strikes amount to an easy way out of the problem, he added
The comments come while the Bush administration has presented the UN with the proposal that all the concerned parties be allowed to "take all necessary measures ashore in Somalia'' to tackle the problem.
Read more ....
My Comment: These remarks are unbelievable. What is the purpose of having a Navy when it does not want to confront a bunch of hungry and unemployed fisherman who with only AK-47s and RPGs are terrorizing a major shipping lane.
If this is the case, these billions are better spent elsewhere.