The international naval flotilla working to curtail piracy in the western Indian Ocean is failing to solve the problem, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Congress.
"The naval ships that have been involved from … more than 20 nations just have not been willing to really put themselves out," Clinton said on March 2. "They're happy to patrol, and they're happy to say they are, and then kind of count themselves as part of the coalition. But when push comes to shove, they're not really producing."
Clinton, appearing at a Senate Appropriations Committee international affairs budget hearing, ticked off several other points about the Somali-based pirates who have captured dozens of merchant ships and private yachts and held them for ransom.
"One of our big problems is that a lot of the major shipping companies in the world think it's the price of doing business," she said of the ransoms. "And they're not pressuring governments. They're not particularly concerned. They pay a ransom and they just go on their merry way. That has been a huge problem."
While declaring that "boots on the ground" are not a solution, Clinton urged an effort to "go after their land-based ports."
Newly elected Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., a Navy reservist, noted that "if we can't be tough on pirates on the open seas, we can't be tough on almost anything," and urged military action on the high seas against the pirates.
"Anybody more than 12 miles off the coast [of Somalia], moving out into the Indian Ocean, I think is subject to attack and sinking," he said.
Mother ships operated by the pirates as floating bases could be disabled, Kirk observed.
"The standard procedure would be just to put a round into the rudder of the ship. At that point, they run out of food and water, but it's too bad," he said.
"I share your outrage," Clinton told Kirk. "We have put together an international coalition, but, frankly, we're just not, in my view, getting enough out of it."
The State Department has been tasked to "come up with a much more comprehensive approach," Clinton said, and is working with the Pentagon on the issue.
"I'm just fed up with it," Clinton said. "We need to do more, and we need to make it clearer that the entire world had better get behind whatever we do and get this scourge resolved."
"The naval ships that have been involved from … more than 20 nations just have not been willing to really put themselves out," Clinton said on March 2. "They're happy to patrol, and they're happy to say they are, and then kind of count themselves as part of the coalition. But when push comes to shove, they're not really producing."
Clinton, appearing at a Senate Appropriations Committee international affairs budget hearing, ticked off several other points about the Somali-based pirates who have captured dozens of merchant ships and private yachts and held them for ransom.
"One of our big problems is that a lot of the major shipping companies in the world think it's the price of doing business," she said of the ransoms. "And they're not pressuring governments. They're not particularly concerned. They pay a ransom and they just go on their merry way. That has been a huge problem."
While declaring that "boots on the ground" are not a solution, Clinton urged an effort to "go after their land-based ports."
Newly elected Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., a Navy reservist, noted that "if we can't be tough on pirates on the open seas, we can't be tough on almost anything," and urged military action on the high seas against the pirates.
"Anybody more than 12 miles off the coast [of Somalia], moving out into the Indian Ocean, I think is subject to attack and sinking," he said.
Mother ships operated by the pirates as floating bases could be disabled, Kirk observed.
"The standard procedure would be just to put a round into the rudder of the ship. At that point, they run out of food and water, but it's too bad," he said.
"I share your outrage," Clinton told Kirk. "We have put together an international coalition, but, frankly, we're just not, in my view, getting enough out of it."
The State Department has been tasked to "come up with a much more comprehensive approach," Clinton said, and is working with the Pentagon on the issue.
"I'm just fed up with it," Clinton said. "We need to do more, and we need to make it clearer that the entire world had better get behind whatever we do and get this scourge resolved."
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