The toll of piracy submitted by the US Navy
(BRUSSELS2) First official assessment of the multinational action in the Gulf of Aden, that drawn up by... the American soldiers before the Armed Forces Committee of the US Congress. An assessment that encompasses not only the American action, strictly speaking, and the task forces with American "impulse" (CTF-150 and CTF-151), but also that carried out by the other fleets present (Russian, Indian, European in particular).
A rather mixed record: fewer successful attacks, but weakness in arrests and bringing to justice.
Successful attacks. All efforts to counter hacker attacks to date have resulted in a “drop in successful attacks from a peak of 64% in October to 17% in February”, according to State Department statistics. Currently, 6 vessels are held hostage, compared to the 14 vessels that were held hostage towards the end of last year.
A turning point in the summer of 2008. According to Vice-Admiral Gortney - who commands the US 5th Fleet present in the Gulf - the situation became more critical in mid-August 2008 " when a new clan of Somali pirates began attacking ships north of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden, increasing the number of attacks”. (NB: other information, other sources, also mention the appearance of pirates from the coast of Yemen).
Pirates arrested. “CTF-151, with the cooperation of other naval forces (*), apprehended nearly 250 pirates”, according to Gortney. Of these, 121 have been disarmed and released, 117 have been handed over for prosecution, and nine are awaiting a final decision (in fact they have been released). It should be noted that the Americans have signed an agreement with Kenya similar to the one just initialed by the European Union. And 7 pirates were handed over to the Kenyan authorities.
Equipment seized. " Pirates' abilities have been affected by coalition efforts“Explained Gortney giving an assessment of the equipment seized by the coalition and task force: 28 pirate ships seized or destroyed, 133 small arms, 28 rocket launchers, 51 grenade launchers, projectiles, and 21 ladders and grappling hooks. been confiscated”.
To go beyond of the arrest of the pirates, a more global strategy for the region.
“We all know that the solution to the problem of piracy is on land” concluded Gortney before Congress. "Operations at sea -
being carried out by the maritime coalition - should give the international community time to discuss a long-term solution" In the region.
The four courses of US action against piracy. In addition to the military approach, the US government is taking action on three other
fronts to fight against piracy. “Diplomacy, helping the shipping industry to strengthen self-defense efforts, improving judicial capacity to prosecute and punish pirates in the region, are all part of the strategy”said Stephen Mull, deputy assistant secretary for international security and arms control at the State Department.
Beyond piracy, a new regional framework. " By working together, I believe we have made good progress in the past only a few months. “, he continued. Corn " beyond arresting hackers is not all. “I believe that this cooperation could form the basis of a new regional maritime security framework with the States of the region and external contributors”, he continued. "This new framework could include a whole range of topics that I believe would improve the safety of the
region, such as our own security. »
To read the report completed by the US Department of Defense.
short comment
The European Union will no doubt have to be careful not to allow the Pax Americana to spread in the region. When one observes how the EU is mentioned - i.e. never other than by "others", "external contributors", or included in a "maritime coalition", there seems to be within the department of State or armed forces, some difficulties in naming allies.
Either certain personalities (named under the former administration) have trouble keeping up with the new Obama administration, which has proclaimed, everywhere these days, that the European Union is a fully-fledged partner. Either the statements of Hillary Clinton, last week in Brussels, followed by the visit of Vice-President Joe Biden are only a charm offensive, more subtle than that of the Bush administration but pursuing the same goal .
The European Union should not become a simple provider of troops and/or funding, without also being able to have a say in defining strategy, as for the NATO operation in Afghanistan...
(NGV)
