Well let France and Russia play rough, hell why not pay the Russians to get rid of the pirate scum, they deserve what ever heavy -handed tactics come thier way, they need to be wiped out IMO.

I think the main problem with that is the idea that, if pirates know they're likely to be shot up, they'll be more willing to kill off some of their hostages. It's the reason why crews on civilian ships are prohibited from carrying lethal weapons AFAIK.

I understand but at some point these guys have to be wiped out, I'm sorry but Somalia needs a tyrant like Kim Jong Ill of the DPRK, some one to militarise the country and get rid of all these warlords, atleast then we would just have 1 person to deal with, and we would be able to negotiate. 

After this episode is over I say let France and Russia take care of bussiness in Somalia, or else there will be more pirates who grow bold and think can do what ever they feel.

Why not use the air to spot the motherships, send in a team of  SEALs via submarine, (that we pay so much for), attach a few demos to the hulls of the motherships and swim away. Once all are safe and far away, the motherships disappear. Soon the world will say "yes" the Russians must have scared them off.  Good job!  Problem solved.

For every problem there is a solution: simple, obvious, and wrong.
 

Why not use the air to spot the motherships, send in a team of  SEALs via submarine, (that we pay so much for), attach a few demos to the hulls of the motherships and swim away. Once all are safe and far away, the motherships disappear. Soon the world will say "yes" the Russians must have scared them off.  Good job!  Problem solved.

 

The motherships are 'believed' to be captured large fishing trawlers, but could be small merchant vessels as well.  Trawlers are preferred because they have lower sides and can loiter in an area without causing much as much suspicion by actively fishing.

 

Since the Gulf of Aden is one of the world's busiest water ways (it's the only access route to the eastern end of the Suez Canal) and also a rich fishing ground there are a lot of perfectly legitimate vessels of both types around.  The motherships do not need anything in thee way of specialized equipment, so there is no way to tell the difference from the air, unless you can spot one launching the smaller boats and track them to an attack.  It's the old needle in a haystack problem.

 

I still say send in an MEU to a one of their home ports and crucify everyone there.  Piracy in Africa would dry up very quickly, especially if you spread the word around

Well, legend claims that something like that is supposed to have worked for Vlad Tepis, but you would need a much larger force.

 

You are probably talking about a city of around 250,000 people, of whom 10% may be combat effective.  So about 25,000 Somali's vs 1200 marine infantry with artillery and air support.  Marines are good, but this is pushing it.  Then you have to control all the prisoners until the deed is done, secure the perimeter to keep clan members coming from outside the city from interrupting you, and the people to carry out the crucifictions.  Probably at least a division, plus an engineering battalion.

  Well, legend claims that something like that is supposed to have worked for Vlad Tepis, but you would need a much larger force... 

I was not aware the cities they were operating out of were that large.  I figured them to be more likely to operate out of smaller locations to lessen chances of losing their turf to larger forces.  But I am nothing if not flexible.  Instead of sending a new rotation into Iraq build them up and send them to Somalia.  Firebomb Mogadishu in a repeat of Dresden to start off then systematically destroy every boat operating out of the Somali coast while raiding and crucifying the population of smaller towns with the admonition that if they do not cease piracy we will begin using biological and chemical weapons on their cities.

 

Sometimes you just have to sow the fields with salt so to speak. 

1)  Somalia has a HUGE coastline.  I mean big.  It's some 3,000km.  There are already six US battleships there from centcom, as well as French ships and a Russian Frigate is on the way.  I think I read somwhere that at any given time there are 20+ naval vessels policing Somali waters, and yet piracy continues.  Clearly an increased presence is a waste of resources.

2.a)  Firebombing Mogadishu would also be a bad idea.  US Africom was kicked off in October with the mission of helping Africans help themselves to peace.  It's mission is development and peacemaking--and yet Africans LOATHE Africom because they view it as a neo-colonial warfighter that will usurp local power in pursuit of US interests, like oil and ore.  Attacking Mogadishu will only give these claims credibility and will make future missions more difficult, much less destroy chances of Africom ever moving out of Germany and into Africa.

2.b)  More importantly, Mogadishu is believed to be the home of many Islamic radicals/AQ-trained terrorists responsible for various attacks since the early 1990s, but while groups such as al-Shabaab are fairly solid, most go the way of the Islamic Courts Union--that is, they fail to germinate.  A vicious attack that kills more non-combatants than pirates or warlords (as many are one in the same--poverty tends to breed criminality) would catalyze radicalization.  I belive it was mentioned here on Strategy page that typical ME Islamic radicals have a hard time integrating and seeding terrorist dogma in Somalia because it is so factionalized, divided by warlord allegiances--especially in the Puntland region.  

2.c) People are starving, and an entire generation has grown up without a functional government.  Attacking the capital would bring unneeded criticism and humanitarian flak.  The US image is tarnished enough right now.  Tact in dealing with this issue could help polish our image back to a nice, positive lustre.  

3.)  In my humble opinion, a frontal attack on Somalia would cause violent bleed-out of terrorists, criminals, refugees... Somalia is a puss-filled, cancerous cyst that needs a hypodermic needle, not a hammer.  Making that poisonous cyst explode would send that bile to neighboring Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Sudan.  Sudan has enough trouble--too much for me to go into here.  Strategy page has good info on the threats Uganda has already received.  Ethiopia has been subject to Somali criticism since backed by US/UK in standing up the TFG.  Djibouti is the most stable region--and home to our nearest base--do we want to endanger that?  And Kenya, once thought to be a pearl of African stability demonstrated this spring that tribal loyalties run deeper than fragile democracy.  

So in conclusion, I love the military (Go Navy!), love the soldiers and the troops, but let's not go into Somalia guns blazing.

Cops here in the states have a program to deal with car thieves. They basically leave a bait car loaded with goodies in a theft prone neighborhood. This car is rigged with cameras gps tracking and remote control access to the officers from a control center that can be driven near by. When the would be car thief tries to steal the car he can only go so far before the ignition is cut off the doors are locked and the windows shut. The police then swoop in and arrest the perp.

 

I don't see how a similar set up could not be aranged so that a bait boat be sent out, a good one they would want to keep for their own uses. It could be fully riged maybe even with hidden operatives and or weapon caches inside. The crew would of course be special forces in civilian get up pretending to be on a cruise or fishing or what ever.There could be a convenient secure lockable room where the pirates would think is a great place to hold hostages. Then when the bait boat is brought to the hide out it can be either used to further collect intel or the sting can spring and take down the pirates once and for all.