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| Posted: November 21, 2008 |
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Piracy off the coast of Africa has increased in recent weeks, with eight attacks just this week. In a brazen attack, pirates captured a Saudi supertanker loaded with at least $100 million in oil, the largest ship ever hijacked. |
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| Mark Andy of Poland, Ohio, asks: |
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| Why isn't there a U.N. member-nation carrier nearby for backup? |
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| Andre Le Sage responds: |
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 The United Nations Security Council has responded to the piracy situation with two resolutions that have granted foreign naval forces the right to conduct counter-piracy operations in Somali territorial waters and on the high seas off Somalia. A wide number of U.N. member states have responded by deploying their naval forces to the area. This includes the U.S., and many European Union countries (Russia, India, and Malaysia, to name just a few). NATO currently has an operation there, which will be replaced next month by the EU's Operation Atlanta. There is also the multi-national Combined Task Force-150, whose primary mission is counter-terrorism. So, in short, there are many U.N. member states responding. However, the U.N. does not have its own vessels. |
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| J. Peter Pham responds: |
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 Please see the answer to question four.
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