$2 million: average ransom obtained by the Somali pirates per ship.
1,080 feet: the length of the Saudi MV Sirius Star supertanker hijacked Nov. 15, 450 nautical miles from the coast of Somalia, and loaded with 2 million barrels of crude oil.
$25 million: the ransom that the pirates are demanding for the supertanker.
3: number of ships taken ransom since the supertanker was hijacked.
39: the number of successful hijackings out of 92 pirate attacks in Somalia this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
220: the number of hostages being held in Eyl.
250%: the increase in the cost of staple foods over the last 12 months in Somalia because of inflation.
77%: the increase in the number of Somalis in need of humanitarian aid since January, according to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
8: number of Somali pirates charged in a Kenyan court yesterday.
5: the age at which 25% of the country's children die.
quotes:
Sugule Ali, the pirates' spokesperson, said, “Killing is not in our plans,” he said. “We only want money so we can protect ourselves from hunger.” When asked why the pirates needed $20 million to protect themselves from hunger, Mr. Sugule laughed and said, “Because we have a lot of men.”
Fatuma Abdul Kadir said she went to a pirate wedding in July that lasted two days, with non-stop dancing and goat meat. "It was wonderful," said Fatuma, 21. "I'm now dating a pirate."
Roger Middleton, an African analyst at Chatham House in London, said, "The average income in Somalia is around $650 a year, but a low level pirate can earn up to $10,000 per raid."
Mohammed Abdel Salam, a national security expert with Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said, "We are not talking here about conventional pirates but about organized gangs who have a lot of money, weapons and demonstrate organizational abilities and good knowledge of ship technology that allow them to catch ships quickly."
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Is Osama Bin Laden using some old connections to get out of Pakistan? Far fetched you may think but get to know your history before you say no chance.
When Russia invaded Afghanistan, Bin Laden helped the Mujahadeen (7 known splinter groups) by recruiting fellow Muslim freedom fighters from around the globe. Our intel concluded 44 different Countries had people volunteer, mostly Middle East and North Africa, and yes, including Somalia.
Bin Laden also owned a type of Travel Agency with a business partner (he had him killed in 89). This Travel Agency was for the sole purpose of transporting these volunteers into the area. Maktab Alkida mat was the name of the Agency. As you can see, Al Qeada was part of this name in a sense. This Agency was started in 1981 or 82 depending on which intel you see.
Bin Laden was able to use his wealth to invest in shipping for the transportation. One route would pick people up by starting in Tanzania and going up thru Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, past Oman and right to Karachi Pakistan, home of the World Islamic Council, which by the way was funded and created in 1949 with the help of Saudi Arabia.
Look at Somalia today and you see a destablized governement where in many parts they are trying to instill Suria law just like the Taliban likes. Look at the Pirate activity and their ability to use mother ships for reaching out. Add in the sudden increase in this activity, could it be a distraction for all the Navies in the area?
Now throw in the closing of supply routes thru Pakistan lately for ease of movement. Don't forget the possibility of bribes for some people in Pakistan to look the other way while he slips into a small pleasure boat or fishing boat to get out to Sea and board a larger vessel, which of course would not be one used for Pirating.
Do you still think this is far fetched? Want more? Let me know how wrong I am by going thru my rerouted e-mail at maynardmaynardl88@yahoo.com and let's see where we get Bin Laden and Aymen Al-Zawahiri and maybe even Mullah Omar and who breaks the story.
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