Patrick Goodenough at CNSNews.com assesses the evidence:
(CNSNews.com) - Gunmen who attacked a luxury cruise liner off the east coast of Africa may have been terrorists targeting Americans and other Westerners rather than pirates, the Australian government said Monday.An armed gang on two speedboats fired machine guns and a rocket-propelled grenade at the Seabourn Spirit as the Bahamas-registered ship sailed about 100 miles off the Somali coast in the early hours of Saturday morning.
More than 300 passengers and crew -- mostly Americans, but also Britons, Australians and others -- were on the vessel, one of three ships comprising the Miami-based Seabourn Cruise Line, when the attack occurred. One crew member sustained a shrapnel injury.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said it was possible the attackers were terrorists rather than pirates.
Pointing out the size of the 10,000-ton liner and the fact the heavily-armed attackers had fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at it, he suggested that they may have intended to damage the vessel and hurt people onboard rather than seize the ship -- the usual goal of modern-day pirates.
"Attacking it -- even if you've got a rocket-propelled grenade -- and taking the ship over, that seems to me to be a little improbable," he said in one of several broadcast interviews.
"But damaging the ship and killing people, which might have been their motive, that's something they could have easily done if the rocket-propelled grenades had worked properly."
Noting that the ship was based in Miami and had many Americans onboard, Downer said the assailants may have seen it as a U.S. target.
"Somalia is a country which harbors a number of terrorists, we believe, so it's conceivable these people were terrorists," he said, but added that "we really can't draw any hard and fast conclusions at this stage."
The Seabourn Spirit left Istanbul on Oct. 9 on a 47-day cruise that ends in Singapore late this month. It had been heading for Mombassa in Kenya but after the attack it changed course and sailed for the Seychelles.
It would anchor off the island nation and, according to Downer, U.S. experts were on Monday expected to go onboard to disarm unexploded ordnance that had been left embedded in a suite on the vessel.
Surge in attacks
Piracy is a serious problem in parts of the world, with the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait shipping land between Singapore and Malaysia particular problem areas.
Most ships targeted are cargo vessels or tankers, which carry small crew complements.
Maritime security experts have long warned that Muslim extremists could adopt pirates' tactics in a bid to seize a ship to use in a terrorist attack of some kind -- blowing it up, scuttling it to block a crucial sea lane, or using it to ram into a shore facility.
Although Southeast Asia has been the primary focus of that concern, East Africa also struggles with Islamic terrorism, and the waters off Somalia have become increasingly dangerous.
Isn't piracy and raids traditional Mohammedan business?
Terror comes with it, just as a reminder in the mail....
I agree with sheik yermami. There is no contradiction between piracy and jihad, as we know from history. Moreover, the purpose of the attack could have been both piracy and terrorism.
I know Giles Milton's 'White Gold' has been mentioned many times on both Jihad and Dhimmi Watch, but allow me to do it again. In it you will find a very good description of an historic 'Jihad on the high seas'!
Nothing new under the sun...
I have been waiting for a media response to this failed "hijacking". One characteristic of pirates is stealth. Most of the first-hand accounts from crew members aboard pirated vessels seem to indicate the pirates being on board before the crew knew what was going on.
Failed piracy attempt? I doubt it. This was another brazen attack against US citizens that will go unanswered.
Remember, the Blackhawk incident in Somalia emboldened the terrorists back in 1993.
Pres. Jefferson went to war against the Barbary pirates so that U.S. commerece could continue unmolested in the Mediteranian. Hence; "from the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Triploi"
I think you're all way off, here. It wasn't jihad or piracy ...it was the 'others' coming to nab Walt.
Sheesh! I thought it was obvious...
The National Post carried a good article today on this attempt (no link unfortunately). Who knows what the attackers motive was but I suspect that terrorism and piracy may go hand in hand. What I did find interesting was how the pirates could attack in small boats that far out to sea (160 km. - about 100 miles). This didn't add up - no one ventures out to sea in small, outboard powered craft. While making his escape, the captain of the Seabourn Spirit reported hearing a distress call from another nearby ship saying it was under attack. The captain stated this was a ruse and the pirates came from a rusted old "mother ship" located at sea. In addition to acting as a mobile base, the ship would also be able to detect passing shipping with its radar.
While it may be a terror attack, the pirates might well of thought this an opportunity for a good payday. BTW - the mother ship must be an inviting target for a U.S./British submarine in the area.
Jihadis martyred on the high seas, as opposed to on land, receive double credit in heaven, if I'm not mistaken. I believe this piece of the islamic puzzle was instigated very early in the initial naval attacks on Constantinople and Byzantium in general.
Emerson:
Yikes - does that mean they get 144 virgins? 72 may be OK, but 144 does seem a little over the top.
It does seem odd, but so does sex after death.
The Byzantine navy was quite formidible in the 7th century and was used to transport troops across the empire, and to protect the sea lanes of the Mediterranean. The Arab bedouins, not known for their sea-faring ways needed a little push to go to sea on jihad and this was it.
Hey gang....check out the cartoon at this link.....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1518016/posts
74 Mermaids...
Dr. Pepper:
That's good!
How would anyone really be able to tell the difference between an act of piracy and and an act of jihad at sea? The difference is somewhat blurry--not all piracy is Islamic, but Islamic terror at sea could conceivably be categorized as 'piracy'.
The fact that Somalia is a hot bed of Islamic terrorism would indicate this incident was probably jihad or jihad-related. And it is probably safe to assume so.
With all this going on along the 'bounding main', I guess it pays to be 'chicken of the sea'.
Emerson:
"Jihadis martyred on the high seas, as opposed to on land, receive double credit in heaven, if I'm not mistaken."
Where did you see that? Their Navy must be huge!
The only writing regarding double credit I could find was:
Ishaq:469 “On the day the Qurayza Jews were slain, one Muslim was martyred. A stone was thrown on him and it inflicted a shattering wound. The Apostle said, ‘He will have the reward of two martyrs.’”
So if martyred by a Jew (or cursader/people of the Book) then double your winnings! If in Canada, the metric system must be applied.
...Crusader!
"Yikes - does that mean they get 144 virgins? "
Gross.
Time for cruise ships to carry rocket launchers ...
or as the good Dr. Pepper said, Mermaids, is fish halal?
From Anwar Shaikh:
The Prophet said:
"The one who receives martyrdom in a sea-battle is equal to two martyrs of a land-battle..." (Ibn-E-Majah, Vol. 2, p. 168)
6. The Prophet said: "He who reared a horse for the sole intention of using it in a Jehad, then he will be rewarded one virtue for each grain he gave the horse as a feed." (Ibn-E-Majah, Vol. 2, p. 172)
7. The Prophet said: "If a man participates in a Jehad for only as long as it takes to milk a she-camel, he becomes entitled to paradise." (Ibn-E-Majah, Vol. 2, p. 173)
8. The Prophet said: "The superior Jehad is the one in which both the crusader and his horse are wounded." (Ibn-E-Majah, Vol. 2, p. 173)
9. The Prophet said: "A martyr (in Jehad) is dressed in radiant robes of faith: he is married to houries and is allowed by Allah to intercede for seventy men (i.e. he is authorized by God to recommend seventy men for entry into paradise, and his intercession is sure to be granted.) (Ibn-E-Majah, Vol. 2, p. 174)
Here's the link to Anwar Shaikh's "This is Jehad"
See chapter 1, "Jehad and Paradise"
http://islamreview.org/AnwarShaikh/jehad/chapter1.html
If its not clickable, sorry, I don't know how to to do that.
The Islamic Prirates go back to the Barbary Pirates who during the first years of this country, the United States had made treaties with the Barbaries, who were from North Africa and Muslim. The treaties involved Shipping Lanes in the Meditterian. THese Pirates broke their treaties and began piliging Our ships and taking the crews hostage, many ot them into slavery.
The US Navy was built specificly to confront these pirates, which cummulated to the invasion of Tripoli by the Marines in 1805.
Our first foreign war was between Muslim Pirates and and our Nation.