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Possible Terrorist attack on French tanker!
Posted: 2002-10-06 06:51pm
by Sea Skimmer
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2303363.stm
A French tanker 3 miles off the coast of Yemen exploded, after the crew reported a small boat approaching at high seas. The French suspect terrorism and American sources say it's a possibility. Yemen of course claims it must have been an accident
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:04pm
by Master of Ossus
Oh well, it was a French tanker, anyway.
Seriously, though, why would a terrorist go after a French tanker? The French are the ones that are buying all of the Arab world's oil illegally, and are usually in good standing with Muslim extremists--the only kind that could get into Yemen without suspicion.
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:06pm
by Azeron
hmmm....maybe the french are slated to be killed along with the US, and foriegn policy has nothing to do with terrorist attacks....nahhhhh!!!!!
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:10pm
by Mr Bean
Oh well, it was a French tanker, anyway.
So have the French Surrenderd Yet?
Just kidding though I'm going to mail that one of To The Onion if it was terriosim
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:12pm
by Sea Skimmer
Master of Ossus wrote:Oh well, it was a French tanker, anyway.
Seriously, though, why would a terrorist go after a French tanker? The French are the ones that are buying all of the Arab world's oil illegally, and are usually in good standing with Muslim extremists--the only kind that could get into Yemen without suspicion.
Tanker is a tanker. Doesn’t matter which one you hit, you still affect all traffic in the area. Iran demonstrated with in the late 80's. If this happens again Lloyds will start pulling coverage for gulf oil traffic, and where going to have to convoying them again, or there going to have to be armed. If this was terrorism and they claim reasonability, the economic costs are going to be very high for the West in general.
This is also my 1500th post! Hahaha I'm now a Jedi Council member! Now for the fireworks. The 15 and 11 megaton fireworks..
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:13pm
by Kuja
Master of Ossus wrote:Oh well, it was a French tanker, anyway.
Seriously, though, why would a terrorist go after a French tanker? The French are the ones that are buying all of the Arab world's oil illegally, and are usually in good standing with Muslim extremists--the only kind that could get into Yemen without suspicion.
So what? Some of these people are truly psychotic. Maybe they saw red/white/blue and hyped them selves up, thinking it was a US ship.
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:42pm
by Grand Admiral Thrawn
Heh, if it was a terrorist attack, maybe they'll send a few battleships over.
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:46pm
by Sea Skimmer
Grand Admiral Thrawn wrote:Heh, if it was a terrorist attack, maybe they'll send a few battleships over.
Why exactly would we want to wait 18 months and spend a minimal of a half billion dollars to respond?
Posted: 2002-10-06 07:48pm
by Grand Admiral Thrawn
Sea Skimmer wrote:Grand Admiral Thrawn wrote:Heh, if it was a terrorist attack, maybe they'll send a few battleships over.
Why exactly would we want to wait 18 months and spend a minimal of a half billion dollars to respond?
I don't mean a real battleship as in a
Iowa I mean a Media Battleship, as in anything over 50 meters long and armed with anythin above .50 cal machine guns.
Posted: 2002-10-06 10:02pm
by Hyperion
anyone got more info on this? pics?
Re: Possible Terrorist attack on French tanker!
Posted: 2002-10-06 10:06pm
by Kuja
Sea Skimmer wrote:
Isn't that all you need?
Posted: 2002-10-06 10:25pm
by Hyperion
i saw it AFTER i posted, it's ok, but not very good...
Posted: 2002-10-06 10:30pm
by starfury
So what? Some of these people are truly psychotic. Maybe they saw red/white/blue and hyped them selves up, thinking it was a US ship.
that is true, they hate anything that remotely has western influences, they are messed up.
Posted: 2002-10-06 10:40pm
by Sea Skimmer
Hyperion wrote:i saw it AFTER i posted, it's ok, but not very good...
Check NBCi.com they have a better picture taken from shore, but its part of some screwy flash thing.
Strange thing is none of the picture I've seen show any more form of fire fighting efforts. Though given that’s it Yemen they likely don’t have anything outisde of Aden that could combat tanker fires and the resulting slicks. In which case its better to let it burn rather then risk a more extensive spill which washesup on shore.
Posted: 2002-10-06 11:04pm
by Enlightenment
Seems some members of Al Qaida have been singing the Islam song again:
Allah Allah Allah Alllah Allah <BANG>
These 'guys' are like human buzz bombs. When the chanting stops, they detonate....
Posted: 2002-10-06 11:33pm
by Azeron
It looks like its been pretty much comfirmed as a terrorist attack.
So this leaves whats europes response to this. Now I hear that this rapid reaction force is supposedly ready by now (its not). If it gets into Europes head that these people just want to kill anyone who isn;t a muslim, what will they do? Negotiate or condemn the US for causing this...somehow? Maybe the US will veto Euro unilateralism in responding to this act through the UN. bahaha.
Boy euroland wasted all that good will after 9/11, I don;t think americans givbe 2 shits whether europe gets overrun by muslims and they institute the sharia on them. oh well, don;t have a decent military guess what happens.
Guess no need to visit europe since the religous police will be beating all the good looking chicks and stuffing them into burkas. have fun living in an islamic republic!!! I will send you postcards reminding you how bad it is living in facist america with john aschroft!!
Posted: 2002-10-06 11:45pm
by Sea Skimmer
The best solution is just to bolt six stabilized 25mm mountings onto each ship, Stern, bow, front corners of the superstructure and another two amidships. Hire some ex Pakistani army personal to man them. The reduction in insurance rates is likely much greater then the cost of hiring 20 people from such a poor country. Accommodations might be an issue though. There are also restrictions on armed vessels, but I think the Gulf States would not greatly mind, and the mounts can easily be removed for entering other ports.
Also ships need to keep away from the shore to avoid being hit by a land based weapons, a couple mortars or a salvo of anti tank missiles could set fire to a tanker. However this tanker was evidently stopped waiting for a pilot to guide it into port, so it would not have had a choice.
The other option short of convoying, though it is a limited one, is to charter some of the Russian fleets UNREP vessels. These have been doing civilians runs for some time, but most are armed and have naval crews. Several months ago some Pirates tried to attack one off Malaysia. The ship opened fire its radar directed 57mm cannons..
However only about a dozen such vessels are in service so it’s a very limited option.
Posted: 2002-10-06 11:55pm
by Newtonian Fury
One of the easiest terrorist tactics is disrupting economy. Attacking tankers is pretty risk-free compared to hijacking a plane. We should expect more of this (or attempts) in the future.
Posted: 2002-10-07 12:08pm
by Colonel Olrik
I just saw the recent developments on the news. It seems the boat was really packed with explosives.
But the terrorists are insane. Do they really want the E.U more commited in the war? That's what going to happen..
Posted: 2002-10-07 12:27pm
by Admiral Piett
Azeron wrote:It looks like its been pretty much comfirmed as a terrorist attack.
So this leaves whats europes response to this. Now I hear that this rapid reaction force is supposedly ready by now (its not). If it gets into Europes head that these people just want to kill anyone who isn;t a muslim, what will they do? Negotiate or condemn the US for causing this...somehow? Maybe the US will veto Euro unilateralism in responding to this act through the UN. bahaha.
Boy euroland wasted all that good will after 9/11, I don;t think americans givbe 2 shits whether europe gets overrun by muslims and they institute the sharia on them. oh well, don;t have a decent military guess what happens.
Guess no need to visit europe since the religous police will be beating all the good looking chicks and stuffing them into burkas. have fun living in an islamic republic!!! I will send you postcards reminding you how bad it is living in facist america with john aschroft!!
What are you saying? For all that we know now it may well be a stupid sailor
who thrown a cigarette in the wrong place.
In any case no one cares about it.It is barely in the news today.
Posted: 2002-10-07 12:41pm
by Azeron
But the terrorists are insane. Do they really want the E.U more commited in the war? That's what going to happen..
Whats the EU going to do? Sound really mean, adn denouce them? The EU has bark, but no bite.
Posted: 2002-10-07 12:46pm
by Admiral Piett
Azeron wrote:Whats the EU going to do? Sound really mean, adn denouce them? The EU has bark, but no bite.
Why are you insisting that we should use the "shoot first and ask questions later" approach?As I said we are not even sure that it is a terrorist strike.
And no one has been caught by hysteria or is suggesting to nuke Yemen
(BTW France could do that if they wanted).
edit
apparently it was a terrorist strike,although it is not official yet.
Do you really expect that the average european citizen would wage war for some poor turkish sailor injured?
Last time I checked the USA does not nuke every country in which someone destroys a Mc Donald.
Posted: 2002-10-07 02:39pm
by Sea Skimmer
Admiral Piett wrote:Azeron wrote:It looks like its been pretty much comfirmed as a terrorist attack.
So this leaves whats europes response to this. Now I hear that this rapid reaction force is supposedly ready by now (its not). If it gets into Europes head that these people just want to kill anyone who isn;t a muslim, what will they do? Negotiate or condemn the US for causing this...somehow? Maybe the US will veto Euro unilateralism in responding to this act through the UN. bahaha.
Boy euroland wasted all that good will after 9/11, I don;t think americans givbe 2 shits whether europe gets overrun by muslims and they institute the sharia on them. oh well, don;t have a decent military guess what happens.
Guess no need to visit europe since the religous police will be beating all the good looking chicks and stuffing them into burkas. have fun living in an islamic republic!!! I will send you postcards reminding you how bad it is living in facist america with john aschroft!!
What are you saying? For all that we know now it may well be a stupid sailor
who thrown a cigarette in the wrong place.
In any case no one cares about it.It is barely in the news today.
That blew a 12x12 foot hole through a ballast tank and into the inboard oil tankage, and then induced it to explode? That takes a significant amount of firepower, crude with smother a cigarette before it burns. Only a significant external explosion could have done this.
Loylds of London will care, and thats what matters.
Posted: 2002-10-07 02:44pm
by Azeron
You think France should nuke countries if a terrorist strike occurs? Don;t you think france and the EU would be better off with an inbetween option?
Posted: 2002-10-07 02:46pm
by Knife
All of the Save the Earth people in Europe and around the world will care. Thats alot of oil seeping into the sea.