NATO TAKES ON THE PIRATES - AT 9:40 A.M. ET:

ON BOARD NRB CORTE-REAL (Reuters) - NATO forces foiled an attack by Somali pirates on a Norwegian oil tanker, and briefly detained seven gunmen after hunting them down under cover of darkness, NATO officials said Sunday.

It was the latest assault by sea gangs from Somalia who have hijacked dozens of ships, taken hundreds of sailors hostage and made tens of millions of dollars in ransoms -- defying an unprecedented deployment by foreign navies in the region.

The violence has disrupted aid supplies, driven up insurance costs and forced some firms to route cargo round South Africa.

Michael McWhinnie, a spokesman on the Canadian warship Winnipeg, said it, a British naval supply ship and U.S. warship Halyburton all responded after pirates attacked the 80,000-tonne MV Front Ardenne in the Gulf of Aden late Saturday.

COMMENT:  Good on NATO.  Oh, note the last paragraph.  The U.S. has a warship named the Halyburton.  Can you imagine what the psychotic left will do with that?  Halyburton?  It's CHENEY.  He's back!  They even control the ships!  Watch, someone on MSNBC will start a rumor that Halyburton is working with the pirates.

April 19, 2009