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The responsibility is ours. The net downside of such a spill is so extreme that essentially any non-military action necessary to effect a successful extraction
by ISL 6y ago
The responsibility is ours. The net downside of such a spill is so extreme that essentially any non-military action necessary to effect a successful extraction of the oil is likely to be worthwhile.
- mschuster91 6y agoGiven the tensions in the region, anything is risky. Perhaps the only ones who could pull it off are the Swiss, but that doesn't solve the question who will pay for the effort, and who will get whatever remains when the salvaged cargo and ship is sold off. My personal wild guess: nothing will happen, the ship will break apart, no one will dare and try to contain it for fear of getting targeted by someone's warship or drone, and only the nations who can afford it will clean up their coasts.
- ars 6y agoThe Swiss? They don't even have a navy as far as I know. Realistically the only one who could do this is the US. But the US may not want to fight the Houthi, which would probably be necessary.
- ISL 6y agoThe US paid the Russians to help them secure their nuclear material in the greatest masterstroke of nonproliferation of all human history, we can do a similar thing with the Houthi. Everyone wins. If a major food supply fails in the Middle East, we might see another mass-migration like that driven by the Syrian conflict. Whether we like it or not, everything today is global.
- nradov 6y agoWhy is this a US responsibility? The UK, France, India, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Russia, and China are all closer and have significant naval forces which could reach that tanker.
- ISL 6y agoBecause we live on the planet and others haven't yet stepped up.
- nradov 6y agoSo on that basis you're willing to sign up US military personnel to risk their lives, and US taxpayers to foot the bill? The Yemeni littorals are an active combat zone. https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/5497/us-destroyer-attacked-by-anti-ship-missiles-from-rebel-controlled-yemeni-territory https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/5497/us-destroyer-atta...
- GreeniFi 6y agoAgreed. And the owners billed.
- cbozeman 6y agoEven military action to affect successful extraction is worthwhile. Every thing has a cost. Everything. Its very simple calculus really. What will be the short-term, medium-term, and long-term damage in dollars and lives of allowing this ship to break apart? What will be the equivalent of using military action - if necessary? Either decision will cost dollars. Either decision will cost lives. We either pay up front, or we pay down the road, but we will pay. We need to determine the cheaper cost and steel ourselves to pay it.
- nradov 6y agoAnd which countries should conduct that military action?