Well we live in interesting times, as the Chinese curse goes. The Somali pirates are at it again, and they've given the world's reporters a new lease on ye olden coverage. This times, it's not about a hostage situation, but still another attack on an aid ship. In fact, there have been two more pirate attacks, going after international booty.
A day after Capt. Phillips was freed from captivity at the hands of Somali pirates, another batch attacked an American freighter carrying aid and supplies, but were unsuccessful in taking the ship. Shortly after that incident, yet another band of pirates were caught by a French troops when they stormed a pirate supply ship...a seafaring reversal of fortune. Eleven pirates were captured and the ship seized. This has been called a "mothership" by the French. In other words, a ship taken in a previous raid, then used to launch smaller, faster boats in order to take control of loaded cargo at sea.
As we can all agree, the as-yet undecided fates of some sixteen people from various countries still held by pirates, is a very bad thing. We are not getting to the crux of the problem. Unfortunately, as news comes out about the pirates, it may get worse. It's estimated that last year alone, the work of pirates earned their organizations over $150 million. That's a lot of reasons to be a pirate. Now we've decided the meet them with the might of the U.S. Navy, and threaten to escalate with more ships in the area.
When has escalation solved anything? We've already seen that the pirates and radical Islamic groups have talked about joining forces. According to an Associated Press article, one Somali who was captured in the French raid said:
We will seek out the Americans and if we capture them we will slaughter them...We will target their ships because we know their flags. Last night, an American-flagged ship escaped us by a whisker. We have showered them with rocket-propelled grenades
We need to protect our ships, yes. But we need a plan to also stop this problem at it's source. To make the Somalis uninterested in piracy. To have them find other means to make money, to be profitable in the world today without taking up arms and capturing ships at sea for their cargo. The Obama presidency has marked a return to intelligence instead of gut force reaction. We need to see this new way of how the U.S. faces the world put into action here, and now.
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