Opaque Lucidity

Going Old School

As you probably know, pirates operating from Somalia have seized nine ocean-going vessels in the past 12 days, including the supertanker Sirius Star, for which they are demanding $25 million in ransom. The ransom will undoubtedly be paid, as almost all ship owners do when confronted with a situation like this. And that course of action does nothing but promote even bolder actions by the pirates.

Several things need to happen with regard to the Somali pirates. First, we (perhaps a naval coalition consisting of the US Navy, the Royal Navy, and the Indian Navy) need to set up an exclusion zone off the coast of Somalia; any armed vessel entering the area faces immediate destruction. Second, find out which towns and villages these people call home and isolate them. If you cut off the pirates' land-based support system, they will soon find other work.

Finally, we need to deal with the nation of Somalia. Right now, it isn't a nation at all; it's a rabble of local warloads fighting for territory and power in an unending civil war. There are no easy answers, but a coalition of African nations could perhaps force some kind of power-sharing deal on the warlords. Otherwise, Somalia's long coastline is going to continue to harbor these terrorists.

One more thing: quit paying ransoms. Did we learn nothing from the Barbary Pirates?