Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Piracy ... Why Do We Allow It?

Somalia, a country that is the combined Italian and British colonies is lawless. As such it is time to stop legitimization of this place by calling it a country. It is simply a place for competing warlords to congregate without interference by government. It is also the center piece for modern piracy on the high seas.A crime that is and has been internationally recognized since the ancients roamed the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.International treaties have long existed, allowing any country to capture and prosecute pirates.

Why, then with satellites and modern detection devices,are these criminals getting away with this. For years, we have been supporting small groups of commando type warriors. Ours are Navy Seals and Delta Force. Both groups are highly trained in vertical development, a term meaning they can drop out of the sky in a number of ways, most of which are undetected until they want to be discovered.

With large ships with crews still living aboard, could be captured intact with crews rescued.Our satellites have undoubtedly pinpointed the exact location of each of these captured vessels. Why, then haven't we made piracy cost more, by capturing and hanging them from the yardarm as in past centuries?

The answer lies in having the will to do so. If governments are so afraid to take that last drastic step of wading in, capturing and releasing crews, we will continue to make instant millionaires of these crooks that even have managed to elicit sympathy for the poverty in their country from some of the media. It is time for our president to man up and do what needs to be done. Other countries also have elite troops that could be coordinated with. Patrolling the waterways to avoid piracy is not effective unless and until we and other countries go in after the captured vessels, cleaning out this rats nest. Not since we sent in marines at Tripoli, have we been faced with a problem of this magnitude. It needs to be handled in the same way.

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