FromTheSouth
You don't want it with me.
As we all know by now, pirates set foot on an American vessel for the first time since 1804. The captain of the Maersk Alabama is still being held hostage. He is one of 200 men being held in the area of Somalia by Pirates. Somalia is the Port of Call for most of the pirates in that region. Somalia is a largely poor and lawless nation. These pirates are heroes pulling millions of dollars in booty and ransom. However, they have completely disrupted shipping in the area. There are several options available to the world.
1. Arm ships. The crews of most of these ships are unarmed. They have high pressure hoses and barbed wire at the most. The pirates, meanwhile, have assault rifles, grappling hooks, and rocket propelled grenades. The simple solution seems for the shipping companies to provide weapons for their crews.
There are some problems with this idea. First of all, the probability of escalation is uncountable. Untrained men firing weapons on oil tankers seems like a good movie, however, the highly flammable fumes could ignite with a mere muzzle spark. Furthermore, could anyone imagine the problems associated with an oil tanker full of armed Iranians pulling into an American port? A simple misunderstanding could begin World War III.
2. Military escorts. The idea of adding military escorts in this region seems like a move in the right direction. Armed escorts would alleviate concerns over shipping. However, what nations would participate? Of course, while every nation sits back and bitches about America's policing of the world, they would simultaneously expect America to pick up the risk and the cost. The first time something went slightly off of plan, the condemnation of the world would spill upon us. Then what? We stop, and with no mandate to protect those ships, everything starts up again.
3. Kill them all. The Chinese have struck down a mother ship in the region. The French have stormed the ships. The only thing left is to drop bombs on all the mother ships. Now, I'm not condoning a Global War on Pirates. These guys don't have mountains, mosques, and houses to hide in. We know what to look for. They are in open water. We could drop a few bombs, a few laser guided missiles and be done with the problem. Of course, once again, we solve a problem, and Europe finds a problem with us. At some point, Europe will turn on us, even if we are acting in their interests as well.
Anyone have a better idea? I think that this problem has so many variables at this point, that any actions will be scrutinized and criticized. Someone must act, however, and protect mariners jsut trying to do their job.
1. Arm ships. The crews of most of these ships are unarmed. They have high pressure hoses and barbed wire at the most. The pirates, meanwhile, have assault rifles, grappling hooks, and rocket propelled grenades. The simple solution seems for the shipping companies to provide weapons for their crews.
There are some problems with this idea. First of all, the probability of escalation is uncountable. Untrained men firing weapons on oil tankers seems like a good movie, however, the highly flammable fumes could ignite with a mere muzzle spark. Furthermore, could anyone imagine the problems associated with an oil tanker full of armed Iranians pulling into an American port? A simple misunderstanding could begin World War III.
2. Military escorts. The idea of adding military escorts in this region seems like a move in the right direction. Armed escorts would alleviate concerns over shipping. However, what nations would participate? Of course, while every nation sits back and bitches about America's policing of the world, they would simultaneously expect America to pick up the risk and the cost. The first time something went slightly off of plan, the condemnation of the world would spill upon us. Then what? We stop, and with no mandate to protect those ships, everything starts up again.
3. Kill them all. The Chinese have struck down a mother ship in the region. The French have stormed the ships. The only thing left is to drop bombs on all the mother ships. Now, I'm not condoning a Global War on Pirates. These guys don't have mountains, mosques, and houses to hide in. We know what to look for. They are in open water. We could drop a few bombs, a few laser guided missiles and be done with the problem. Of course, once again, we solve a problem, and Europe finds a problem with us. At some point, Europe will turn on us, even if we are acting in their interests as well.
Anyone have a better idea? I think that this problem has so many variables at this point, that any actions will be scrutinized and criticized. Someone must act, however, and protect mariners jsut trying to do their job.
