Pirates!
The attack on the Meresk Alabama, the heroic actions actions of its captain and the capture of one of the pirates has brought what many thought was an old problem to the forefront. The fact that piracy, some of it supported by terrorists, has been a problem in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia for decades, has been ignored until now. The sad thing is that now that we are recognizing the problem, we have a president who has shown no willingness to be hard on terrorists or pirates.
In the old days, men convicted of piracy were hung outside of large ports to serve as a warning to other mariners who may be tempted to follow in their footsteps. Two hundred years ago we would have tried this criminal and hung him in some port in Somalia to serve as a warning to any of his countrymen who may be tempted to attack another US flagged vessel. Instead, we are going to have a show trial, more like a circus probably, and if the man is even convicted, he will spend his days in conditions far better than those in Somalia, at our expense. When word gets back to Somalia that their compatriot is given three squares a day and a comfortable bed as his punishment, they will be emboldened, just as terrorists who end up in Club Gitmo with constitutional rights and the possibility of being tried and released in the United States are emboldened.
The fact of war is this, and this fact applies to criminals, terrorists or belligerent states. The only way to deter aggressive behavior is to make the consequences of their actions when caught exponentially more horrible than the possible rewards. That is why so many politicians are crooks, there are rarely any consequences for their behavior. The only way to curb piracy is to eliminate the pirates. Piracy and terrorism are basically the same thing, there are simply different goals. The terrorist wants some political reward, the pirate wants a financial one. Piracy, because it is rarely ideological, is easier to cure because few intelligent men and women are willing to risk their lives for money. That is because criminals are basically cowards and why states that have concealed carry laws have lower crime rates.
On the high seas, the pirates know that merchant vessels are unarmed and if they can get past the water cannons, they have the possibility of great reward with little real risk. If, however, there was a security contingent on board who would not hesitate to shoot with real weapons, the pirates would avoid vessels from nations who have so secured their commerce. Over and above that, we have the most powerful navy in the history of the world but it it is not allowed to fire a shot, what is the point? Intimidation will not work if the other side knows you are bluffing. If a group of young men is cruising around armed to the teeth, they need to be stopped and if they don’t stop, blown out of the water. Men who take up the life of pirates or terrorists are violent men who only understand the language of violence. It is time we dropped the Politically Correct mumbo-jumbo and spoke a language they understand. The lives of good people from all seafaring nations depends on it.
In the old days, men convicted of piracy were hung outside of large ports to serve as a warning to other mariners who may be tempted to follow in their footsteps. Two hundred years ago we would have tried this criminal and hung him in some port in Somalia to serve as a warning to any of his countrymen who may be tempted to attack another US flagged vessel. Instead, we are going to have a show trial, more like a circus probably, and if the man is even convicted, he will spend his days in conditions far better than those in Somalia, at our expense. When word gets back to Somalia that their compatriot is given three squares a day and a comfortable bed as his punishment, they will be emboldened, just as terrorists who end up in Club Gitmo with constitutional rights and the possibility of being tried and released in the United States are emboldened.
The fact of war is this, and this fact applies to criminals, terrorists or belligerent states. The only way to deter aggressive behavior is to make the consequences of their actions when caught exponentially more horrible than the possible rewards. That is why so many politicians are crooks, there are rarely any consequences for their behavior. The only way to curb piracy is to eliminate the pirates. Piracy and terrorism are basically the same thing, there are simply different goals. The terrorist wants some political reward, the pirate wants a financial one. Piracy, because it is rarely ideological, is easier to cure because few intelligent men and women are willing to risk their lives for money. That is because criminals are basically cowards and why states that have concealed carry laws have lower crime rates.
On the high seas, the pirates know that merchant vessels are unarmed and if they can get past the water cannons, they have the possibility of great reward with little real risk. If, however, there was a security contingent on board who would not hesitate to shoot with real weapons, the pirates would avoid vessels from nations who have so secured their commerce. Over and above that, we have the most powerful navy in the history of the world but it it is not allowed to fire a shot, what is the point? Intimidation will not work if the other side knows you are bluffing. If a group of young men is cruising around armed to the teeth, they need to be stopped and if they don’t stop, blown out of the water. Men who take up the life of pirates or terrorists are violent men who only understand the language of violence. It is time we dropped the Politically Correct mumbo-jumbo and spoke a language they understand. The lives of good people from all seafaring nations depends on it.
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