Modern Piracy: A Legitimate Can of Worms

Piracy in the shipping lane off the coast of Sommalia has been an issue for several years. It is another one of the world problems ignored by our former president. Perhaps he had a good reason. It is not an easy fix. 

President ‘Bama took it upon himself to act, sending out the cavalry in a high profile event, where the captain played hero, sacrificing himself. Call it a perfect platform to stage a show of opposition. Trouble is, reacting to one incident, regardless of its success, is not going to take care of the proplem. We have only succeeded in opening a can of worms. They’re going to start stinking in a minute if we don’t continue what we’ve started. Our action has already caused an immediate spike in pirate activity. The piracy events have until know been reasonably civilized. I expect them to turn mean.

Like every thing we do lately, our response was ill thought out. This is not a problem that will go away quickly. We should have been dealing with it in an intelligent way from the beginning. It is not too late to do so now. This is a world proplem, and to our credit, many nations have become involved, even the French. Just we attack the problem poorly. A few big clumsy war ships are not a viable answer. We need a more agressive and proactive approach.

It is a problem for the shipping companies, as well as the world they supply. The companies and world governments need to sister together, sharinng the exspense, in a two pronged strategy, cohesive and prolonged. First, equip the vessels to defend themselves against attacks. Second, invest in intelligence and use it to irradicate the source of these small bands prowling the sea.

It won’t be cheap. It won’t be easy. It will be effective. I don’t see anything else that will work. Correct me if I’m wrong.