Pshaw! They're not pirates, just plain terrorists

by David Grand
April 22, 2009

Blackbeard, the most infamous pirate who ever roamed the seas, would rise from his watery grave (with his head re-attached to his body after it was cut off by his British captors) to rage against those raggedy-ass Somalis considering themselves to be full-fledged pirates, who don't even fly a black Jolly Roger flag with a white skull and crossbones.

And nor do they come close to matching the longevity of the Barbary Pirates, who were Muslim pirates who operated off of North Africa from the time of the Crusades (11th century) until the early 19th century.

It was in the First and Second Barbary Wars (1801-1805, 1815-1816) that the United States initially crossed horns with pirates sailing off the Barbary Coast.

As regards Somali, a lawless country dominated by violent clan-led based militia groups led by warlords, the U.S. had been there before:

In 1992, Somali was plunged into a severe famine (killing 300,000 people), with U.S. and UN troops sent in to protect the delivery of food. When Somali leader Mohamed Aidid challenged their presence in the country, a force of United States Army Rangers and a Delta Force contingent set out to capture officials of Aidid's militia in the capital city of Mogadishu.

Nineteen American soldiers died as a result of their helicopters being shot down. Their bodies were then dragged through the streets by angry Somalis, and with videos showing them eating the flesh of a helicopter pilot and crew members.(That tragic incident caused an about-face in U.S. willingness to involve itself in the fate of that ungoverned country.)

But in 2007, the U.S. lunched air strikes against Somali Islamists, who it was believed included members of al-Qaeda involved in the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Nairobi and Tanzania.

Now, however, we find ourselves in open conflict with those hijackers, that was kicked off when they attacked the USS Bainbridge, a destroyer sent out to engage them. And rather than endangering the lives of his crew, after they came aboard waving their AK-47's, the captain allowed himself to be taken as a hostage.

But three accurate shots by U.S. Navy Seals' snipers to the heads of his captors freed the captain.

Unfortunately, though, it didn't deter the pirates in the least, who over the weekend following his rescue attacked four ships in retaliation for the slain pirates, and vowing "to kill hostages taken from foreign ships they capture, if their respective countries attack us."

So, from what I can tell, the questions are, how much longer will the United States and other countries tolerate their ships being hijacked and its citizens held for ransom? (Last year there were 42 "successful" attacks and 20 so far this year.)

And how effective can the international task force be in patrolling the 1-million-square-mile area around the Gulf of Aden, with only 15 ships currently at sea? (I'd be like that little Dutch boy trying to hold back the sea by putting his finger in a hole of the dike.)

The only long-term solution for ending piracy is, I believe, to take the battle to their shores, rather than continuing to play a costly and often deadly game of hide-and-go-seek.

In the meanwhile, cutting off the head off a pirate and hanging it from the bow of a destroyer-a la Blackbeard's-as a warning to other pirates would be worth trying, and make for colorful pictures in the media.