22 Comments

1. Maggie:

The fact that the Somali pirates are not afraid of us is not why we have piracy. We have piracy because we have dithered on the matter of Somalia for years. This situation has been deteriorating for years and now….now?….we want the Somali pirates to fear/respect us? Civilization has left Somalia to stew in it’s own juices, out of our sight and off the radar of most Americans. The “civilized world” has turned a blind eye to their suffering and exploitation at the hands of some of our allies. We did nothing to enforce the rule sets when Somalia was the victim. Now it’s in our faces and it will take more than a “show of force” to resolve.

Apr 11, 2009 - 11:18 am 2. Stephen Green:

Wow, Maggie.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the Blame the Victim Card played with such force. If either presidents Obama or Bush had shown half as much resolve, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Apr 11, 2009 - 11:30 am 3. Maggie:

Stephen Green – I believe you misread me. My advocacy of a powerful US military is second to no one’s. My love and admiration of the US Navy is beyond measure. I have had the great honor of being at sea as a guest of the USN.

My point is that piracy is not caused by this Administration’s apparent failure to embrace and employ the vast power at it’s disposal. This situation has been brewing for a long time. Most Americans are just now becoming aware of the matter because now it involves an American. There are easily more than a dozen other hostage situations involving other foreign nationals as we write/read these words.

Nothing I said should be construed as blaming CAPT Phillips, his crew, the Maersk shipping company or the US for CAPT Phillips current situation. Frankly, I don’t see why anyone would see my comments as “blaming the victim”.

My point is that it will take more than a show of force by USS Bainbridge, USS Halyburton & USS Boxer to solve this situation for more than the very short term.

The whole “fear us” thing is childish. Our military force is supposed to be a last resort. We are the greatest, most powerful nation, but it should be a force for good. It shouldn’t just be a means to go about smashing poor pathetic bastards the second they irritate us.

Apr 11, 2009 - 12:33 pm 4. Carol:

“There are easily more than a dozen other hostage situations involving other foreign nationals as we write/read these words.”

Yes, Maggie, there are hostages from several other countries languishing in the hell that is Somalia. Why? Because the pirates have been taught that the consequences of their action is a great big payday. They have been taught that they have no need to be afraid. Now that they have attacked Americans we can either fortify their current mindset or we can stand up and make them think again. For the sake of all future American mariners who venture to those waters I say make them think again.

Apr 11, 2009 - 1:59 pm 5. The Sanity Inspector:

If this was the 19th Century, we could expect a flotilla of gunboats to steam into a harbor and spend a few days shelling the port. Such was the fate in those days of misbehaving tropical countries with conveniently open coastlines.

Apr 11, 2009 - 2:06 pm 6. Carol:

Further Maggie, you sound like one of those “context” people. You know, “we must consider the context in which these types of situations occur”. Blah, blah, blah. Here’s the only context that matters:

1. An American ship has been attacked
2. An American is being held hostage
3. Time to kick some Somali ass

Hope I cleared that up for you.

Apr 11, 2009 - 2:11 pm 7. bgates:

It shouldn’t just be a means to go about smashing poor pathetic bastards the second they irritate us.
Agreed. We shouldn’t use the military just because some other country gives an award to an outspoken anti-American, or chants slogans against us, or portrays us as the source of the world’s problems in their movies.

We should wait until foreigners commit acts of war or piracy against us.

We shouldn’t use our military against people like you who are merely irritants, we should use it against the people you’re vociferously defending, who are outlaws. People like you should be treated with withering contempt.

Apr 11, 2009 - 2:32 pm 8. Maggie:

Carol – In your first comment you state – “Now that they have attacked Americans we can either fortify their current mindset or we can stand up and make them think again. For the sake of all future American mariners who venture to those waters I say make them think again.” I agree, I have written nothing to the contrary. What does that have to do with the discussion at hand?

The original statement in the post that I am taking issue with is “That is why we have piracy.”. And again I say – We do not have piracy because Somaili prirates have no fear of Americans. We have piracy because of a complex set of circumstances. The title of the post is “It’s So Simple” and I say – No, it’s not.

If you think my comments mean that I want the pirates to get away and suffer no consequence, you have incorrectly inferred such.

In your second comment you say – “you sound like one of those “context” people”. There you are quite correct. These are serious matters and they require thoughtful consideration.

bgates – “the people you’re vociferously defending” LOL! You need to brush up on the old reading comprehension skills pal! But I’ll try to break it down for you. In this current episode, there is a victim. He is the very brave CAPT Phillips who deliberately placed his life in danger to save his crew from harm. In the overall problem of Somali piracy, it is not so black and white. Above all, it is not simple. I am not defending the criminals holding CAPT Phillips. I am saying that you will not stop piracy in the Gulf of Aden until you see the big picture…..in context.

Apr 11, 2009 - 3:58 pm 9. I am McGehee, bitches.:

The title of the post is “It’s So Simple” and I say – No, it’s not.

What, then, is the prescriptive difference you would have with Stephen, if any?

And if none, why argue about this?

Apr 11, 2009 - 5:12 pm 10. JRDickens:

I think Ms. Maggie is making this situation far more complicated than it really is.

To me the solution is one of VERY simple logic. Kill all of the pirates and they will no longer bother you. My 2 year old could figure that one out.

Apr 11, 2009 - 6:04 pm 11. Good Ole Charlie:

As far back as late Republican Rome the solution was the same. Kill, capture, intimidate.
Remember Julius Caesar…captured by pirates he told them he would return and crucify them. Ransom paid, JC returned, captured, crucified them. He put up the crosses at the entrance to a main harbor where the remains hung for a while.
Funny, no more piracy in those waters…
Veni, vidi, vici…it works, folks.

Apr 11, 2009 - 7:28 pm 12. jon:

That’s a nice solution, JRDickens. And afterwards, we can end world hunger by giving everyone a hearty meal.

The question is, how do you get there? Somalia doesn’t have just a few ports, but many. The pirates are operating out of small boats at small ports, and they sometimes live further away from the shoreline since some of them have trucks (note to Sanity Inspector: this isn’t the 19th Century.) Somalia doesn’t really have a government but instead has a bunch of warlords who have marginal control over regional and criminal enterprises. To stop piracy, there must be a plan to either replace or buy off all these warlords. In the end, there must be a stable government in Somalia. I imagine we could prop on up for a time, but it really isn’t a strategic need except in the case of pirates and piracy. There are some Islamist nutjobs in the region (possibly including some American Somalis operating in Ethiopia, according to an NPR story I heard this week,) but really not enough to justify the wholescale invasion necessary to bring this kind of thing to an end.

I think paying off the Ethiopians and Kenyans to take over is the best option. Too bad Ethiopia is crazy enough to want to and Kenya not crazy enough to even think about it.

Apr 11, 2009 - 7:48 pm 13. ...Max...:

May I repeat?

- Mine the coastal waters.
- If access roads are critical (re: trucks), mine them with artillery deployed mines.

Why won’t it work?

Apr 11, 2009 - 10:05 pm 14. Jim Treacher:

Wow, Reuters really did delete that quote, didn’t they? Orwell wept.

Apr 12, 2009 - 3:14 am 15. jon:

Yeah, it will blow things up, …Max…. So I guess you could say that it would work. But the legitimate fishermen trying to feed their families and make a living in ways that don’t bother international trade will go kaboom in numbers that would make our lazy pirate hunting look a bit less than effective. Ditto the roads, as there will be lots of dead men, women, children, and probably goats lining the thoroughfares of Somalia. I’m sure every last one of them will blame the pirates. And no bad PR, either.

Maybe some private merc groups can look up Q ships and some insurance company can put up bounties for pirate heads. I certainly haven’t heard any better ideas.

Apr 12, 2009 - 5:13 am 16. ...Max...:

Shorter Jon: military action against pirates is ineffective; effective military action against pirates is unacceptable.

Conclusion: prepare for more piracy.

Apr 12, 2009 - 12:26 pm 17. Captive Captain Saves President Obama - Caleb’s blog - RedState:

[...] fired upon our men of action, who nevertheless could not likewise act in kind. Their defiant lack of fear inspired their fellows to target other American vessels. All while the community organizer in chief [...]

Apr 12, 2009 - 12:47 pm 18. jon:

All we have to do to have effective military action against cowardly kidnappers is be willing to let the hostages die and the ships they took be destroyed. Only then can we really take out this threat. I don’t see a huge consensus that this is the best course of action, at least not from the ships’ crews, the boats’ owners, their insurers, or anyone else immediately involved in these events. Maybe this will change, maybe it won’t, but I’d advise waiting for them to fuck up rather than performing risky actions that endanger hostages.

Apr 12, 2009 - 12:54 pm 19. jon:

Just read that SEALs killed three of the four hostage-taking scumbags and the fourth is currently answering questions. Captain jumped off and got away. Good for him. Good for the Navy. Good for the good guys.

Apr 12, 2009 - 12:59 pm 20. Piracy Thwarted — The New Clarion:

[...] upon our men of action, who thus restrained could not yet act in kind. The terrorists’ defiant lack of fear inspired their fellows to target other American vessels. All while the community organizer in chief [...]

Apr 12, 2009 - 4:03 pm 21. Raven:

Maggie, We do, indeed, have piracy because the pirates do not fear us. That is why WE, the USA, have piracy.
WE did not suffer piracy during President Bush’s term, not because he took action against pirates (which, honestly, he should have), but because the pirates were afraid that he would if they acted against US interests.

Other nations are suffering piracy because They are not feared. Now We are not feared and now We have piracy.

You are arguing about why there Are pirates. And you’re still wrong. Pirates, like kidnappers and all other criminals exist because those people believe the benefits are greater than the risks. Period. There is no other reason. There has never been any other reason. There never will be any other reason.
Individuals may have their personal gripes (and many are even legitimate), but they do not turn to a particular activity to voice those complaints or to take revenge unless they think the benefits are greater than the risk. And you’re still wrong, even when it concerns the root cause of piracy in general. Instill a little fear and suddenly the perception of the risks goes up and the perception of the benefits goes down. Piracy is significantly reduced, if not eliminated.

Apr 13, 2009 - 10:05 am 22. Thomas F:

Dear Jon
Until we fly predator drones in the middle of the night and blow up every ship/boat/canoe/skiff that floats, and I mean every last one of them, yes even the precious fishing scowls, and blockade the ports on the coast, as well as board every ship at sea to be inspected, and sink the ones that resist this problem is not going to end, just wait 6 months a year at the most there will be another American ship taken and when that happens, it will not have a storybook ending.

Apr 14, 2009 - 12:06 pm

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