"U.S. naval forces said Thursday they've captured five pirates after exchanging fire with them, sinking their skiff and confiscating a mother ship.
The USS Nicholas was just west of the Seychelles in international waters Thursday when crew began taking fire from a suspected pirate skiff, NBC News reported. The Nicholas returned fire and disabled the pirate boat, then pursued the skiff until it finally broke down.
...Experts say piracy will continue to be a problem until an effective government is established on Somalia's lawless shores. The country has not had a functioning government for 19 years."
MSNBC
It's that last paragraph that bothers me.
Let's go back to the beginning of this story. Now, I'm not a pirate and I'm certainly not some poor kid from Somalia, impressed into piracy by a warlord. I don't know how they think or what their world view is.
But I do know this; a U.S. Naval ship, bristling with arms and the latest war technology, looks nothing like a freighter, tanker or yacht. There is no way in the world pirates would fire on one. Pirates are the ultimate capitalists, engaging in their occupation purely for profit. Where is the profit in losing ships and men?
Maybe the skiff was loaded with inexperienced pirates that couldn't tell the difference. While this may be true, my guess is that, since profit is the motive, no skiff would shove off without an experienced commander on board. Again, why risk their profit by sending out a raiding party that couldn't get the job done?
Profit, or at least the promise of it, has been the only thing protecting those taken prisoner by the pirates. The warlords that control the pirates have threatened retaliation if governments begin to go after their ships; retaliation in the form of the deaths of hostages. I suspect they're being honest in this regard because it's the only real leverage they have. If we've taken their guys prisoner you can expect to hear demands for their safe return or hostages will be executed.
And that's why that last paragraph in the story caught my eye. War has always been used as a means of bringing countries out of depressions. We've gotten ourselves involved in plenty of them of late but maybe another would be just the thing. Also, I suspect that our President may have a warm spot in his heart for Africa and Indonesia in general which may prompt him to believe we need to help the people of Somalia; help them to establish a "functioning government". Contrary to what groups such as Code Pink would have you believe, nation building is not a conceit purely of the right.
So I say that we need to watch this story carefully. I think that there is more here than has been reported. Something just doesn't seem right about a skiff attacking a frigate.
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