TW: With the hijacking and subsequent rescue of the American sailors off Somalia, the piracy in that area has achieved a new level of publicity at least here in the U.S. The pirates have been operating extensively for many months now despite the presence of significant naval forces from numerous nations. Superficially the ability of pirates to operate effectively in the 21st century seems ludicrous, but as Galrahn at the Information Dissemination site articulates, it should not be.
The pirates are low tech and well-disguised amidst the thousands of legitimate fishing vessels circulating over thousands of square miles of sea in the area. No matter how many nations and how many hundreds of millions of $ are devoted to the problem, conventional naval forces will struggle to subdue the pirates unless extremely broad and politically unrealistic rules of engagement were deployed. Even then the probability of success would be dubious and potentially hundreds of non-combatants would be likely casualties in the process.
To date the pirates have focused on money, not personal harm. With this week's actions, things may escalate. Galrahn's site provides a more or less centrist (as opposed to the lets bomb kaht chewing bastards to smithereens types on some of righty sites) and well-informed take on all matters naval. If you are interested in following the Somalia situation, I would highly recommend his site. Below are links to three of his stories providing background and suggestions on how to address the issue.
From Information Dissemination:
"...But even when military action is reserved for only the most dire circumstances, and as precise as what was demonstrated today, every Presidential decision to use military action carries trickling effects, and these three bullets will have that effect
Somali pirates were quick to vow revenge over the shooting of their comrades, as well as a French military assault to rescue a yacht on Friday.
"The French and the Americans will regret starting this killing. We do not kill, but take only ransom. We shall do something to anyone we see as French or American from now," Hussein, a pirate, told Reuters by satellite phone.
When the Secretary of Defense began the week discussing the need to bring asymmetric warfare to the table at the DoD procurement buffet, no one could have predicted the week would play out in a way to prove it. For the first time since WWII, the United States is being openly challenged at sea, not from a military force of a major power capable of challenging the US Navy, rather a band of clan brothers who are vowing to stalk Americans on the high seas, and "do something."
The Navy may soon find themselves in an asymmetric war because the Somali pirates didn't get their ransom money. This probably won't be seen as bad thing with many, right up until the point American merchant mariners are being executed. The escalation from piracy to maritime terrorism will leave many questioning a law enforcement approach [TW: this refers to the alternative of aggressive military action on land relative to the pirates]. Like I said, when it comes to the issues of Somalia the Obama administration is facing a complex series of choices where none of the options are any good.
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2009/04/somali-pirates-vow-revenge.html
Why ending the piracy is easier said than done:
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2009/04/somalia-piracy-backgrounder.html
Some ideas on what to do differently than we have been:
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2009/04/observing-obama-administration-somali.html
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