Somali Pirates Murder with Impunity

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 23, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                             

              After hijacking and murdering four U.S. citizens Feb. 22 off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, Somali pirates continue to flout international law making treacherous shipping in the heavily traveled waters around the Horn of Africa.  Despite multinational naval security forces in the region, Somali pirates continue to hijack ships, take hostages, demand ransoms and kill innocent victims with impunity.  President Barack Obama faces an implacable challenge to finally do something about the renegade criminals that now plague international shipping.  Watching oil prices spike above $100 a barrel because of unfolding chaos in Libya, world oil prices can’t know stability until the U.S. takes a stand in Somalia.  Instead of cleaning up Somalia’s terrorists in 1993 under former President Bill Clinton, the U.S. cut and run, now facing far worse problems.

            In one of the most shameful boondoggles in recent U.S. history, the military had its head handed to it in Mogadishu when warlords and al-Qaeda-backed terrorists shot down two Blackhawk helicopter, killing 19 marines and dragging dead U.S. soldiers through war-torn streets of Mogadishu.  Had the U.S. stayed in Somalia, purged the area’s terrorist nests, worked with the U.N. to install t a stable government, the international community wouldn’t face today’s lawlessness and criminal gangs plaguing Somalia and its shipping lanes.  Somali central communist government collapsed in 1991, leaving the north, central and south carved up to various warlords, supporting the criminal gangs conducting today’s piracy.  Attempts to create Oct. 14, 2010 a temporary national authority called Transitional Federal Government under diplomat Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed have failed.

            Since taking losses Feb. 22, the pirates announced they would send for more arms and reinforcements.  Four Somali pirates were killed and 15 taken into custody by the U.S. Navy, leaving the current state of war.  When captured Somali pirate Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse was sentenced Feb. 16, 2011 in Lower Manhattan, the pirates have declared war on the U.S. and its allies.  Executing Maria Del Rey-based Jean and Scott Adam and Seattle-based Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggie reflects pirates’ growing desperation, realizing blackmail no longer produces the same results.  Holding 30 hijacked ships and some 660 hostages, the U.S. can no longer dither around with dangerous criminal gangs.  Whatever resources the U.S. military uses to go after terrorists, they must do the same with pirates.  Somali’s lawlessness beyond its borders forces the U.S. to act.

              After hijacking the Adam’s 55-foot sloop “Quest” and taking hostages Wednesday, the pirates fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an approaching U.S. warship.  When negotiations broke down, the pirates knew there was no ransom.  “What we’re seeing is that because of the business model the pirates have adopted is so lucrative that you’re now getting organized into criminal gangs involved as opposed to fisherman who just decided to go at piracy,” said the EU’s anti-piracy force Wing Commander Paddy O’Kennedy.  Knowing the U.S. no-negotiation posture, the pirates have called in reinforcement, threatening to massacre currently held hostages.  “In the past, 20 or so soldiers used to guard every ship but now the numbers are ranging between 60 and 70 soldiers,” said pirate Andowe Osman Ali, confirming that Somali gangs are gearing up for ongoing war.

            Winding down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama must stop messing around and take a stand against today’s menace in the Horn of Africa.  Apart from clearing shipping lanes for the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, the U.S. can’t ignore an act of war without losing global credibility.  No other country has the resources to moral authority to take action other than the U.S.  While others worry about losing arms’ deals, the U.S.. must consider Somalia’s threat to international shipping and global economy.  “We are more alert than anytime before,” said Ali.  “In the past, we allowed foreign navies to approach us but now we have warned them to no get near to use,” signaling the new state of war.  With ransoms now averaging about $5 million and going up, the global shipping industry can’t afford more lost ships and personnel.  Obama can no longer ignore a menacing global problem.

              Working with his EU friends, Obama can no longer ignore a forceful military response to finally purge Somalia of pirate gangs currently tormenting global shipping in the Indian Ocean.  White House officials must craft a new foreign policy on Somalia comparable to its one on global terrorism.  Today’s multinational police action isn’t enough to discourage Somalia’s criminal gangs from desisting.  Like U.S. terrorism policy, the response must be a coordinated military action designed to take the fight to the enemy, not simply react to periodic provocations.  “We have been killed and arrested illegally before, so we can’t bear with such attacks anymore.  We will respond to any future attacks aggressively,” said Somali pirate Abdirahman Abdullah Qabowsade confirming the current state of war.  No one other than the U.S. has moral authority and resources to get the job done.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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