by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright April 15, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

           Freeing U.S. cargo ship Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates April 12, President Barack Obama faces some daunting decisions.  Somali pirates have declared war on the U.S. threatening to hijack and kill U.S. sailors.  Sunday’s dramatic rescue, where Navy Seal snipers on the deck of the U.S.S. Bainbridge struck their targets, killed all three Somali pirates.  Somali pirates view their criminal operation as harmless, Robin Hood on the high seas.  Yet warlords routinely send out hit-men to hijack and take hostages, attacking victims when facing resistance.  An April 10 French commando rescue of pleasure craft left its captain and two pirates dead.  French Naval forces were busy again April 15 intercepting a pirate “mother” ship used to ferry speedboats and supplies to pirates, preventing an attack on the Liberian cargo ship Safmarine Asia 550 miles of the coast of Mombasa, Kenya.

            Responding to the shipping crisis in the Horn of Africa, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton promised to redouble efforts to track down and freeze assets of Somali pirates.  “We may be dealing with a 17th century crime, but we need to bring 21st century solutions to bear,” said Clinton at a Washington press conference.  She avoided responding directly to recent pirate threats against the U.S.  “We will seek out the Americans and if we capture them we will slaughter them,” said 25-year-old Ismail, a pirate connected with the group that abducted Capt. Phillips.  Since freeing Capt. Phillips, pirates have gone on a rampage, capturing three more ships and 75 crew.  On April 14, they fired rocket-propelled grenades at another U.S.-flagged ship, damaging the hull but causing no injuries.  Whether admitted to or not, the U.S. finds itself at war with Somali pirates.

            Somali pirate have now vowed to attack all American-flagged vessels.  “We will target their ships because we know their flags.  Last night, American-flagged ship escaped us by a whisker.  We have showered them with rocket-propelled grenades,” said Ismail, who did not take part in the attack on the Liberty Sun.  U.S. authorities must do more than freeze pirates’ assets.  They must find and destroy their bases of operation, leaving them on the run.  Interdiction efforts can’t possibly succeed, nor can Navy escorts through Somalia’s Gulf of Aden en route to Egypt’s Suez Canal.  American or French ships can’t proceed through the Horn of Africa without added security.  U.S. authorities must recognize the danger and do what is necessary to protect its cargo ships.  Pirate hideouts must be identified and the U.S. must defend its commercial and national security interests.   

            Global shipping companies have inured themselves over the last 20 years to the risks of piracy, building ransoms into the costs.  With pirates vowing to attack U.S. ships and “slaughter” U.S. citizens, the status quo has changed requiring new strategies.  When President Barack Obama met with the G-20 in London April 1-2, he vowed a new multilateral approach.  He now faces his first international crisis requiring coordinated effort while, at the same time, recognizing his responsibility as commander-in-chief.  Much criticism was leveled at former President George W. Bush for his unilateral approach, sometimes called “cowboy diplomacy.”  Barack found out quickly he can’t wait for U.N. approval or multilateral action to protect U.S. citizens or American interests.  Somali pirates attacked April 14 the U.S. cargo ship Liberty Sun with rocket-propelled grenades.  While it warded off the hijacking this time, the U.S. can’t afford to wait for the pirates next move.

            Bush got it right going after al-Qaida and the Taliban in the wake of Sept. 11.  Passive diplomacy won’t prevent future attacks or make U.S. shipping safer in the Horn of Africa.  Attacking the Liberty Sun with rocket-propelled grenades is an act of war, warranting a forceful response to pirates’ bases sponsoring the attack.  Whatever mistakes Bush made in Iraq, he put al-Qaida and the Taliban on the run, making future attacks more difficult.  Paying ransom to Somali pirates only makes a bad situation worse.  Barack did the right thing to free Capt. Phillips but he must now finish the job attacking Somali bases with U.S. airpower.  There’s no need to repeat the mistakes of Mogadishu, where former President Bill Clinton sent in the Delta Force, resulting in18 dead soldiers.  Pinpointed air-strikes at key bases can neutralize Somali pirates, opening up vital shipping lanes.

            Somali pirates now hold 280 sailors and 15 ships.  No civilized nation can support hijacking and hostage-taking on the high seas.  Five ships and another 80 sailors have been hijacked since Capt. Phillips was freed on April 12.  Kenyan authorities estimate that Somali pirates are on a record-braking pace in 2009, having raked in around $150 million in 2008.  Despite the presence of warships from 12 countries, the Horn of African remains the most dangerous shipping lanes on the planet.  More than 20, 000 ships cross the Gulf of Aden to the Suez Canal each year.  Pirate attacks have been steadily rising since 2003, with 79 attacks in the first four months of 2009, compared with 111 during all of last year.  Since there’s no ruling authority in Somalia and no real channel for diplomacy, Obama must take preemptive action to protect U.S. commercial interests and national security.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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