More thoughts about pirates
I’m confident that the suggestions I gave yesterday could stop piracy, but there’s one HUGE weakness in it. The reason the international community hasn’t already ended piracy is simple - the pirates don’t kill their hostages. It is very hard to justify a dangerous commando operation to save hostages when historically, the likelihood is that those captive sailors are being treated like guests. Guests who can’t go home perhaps, but who are well fed, allowed to talk on their phones, and given access to whatever comforts their own ships can provide.
Now compare that to the fate of the French yacht passengers that were rescued in a daring commando raid. The yacht’s owner actually died in that skirmish, and it was entirely possible that other passengers could have been killed as well.
Taking serious action against pirates means that sailors who otherwise would have been released unharmed (after a ransom was paid of course) could be killed, along with the marines who try to rescue them. But until governments decide that piracy is a sufficiently serious threat that some casulaties are acceptable, the pirates will continue to have a free pass. Personally, I think I’d probably support further actions like the French commando raid, but it’s not a decision I wish were mine to make.
However, if the pirates have already begun trying in earnest to sink US vessels, the equation changes drastically. If the Liberty Sun attack really was the first salvo in the pirates’ war with us, we’ve got to quash this threat immediately, even if it means the inevitable deaths of some civilians. Without hesitation, our government has to be willing to take the fight to the pirates and win at any cost.