Here There Bee (More) Pirates … and Might the Obama Administration Take Them Out?
We currently have a very blurry line between what is a crime and what is an act of warfare. In a world where all aggressors are not necessarily state sponsored actors there is a tendency to treat these acts as crimes rather than acts of war. Rarely are we presented with an opportunity to simply deal with perpetrators, because suicide bombers can tell no tales.
In the case of pirates, blowing them out of the water is a time honored solution. In order for pirates to be successful they need to take control of ships, get them to harbor, and off-load their cargoes. This requires some level of complicity on the part of whatever nation is providing them a harbor. Who is to say that Somalia doesn’t have such an arrangement with the pirates? What would be necessary to “prove” such an allegation? The third world is not as enamored with paper trails as we are, and it wouldn’t take an edict from the Somali government to sanction piracy, simply a harbor master who was getting a cut of the profits.
I don’t believe we need a judge to adjudicate when we have a Navy Captain on the scene and his ship is taking fire. I don’t believe that we need to risk the lives of his crew or Marines in taking pirates into custody, and pay for the expense of trying them. This wouldn’t even require a change in the rules of engagement, but simply a climate where confronted with pirates the commander has the broad lattitude to command.
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