Word up to the Shoddy Arabian F.M. - maybe you could hire these guys…they’ve already got a small army and an air “arm”; I’m sure they’d be willing to set up a “marine security” operation - for a certain consideration, of course…

Good ol’ American free-enterprise doesn’t come free, y’know.

That international enough for you?

ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME SOME OF THESE COUNTRIES GREW SOME TESTIES AND BLEW THE BASTARDS OUT OF THE WATER? I AM BEGINNING TO THINK THAT ENTIRE CONTINENT SHOULD BE NAPALMED(OR NUKED)!

If I understand the “legal” thinking here, the “great” powers are unable to use force against these half-a$$ pirates because if captured they’d be tried under Sharia law. Ok fine. Sounds like they can’t do much of anything down there, so…

Job Opportunity: Crew Wanted for Anti-Piracy armed patrol actions. Share in any funds recovered. Sliding pay scale based on combat experience and marksmanship testing. Medical and Dental plan available, profit sharing and retirement. Equal Opportunity Employer. Funds payable to offshore accounts.

Business Opportunity: Hey shippers and insurers! Tired of paying ransom for your commercial shipping activities around the Horn of Africa? Don’t want to pay that next $20M Ransom? Contact us and we’ll not only recover your vessel but shoot the sh!t out of the pirates for half what they demanded. (franchise opportunities available)

So Bill, where do I sign up for those web ad thingies?

From martinra’s cite:

Indian Navy sinks pirate mothership during bold stand-off in Gulf of Aden - Times Online

For the pirates who carry out the attacks, the allure is that of riches, the likes of which would be impossible to attain in their poverty-wracked homeland.

I’m seeing this meme floated more and more by Europenises and other lefty bleeding hearts. For instance, from the cite in my post:

Analysts said, however, that the seizure of the Sirius Star exposed the use of foreign warships as “a sticking plaster” that would not solve the problem. “Maritime security operations in that area are addressing the symptoms not the causes,” said Jason Alderwick, a maritime defence analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

…The limitations of naval action are refocusing international attention on the conflict within Somalia, where the rule of warlords, the lack of a functioning government and resulting anarchy have spawned the piracy epidemic. The Somali President admitted this weekend that his Western-backed transitional Government was on the brink of collapse, with fighters from the ousted Islamic Courts regime bearing down on Mogadishu.

Washington was instrumental in the ousting of the Islamic Courts, backing Ethiopian troops to throw them out for fear that they would make Somalia a haven for extremists. Since then piracy has soared and, should it worsen – and the violence in Somalia increase – pressure will grow on the international community to reconsider its support for the corrupt and ineffective regime, even if it means the return of the Islamist Courts.

In short, the same tired old left-wing “root causes” arguments that led to attempts to bribe the black community not to burn down their own inner-city neighborhoods.

And - oh, yeah, what else - this is the fault of the evil US government - in case we need to demand that “the parties responsible” deploy military force when the root causes arguments fail, as they always do.

One final thought: Do you suspect that the US Marines might be one outfit that wouldn’t feel helpless when confronted by Muslim pirates?

That’s all probably so, John Stephens, but I don’t want to generate all these inconvenient situations where our dear sweet lawyers have to get all bothered about human rights, asylum, and other such critically important issues. Appropriate weapon selection should prevent any such distressing situations from arising, and will also benefit the poor, endangered shark populations of the East African coastal littoral. It’s a win-win.