Somali Piracy, Do Nothing Navies

Piracy is running rampant in the off the coast of Somalia. Warships from NATO, Russia, India and the United States patrol the waters. Despite the naval presence, the Somali pirates continue to take ships and crew hostage. And no end is in sight.

Remember after Sept. 11, 2001 when President George W. Bush stated that he would fight terrorist at all corners of the world? Remember when he said they would face American justice?

My question becomes why isn't the United States and other countries fighting the terrorists that are now coming out to sea? The world is basically sitting back and allowing the pirates to operate freely on the shipping lanes. Very few attacks have been repelled. French commandos raided on ship and freed the hostages. An Indian ship sank a pirate "mothership." What's the point of putting all that money, firepower and navies into the region if nothing is going to been done to fight the pirates.

The lack of action does nothing be embolden the pirates. All it takes in one ship and ransom pay off and they are set for life. The risks seem to be worth it because it appears that hardly any action is taken against the pirates.

That the world's governments can sit back and allow these wanton acts occur is completely unacceptable. There is no coordination between the navies. There is no concerted effort being made by anyone to repel pirate attacks. The navies aren't being proactive in combating piracy.

The world community needs to come together and create an action plan. Something that coordinates the navies and looks to repel the attacks. This isn't just one country's problem. It's a world wide problem. Lives, money and commerce are threatened. The pirates don't care what flag a ship flies or who is on board. If they can attack and hold a ship for ransom they will.

NATO has already gone on record as saying they won't enforce a blockade. For once, I think this would be an appropriate time for the United States to act unilaterally. Blockade the coast of Somalia. No ships in or out. Unless it's humanitarian aid don't let the ships in. No ship should be allowed out. Warn them once to turn around and then blow them out of the water. Besides blasting ships out of the water, the United States could start blasting suspected pirate strongholds. I even propose blowing up the new expensive houses that the pirates are building for themselves. Anything that will make life more difficult on them. Take the fight to them.

Right now a Saudi oil tanker sits still in pirate hands. It is holding an estimated $100 million in crude oil. I don't care who you are, that is not chump change. Eventually someone is going to get angry enough and take action. Why not make it a coordinated effort among several countries. If they can't end it at least make it extremely risky and expensive to venture out to open sea.