People often like to romanticize the high seas pirates of a few centuries ago and call them swashbucklers, adventurers, etc. Think of Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, or even the fictional “Jack Sparrow” of Pirates of the Caribbean. Truth is, most of the old pirates were sociopath bastards who thieved for a living (even the “licensed” ones with letters of mark).
That’s why it should be enlightening for these folks when stories of the Somali pirates come out. They recently attacked a cruise ship with machine guns and RPG’s, and, according to eyewitnesses account, seemed to be having an enjoyable time. It appears they have a mother ship that’s been spotted a few times and they’ve even taken seven ships and their crews captive. Arrr, just like the pirates of yore getting their booty and galley slaves.
This has been a big problem along the Somali coast since Somalia’s government is practically non-existent and the country is run by warlords who are probably also doing the pirating. It’s also, however, along a busy trade route and commercial businesses frown upon their ships, crews, and goods getting shot at. So what to do?
Some of the world’s leading shipping bodies called on the U.N. to urgently address the issue.
Since the UN has no power in the region (and has actually proven itself to be incompetent there) and no navy to police the place, this seems like an excellent idea. What has the UN done with its terrific might?
On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council criticized Somalia’s squabbling government and urged rival factions to work to confront the chaos and piracy plaguing the lawless nation.
The council expressed “serious concern” about the recent wave of pirate attacks off the coast, and urged regional powers and international bodies to address the problem urgently.
Ouch. Nothing stings more than strongly worded letters. Just look at how Iran and North Korea quake before the UN’s serious concern.
Of course, if people really wanted to take care of the pirates, they’d ask the U.S. navy to patrol the coastline and do some housecleaning. It’s unlikely that Somalia would take such action, though, since they probably still hold a grudge against us trying to salvage their godforsaken hellhole almost 15 years ago.
Ahoy there, I have wanted to write a short semi-defense of pirates for a while and your scurvy entry encourages me to do that.
This will be a defense of pirates of the caribean type pirates, not modern day pirates. Those scalawags should walk the plank!
Arrgh!
Comment by Pete The Elder — 11/12/2005 @ 3:00 pm
A Semi-defense of Pirates
Ahoy there! Dangerous Dan wrote about the recent Somali pirate attacks here: People often like to romanticize the high seas pirates of a few centuries ago and call them swashbucklers, adventurers, etc. Think of Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, or even the…
Trackback by Pete The Elder — 11/15/2005 @ 7:02 pm