IF OLE Captain Jack Sparrow has taught us anything, it’s that everybody loves a good pirate story.
Unfortunately, the recent events off the coast of Somalia don’t constitute a major blockbuster hit, but rather a serious breakdown in international maritime stability. The proliferation of piracy in this North African region is a truly global threat. While the Bush administration is working with other countries to confront the problem, it will surely carry over and give President-elect Obama one of his first great defense challenges. The U.S. response from here out must be clear: despite the ambiguity in international law and the political risks that more American military intervention overseas might cause, the security of the high seas must be restored. Both the stability of North Africa and the peaceful continuance of global commerce hinge on this precondition.
There’s no question about the significance of what’s been happening in the Indian Ocean this decade. The problem has only grown worse as time passes, with one of the most recent victims being a Saudi supertanker, the Sirius Star. According to the International Maritime Bureau, the pirates are currently holding 15 ships and more than 250 sailors for ransom.
One of the most interesting aspects of this situation is how it flies in the face of contemporary criminal trends. The term piracy, for example, is now almost entirely used to describe a form of digitized copyright infringement, often involving the music industry. This is because “real” pirates were mostly eradicated by the end of the 19th century. It is only recently that the problem has become widespread once again.
Unfortunately for sailors, these pirates have adapted well to modern times, making use of items such as GPS systems and high-tech weaponry. Equally problematic is the effect of technology on the victimized ships — because of more advanced navigation systems, even large ships can have relatively small crews. This makes capturing one and taking hostages all the easier.
As a result, even a small number of pirates can wreak havoc against supposedly mightier forces. And as countries give in to bribery in order to get ships and crew members back safely, the number of wrongdoers only increases. In this way, it can be equated with terrorism. Also like terrorism, it poses legitimate threats to our ability to conduct business as usual. Three years ago, pirates targeted a cruise ship carrying 150 passengers, including Americans. The ship managed to get away from the bandits, but the message is clear. We are facing an epidemic with global consequences.
There is a bit of good news. For several reasons, piracy is much more easily dealt with than other forms of terrorism. For one, the pirates have a specific goal in mind — money. Though they certainly are risk-takers and may appear defiant in the face of death, they have no interest in being killed. While the pirating began as a sort of vigilante activity, seeking to drive out foreign fishing from their local waters, the glory is less in the cause than in the result. This makes them a more conventional opponent, and thus one that is more likely to respond to conventional military action. U.S. supported policing has already proven successful against similar activities in the Asian Strait of Malacca, where piracy once threatened scores of ships passing through the sea lane. Multinational patrolling efforts have yet to stamp out ship attacks in the region, but the number of incidences has been curbed significantly.
The pirating off the Somali coast has been tolerated for far too long. Efforts have been made by the West to combat maritime offenses, such as Combined Task Force 150, which pools U.S. Navy resources with naval leadership from across the globe. This coalition is charged with patrolling over 2.5 million square miles of sea, however, and thus can be only so effective at combating more localized issues. Instead, a more concerted, multilateral military strategy is necessary. We’re seeing signs of one today, but not one with a long-term and coordinated focus.
The urgency of this problem cannot be denied. Though the United States can skirt involvement by rationalizing that the damage is being done thousands of miles away, the effects of a do-nothing policy would be disastrous. If we allow villains to make the rules of the sea elsewhere, it will send a clear signal the world over. If President Bush fails to adequately address this fact, then President-elect Obama must show the audacity to do so.
These days, Cap’n Jack Sparrow is starting not to look so bad.
Ross Lawrence is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at r.lawrence@cavalierdaily.com.
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