Piracy on the High Seas

Last Friday, an American couple on the journey of their lifetime, sailing around the world, had their 58' vessel hijacked by Somali pirates of the cost of Oman.  A few days ago, after attempted negotiations between U.S. navy vessels and the pirated yacht, the couple along with 2 others were killed.  We can all speculate why this happened, what could have been done to prevent this, but the truth is, none of us were there and the reports are varied.  Thats the news. Now, Somalia has been without a government since 1991 after civil war broke out.  Of course the U.S. played a role in this.  Lets jump back even a little bit farther to 1986 when 4 major oil companies secured contracts with the pro-U.S. government there to explore for oil and establish what would essentially be a new oil-based economy.  Up until the civil war broke out, the U.S. had been sending what they claimed to be humanitarian aid to the country in an attempt to help the poor starving citizens there.  As always with the U.S., it is never just about the humanitarian aspect.  Included in almost every humanitarian effort by our government is the desire to bring regional stability (reduce the prospect of terrorism) and increase the possiblity of financial exploitation.  There was no effort made to assist the government and its people to develop the oil fields on their own and possibly bring financial prosperity to their country.  All the major oil companies were foreign investors seeking to reap massive profits.  Now the oil fields were never expected to be as lucrative as those in Saudi Arabia or other countries in that region.  Perhaps that is part of the reason that when things went south (anybody remember Black Hawk Down?) we decided to cut our losses and remove ourselves from the conflict.  In Kuwait we made a much more concerted effort to protect much larger oil fields in a much smaller country.  Somalia is not as strategically important for the U.S. government as any of the Middle Eastern countries.  When we left, there was no strategic plan to develop democracy in the country or ensure the safety and welfare of its people, a true humanitarian effort.  As the country sank into anarchy over the ensuing decades, the warlords in control of their specific regions within the country profited leaving the majority of the population (unless closely affiliated with the warlords) to suffer immensely.  Lets jump ahead now to the present and the preceding years.  Somalia today has no effective economy per se, food is lacking, and overall morale is at a all time low.  Enter piracy.  At this point, I am going to do something drastic and take the point of view of the pirates and their situation.  Logically speaking, if there is no central government, no money flowing anywhere within the country, and the population generally left to fend for themselves; can we honestly say that we could expect this not to happen? If every avenue to build a life has been shut down and no one wants to help you, what recourse is there except to turn to force, piracy in this case, to build a life.  The majority of the people taken hostage by Somali pirates are treated well (given their circumstances) and held only for ransom.  The ships that are taken by the pirates hold no economic value to them with a non-existent economy.  The only means of making money that they have is to ransom these hostages for millions of dollars.  Given their circumstances, they have set up a brilliant system of making money.  Now let me state that in no way what so ever do I condone their actions or support them, but from their point of view there is no other way.  Have some people been killled?  Yes, but the current number of people being held, now close to 800, are treated well.   Why? because they are the only source of income that these people have.  It is a tragedy for the families of the people killed and I will not speculate as to what happened and why it turned out as it did.  But let me say this, violence begets violence.  If we, (meaning the U.S. navy)  enter into a situation expecting things to turn violent, then they often times will.  If you look at the times when people were killed in these pirate negotiations, most times, the violence was started by those trying to rescue the hostages.  In the most recent case, this doesn't seem to hold true, but for the most part it does.  Countries can discuss all the ways to "combat" piracy in the region that they want, but if there is really going to be a difference made, it must start again with the people in the country, humanitarian aid, and a concerted effort by our governments to actually deal one-on-one with these warlords to create a sustainable economy based not on oil, (unless they themselves are in control) but on the creativity of the people within that country.  Violence never inspires creativity, it stifles it, shoving it under the mat until peace comes returns.  Why do you think that our country itself has had its own innovations and creativity stifled?  It most likely stems from the fact that we pump billions of dollars into supporting foreign wars.  But alas, lets start by bringing a little peace into our own lives.  When that person driving next to you cuts you off, don't flip them off, take your foot off the gas and take a deep breath.  Life is too short to be angry.  Discussion tomorrow will remain in the African region, migrating to Libya and their despot Qadaffi.