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The world has seen increased media coverage of pirate attacks of Spanish and English ships off of the Somali coast recently. This particular story details the release of Spanish hostages after the payment of a 3 million dollar ransom. Although the pirates were later captured, countless suspects still remain at sea, including pirates who are holding a British couple hostage for 7 million dollars.

The United States faced a crisis last spring when an American ship captain was held hostage on the high seas for days. Initial reports had indicated that he was killed, but we later learned that he survived thanks to a daring Navy SEAL operation. In this case, four pirates held the captain hostage, and SEAL snipers killed three of the pirates with simultaneous gunshots. The fourth pirate immediately surrendered and was transported to the US to face trial.

Some sympathizers may blame economic conditions as the cause for piracy (it may contribute) and therefore ask that ships either employ non-lethal tactics when responding to pirates or to pay off their ransom. These responses are flawed because they legitimize piracy as a profession. If Somali citizens saw that piracy was not a profitable profession but one with high risk of death, perhaps they would consider other means of making a living.

For a further analysis of Somalian piracy (with a slightly different perspective), I suggest reading the article Somalia’s Piracy Offers Lessons in Global Governance by Christopher Jasparro, Associate Professor, National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College.

Today’s pirate headline: Somali pirates vow to hunt down, kill Americans

The dangers of a failed state are multi-faceted, ranging from regional power-vacuum to breeding ground for terrorism. It is relatively recent, however, that the utterly imploded state of Somalia began to present the seemingly outmoded threat of piracy. To understand the nature of the modern threat, as well as the recent victory by the US Navy, it is necessary to understand the recent history of Somalia.

Long story short, Somalia isn’t a very nice place to live. There hasn’t been a functional, central government since 1991, when the Somali Civil War broke out. This Civil War was the cause of the instability and ultimate famine that forced international intervention in 1992, during Operation Restore Hope. Many Somalis resented the foreign intervention, however, and there was large scale resistance to the UN presence, culminating in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 (the famous “Blackhawk Down” incident). After US forces withdrew in the aftermath of the battle, the UN was forced to severely scale-back operations until the UN withdrew altogether in 1995. more