We have had problems with Muslim pirates in our early history. It started when Jefferson was president and continued until Madison was president. The Navy and the Marines brought it to an end. The words in the Marine Hymn refer to it; “to the shores of Tripoli”. I used google to find information about the Barbary Pirates. The point is that force was required to stop piracy. I am convinced that force must be used in sufficient magnitude to stop it today.
Some have told me that the problem should be handled by the ship owners. That is probably right. There seems to be reluctance on their part. Over $200 million in ransom has already been paid and hundreds of crew men from many different nations are held hostage, with no end in sight. If there is a maritime rule that prevents merchant vessels from protecting themselves then perhaps it will take action from the United Nations. I believe all nations suffering from these pirates should come together and present a unified coalition. America does not have to do it alone.
Putting armed personnel on board with permission to repel hijackers with force would put a stop to this in short order. A better response would be to strike their bases wiping out their pirate “navy” and destroying facilities used to generate these attacks.
They are vowing revenge against America for the killing of three pirates and capture of the fourth. In my opinion that opens the door for America to use our naval forces to point out the futility of them carrying out their threat. As long as easy money can be made what other than force can put a stop to this outrage.
It is embarrassing to see us humbled by a rag tag collection of bandits.
Jack B. Walters
3961 N. Hillwood Circle
Tucson, AZ 85750
(520) 722-2958
April 12, 2009
jackbwalters@yahoo.com
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