Analyzing Piracy to Death…Problem Solving Obama Style Versus a Simple Solution

posted at 7:55 am on April 16, 2009 by coldwarrior

You’d think that the seizure of the Maersk Alabama was the first time Somali pirates had ever engaged in this despicable act, if you look at the official US government responses of this past week.

The sole positive event among the rest of our government’s poor showing, was the rapid takedown of the pirates by dedicated Navy SEAL’s.  For that alone, I stand, once again, in awe of this young generation of real patriots in uniform.

But stand in awe of the Obama Administration?  I am in awe, but not in a good way.  Quite the contrary.

Where’s the leadership and decisions on those tough choices Obama keeps mentioning?

As the Maersk Alabama episode was unfolding this past week, in one of the HotAir posts I mentioned something to the effect that there are windows of opportunity to engage, that once passed, are gone.  In this case, that window of opportunity was immediately after the rescue of Captain Phillips, when the full might and power of the United States Navy, and that of any number of the 20-plus other nations taking part in the anti-piracy patrols along the Somali coast, should have been brought to bear on the Somali pirates, their mother ships, and their onshore ports and establishments.

Once Phillips was safe and clear of danger, portions of the Somali coast should have been laid waste, within minutes, along with a number of “mother ships” being sent to a watery grave.

Bellicose?  Perhaps.

But let me explain.

Our official reaction so far?

On 13 April, in an NPR interview, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff stated that there is “new urgency” in Washington about piracy now that for the first time in 200 years pirates captured a US-flagged ship.  He has ordered a “fresh look at potential military solutions and other less lethal ways to combat piracy.  That should strike fear in the hearts of the pirates.

On 15 April, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton proclaimed that the United States would “work with shippers and insurers to improve their defenses against pirates, as part of a diplomatic effort to thwart attacks on commercial ships.”  And that will add more complexity to a rather simple issue, of course.

She added that, “we need to bring 21st Century solutions to bear.”  Send them a strongly worded letter?  Take away their American Express Gold cards?

She then said we need to “explore ways to track and freeze pirate assets.”  Steal their goats?

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, on 14 April, said there is “no immediate need to bulk up the military response to piracy on the high seas.”    And, speaking at the Marine Corps War College in Quantico, Gates said that the pirates were “untrained teenagers with heavy weapons.”  16 years old, or 40 years old…they can still kill you.

Meanwhile President Obama has made it clear that “we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in the region and to achieve that goal, we’re going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks.”  And Obama will give more speeches.  Boring the pirates and our partners into submission?

I’ve spent enough time in Washington, and abroad, dealing directly with US foreign policy issues, and what is most bothersome is that the leadership of our diplomacy team, our defense team, our military, and the White House indicates clearly we are punting this issue down the field.

I might give Gates a pass, as his remarks appear to have been off the cuff, but the rest?

When you get to that pay grade, there are no official statements issued that have not been vetted, and parsing them carefully most often reveals the true intent of the statements.  It is a lawyers world, government.

Thus, let us make no mistake about it,  this Administration talks the talk, but we all may be very old indeed before they walk the walk.

It is not as if piracy, Somali piracy, in particular, suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and is such an awesome thing that no one in Washington can quite get their hands around the issue.

Or maybe, they really can’t.

I heard somewhere that using our Navy to go after pirates has been likened to using a sledgehammer to swat flies.      Well, these flies have heavy weapons, and access to even larger weapons, and currently hold nearly 300 hostages, as the number grows, and these pirates have taken half a dozen ships since Captain Phillips was rescued.

Unbelievable.

This nation doesn’t have an plan developed and sent to the region that actually addresses the pirates, and how to eradicate them?  Other than monitoring the situation, observing the pirates, and if luck allows, interdicting them after they attack?   That’s it?

And this piracy on the high seas is not limited to Somalia.  It is an old business, and a growing business from Singapore to the Philippines, to the West African coast, and beyond.  And it is growing.

Why?

Because it is successful.  With each success, each time a pirate outfit gets a ransom, another pirate outfit is born.  Last year, Somali pirates earned an estimated $100 million.    That is a major revenue stream.

Just because the major media, and our own government, is most recently myopically focused on the Maersk Alabama incident, doesn’t mean that this is the only spot in the world where high seas piracy is in vogue.

And, not all the pirates are teenagers.  Most are adults.  All are criminals.

The oldest formulation of what we today consider international law deals with piracy.

Piracy is the only crime highlighted in our Constitution — Article 1, Section 8.  Which states, Congress has  “the Power … to define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations.”

So, this piracy thing isn’t all that new.

But our official response, our new smart diplomacy? Find 21st Century solutions?

18th Century solutions seemed to be fairly well established and they were successful.

What is most aggravating, is that just this past march, our Department of Defense told Congress “The absence of a strong government in Somalia remains the single greatest challenge to regional security.”   Well, DoD got that one half way accurate.  We need a strong government here…in Washington.

Read the foreign press online.  Our dithering is noticed across the globe.  I do not know exactly how we are being received, but from the bulk of the foreign press I’ve  perused it seems that we are generally perceived as being rudderless.

Good intentions, maybe, but the dog and pony are no longer part of the show.

Even the Somali pirates have kicked it up a notch, and are now looking specifically for US-flagged ships so they can kill the crews.

They believe that if they do that, the United States will back down or give in.  They remember Mogadishu in 1993.  We somehow have forgotten all about that little distraction.

Seems we are preparing to respond to a future attack.  That’s what the Administration is broadcasting.   We will wait for the next attack before we respond.  Unbelievable.

Excuses already being made, and readily available.

The Western Indian Ocean is just too large ansd we just can’t be everywhere all the time.

The piracy problerm is on land.  Piracy is just a symptom.  Our lack of policy in the region since the 90′s has made the pirates commit their crimes.  [i.e., blame Bush.]   Somali poverty is what drives the pirates.  So, the pirates are using their ill gotten gains to build Somalia into a vibrant nation-state?

While wringing our hands, trying to formulate excuses, we to trust luck when dealing with pirates, too?

Here’s a solution.

If we can’t be everywhere all the time.  How about we be where we know the pirates are?

Here is a simple plan to deal with the pirates, and it won’t take all sorts of new programs, and tons of new money, and retraining and in-depth lengthy studies, and the hiring of think tanks with stimulus funding and such to accomplish.  It won’t require a lot of bells and whistles.  No swarms of Delta Force black helicopters swooping in in the middle of the night.  No Marine amphibious landings.  No Navy and Air Force attack formations coming in from 30,000 feet.  Just simple stuff.  Keep it simple.

This plan can be carried out off the shelf, with what we already have available, in the region.

I spent the past few days on GoogleEarth looking over the Somali coast, and up to 20 miles inland, from Mogadishu to Djibouti.  Outside of Mogadishu and Djibouti, there isn’t a whole lot of anything along that coast.  Very little in the way of a town or city anywhere out where the pirates call home. [Got to love GoogleEarth.  Better than the old imagery I used to play with.]

There is no cover for the pirates.  Unlike Al Qaeda across Europe, and South Asia, there are no large urban areas filled with millions of people for them to hide among.

They have to put to sea to ply their trade.  This is the key to the plan.

The first part of the plan to blockade the entire Somali coast, out to 30 nautical miles.  Divide the Somali coast into naval regions, all under a unified command. (which is already in place)   Three or four should suffice.  Within this exclusion zone, any sea-going vessel seen will be ordered to heave to and be boarded. (Current ROE’s already have this as standard practice.)  If they do not stop to be boarded, then they can be assumed hostile, fired upon, and if need be, sunk.   (Also, part of the current ROE’s)  Within this exclusion zone, legitimate shipping bound for Mogadishu will do so under direct escort.  (Current ROE’s provide for this.)  Inbound and outbound.  If a ship appears coming out of Somalia with no escort, it can be assumed to be hostile until established otherwise.  (Also, part of the current ROE.)

Any port, or harbor, or strand of beach, observed to be used by any pirate craft will be shelled.  No warning.  How lengthy the shelling, how much ordnance to lay on the target, will be up to the ship’s commander exercising this option.

The second part will deal with the “mother ships,” some of which are 300 to 400 miles out at sea, one recently observed near Mauritius.  Outside the coastal exclusion zone will be designated patrol zones.  Any “mother ship” identified will be sunk.  No warning.  Any ship observed assisting the pirates will be boarded.  The French accomplished this just this last night with the capture of 11 pirates and their mother ship.

All commercial vessels in the region will be required to be under direct radio contact with the sea patrols in their region of passage.  Might even consider a convoy system to escort ships through the region.  Lessen the need to be everywhere all the time.  Any ship offered the protection of a convoy which refuses to participate, will be strictly on its own.  If attacked by pirates, it will be left to its own devices.   Any shipping company paying a ransom will have its ships excluded from the protection of the joint anti-piracy task force.

Any ship refusing to maintain radio contact, and give proper identification will be approached, halted and boarded.  If they refuse, appropriate action will be taken.  The ship will be escorted to the nearest safe port or kept under direct naval guns until it can be determined that the ship is not involved in piracy or providing  support for the pirates.

Exercise this plan for the next six months, establish an ongoing review process for this plan, with the naval commanders of the participating anti-piracy forces in the region initiating changes and upgrades as various methods prove more successful or less successful.

In the meantime, Somalia will be, must be,  held to fully accountable for all pirates from the Somali coast.  If Somalia wants to start governing, this may be the incentive they need to do so.

If they want foreign aid, and foreign ships putting into Mogadishu, it is incumbent on Somalia to establish a government, and fall in line with the other nations of the world who seem to be able generally to do the same.  Somalia will be held responsible for the immediate and safe release of all hostages on Somali soil.

Our enabling of the failed state of Somalia over the past decade has to stop.   Our “partners” need to understand this as well.

We, and the rest of the world, can engage as we deem fit in nation building or offering assistance to Somalia as our hearts dictate, but only when sea-borne transit to and along the Somali coast is no longer forced to play Russian roulette.

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