Irate about Pirates

Another guest post from Spin Doctor provided earlier this week and in light of today's developments, I'm getting Derby picks from her. - POTUS

By Spin Doctor

2008 could be called The Best Year Ever for Pirates. They made off with about $80 million in ransom last year, paid by shipping companies and their insurance agencies and ultimately footed by everyone one of us who buy imported goods that travel the world’s waterways.

Once the media caught wind of the growing problem last year, I could not hide my disgust. Granted, Somalia is a failed state. The amount of foreign aid that flows into the country is equal only to the amount of government corruption that steals from the millions of poor and hungry Somalis that the aid is intended to help. But this doesn’t excuse the Somali pirates who regularly target hardworking and unarmed shipping crews.

Pirates closer to home also make me mad. Take the case of a Cleveland man http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2009/02/four_teens_arrested_accused_of.html worked two jobs to pay for his custom car. On his way to work one night, that car caught the eye of a few local pirates who decided to take the car and the life of the young man who was also working to put himself through school. It was not an even trade.

By all accounts, pirates in the Gulf of Aden have grown increasingly bold. After receiving a recent ransom (possibly $25 million) for a Saudi oil tanker, they used a satellite phone to call news outlets to let them know that they had the money and were safely home. Being cocky might also end up being their downfall.

The pirates’ winning streak came to a screeching halt this week with they made what could prove to be a fatal mistake: attacking a U.S. ship. First, the unarmed U.S. crew overtook the heavily armed pirates. Now, the U.S. Navy is on scene and managing the situation. My money is on the 5th Fleet.


Pirates, it’s time you get used to wearing orange.