Bury The Pirates

Fifteen years ago, armed bands of Somali militiamen shot down two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, killing 18 American soldiers and wounding another 73. After the battle, the Somalis dragged the corpses of U.S. soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu.

Two days after the battle, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered all offensive action in Somalia stopped, paving the way for an eventual withdrawal of all American forces from the region.

No retaliatory strikes were ever launched against the Somali warlords.

Today, Somalia is as out-of-control as ever, with a new breed of Islamic radicals – al-Shabaab – not only making gains on the ground, but taking to the high seas with Somali pirates in an effort to obtain weapons as well as ransom payments from hijacked cargo.

“The Shabaab are now at sea looking for Israelis, Americans and other Westerners,”an analyst said recently of the deteriorating situation. “This is getting very nasty now.”

“These pirates are getting bolder every day,” another analyst warns.

Sixty-two pirate attacks have taken place off the coast of Somalia over the past year, with these groups earning millions of dollars in ransom payments – money that’s going directly to fund terrorist activity.

Three days ago, these pirates hit the jackpot when they hijacked a Ukrainian tanker carrying thirty-three Russian T72 tanks and dozens of other arms, including rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft guns and hundreds of thousands of rounds of varied ammunition.

In addition to demanding a $20 million ransom, they are also endeavoring to unload some of their newfound military booty.

So what is America doing?

“Monitoring the situation,” according to the Pentagon, and inviting the pirates about a U.S. vessel to “talk,” if local sources are to be believed.

Frankly, after what Somalis have done to Americans in the past, “monitoring” and “talking” would be the last two items on our agenda.

Blowing some people out of the water and firing a couple cruise missiles into their inland headquarters, on the other hand, would probably be at the top of that list.

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