The pirates around Somalia have been much in the news, lately; recent stories have told readers that the pirates have released a Thai vessel whose ransom had been paid, and that the world at large has no idea how to handle the problem.
I have a suggestion.
After America won Independence, we faced an issue from which we'd been sheltered before, first by the British navy, then, during the war, the French: the pirates of the Barbary Coast. The pirates demanded a yearly payment, or else they'd take ships for ransome, or maybe sell their crews into slavery.
From the first, Jefferson advocated fighting: he attempted to put together America's first coallition of the willing to take on the pirates. He failed, not least because America's presidents prefered to pay the tribute.
In short, once Jefferson got into office, he carried out his plan unilaterally: he sent our navy to the Barbary Coast to rescue the sailors from a taken vessel, which had been burned by one of its officers rather than allow it to fall into the pirates' hands. The marines aboard fought hard, and all the way to the palace in the middle of town (hence, the line, "to the shores of Tripoli" in the Marine's Hymn).
Thus, the threat to American shipping was broken.
Thus, someone should do with (and to) the Somali pirates.
Heh. Good luck getting that done.
15 minutes ago
We should be hanging them. In crowds.
ReplyDeleteBut the weenies around today would pitch a fit.
Absolutely, hang'em high. There was a reason pirates commited suicide rather than get caught by the British, who, incidently, hung all pirates.
ReplyDeleteThe Sibling