Murder of Americans raises the stakes in war on piracy
It has been six years since pirates from the war-torn, lawless African nation of Somalia took control of the high seas off the coast of East Africa, and in that time 30 ships have been captured and more than 660 people taken hostage, but U.S. citizens have remained largely unscathed — until Tuesday.
Four Americans were found killed on a yacht that had been hijacked Feb. 18 by pirates south of Oman. The Quest was shadowed by four U.S. warships and sky-high drones as the captors tried to sail it to the Somali shore.
Tuesday, a pirate fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Navy destroyer USS Sterett. He missed, but gunfire erupted on the Quest, prompting U.S. special forces to rush the 58-foot recreational boat. They found the bodies of Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, near Los Angeles, experienced sailors who had been traveling around the world since 2004 handing out Bibles, and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle of Seattle, Wash., who had joined the Adams.
The death of the four is a game changer for the United States. The last incident involving an American was in 2009 when the Maersk Alabama, a U.S. cargo vessel, was attacked and the ship’s captain captured. Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates and rescued the captain. A New York court this week sentenced a pirate to 33 years in prison.
Whether the sentence had anything to do with the pirates’ behavior on the Adams’ yacht is unclear. But what is beyond dispute is that the stakes have been raised, prompting the question: How will the Obama administration respond, not only to the killings — 13 pirates were captured and detained and two were killed — but to the larger issue of piracy on the busy international shipping lanes?
During the administration of former President George W. Bush, pirates began hijacking ships well outside the Gulf of Aden. This, despite the fact, that the United Nations Security Council had adopted a resolution calling on countries with vessels in the area to use military force to prevent ships from being captured and their crews taken hostage.
The sanctioned military campaign resulted in armed contractors being present on vessels on trade routes in the Gulf of Aden. Warships deployed in the region are not able to adequately patrol that vast area.
In April 2010, private security guards shot and killed a pirate. Over the years, hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom have been taken from shipping companies.
While the murders of the four Americans are still being studied, the reality is that the pirates from Somalia aren’t a bunch of rag-tag criminals. Rather, they use high-speed boats and are armed with assault rifles, RPG rocket-propelled grenade launchers and semi-automatic weapons.
Ruthless
They are ruthless and have no respect for the law. Their behavior has resulted in an increase in shipping costs and has disrupted the delivery of food aid to African countries that are literally starving due to government corruption and drought.
Piracy on the high seas must be treated as a declaration of war requiring the U.N. to respond aggressively. Member nations should be prepared to provide all the fire power necessary to not only clear the shipping lanes of the pirates, but also to destroy their hideouts in Somalia.
The deaths of Jean and Scott Adams and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle should also serve as a reminder to recreational sailors that a trip around the world is no longer a joy ride. This is a dangerous world, indeed.