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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Opinion: Something Fishy About the War on Piracy?

I thought there was something a little odd about the most recent pirate escapade off the Somali coast.

A captain of a cargo ship is bound for Kenya with food for the hungry ("loaves and fishes"). He "sacrifices" himself for the safety of his crew. He gets freed (rises from the dead after being "entombed" in a watertight boat) after about 3 days, on EASTER SUNDAY. Sound familiar?

Three pirates are killed from a considerable distance by sharpshooters. One of them is right next to the hostage. Captain emerges without a scratch.

Now, I'm not crazy about Somali pirates. However, the piracy thing has been going on for literally DECADES in the South China Sea. Ships are often boarded, the entire crew is murdered, and the cargo and vessel are floated to China, Vietnam, or wherever. And no one is or has made great effort to put a stop to it.

So why the sudden step up of anti-piracy measures in Africa? Why not Asia too?

Moreover, why aren't these ships' crews allowed to be ARMED?



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