Pirates on the High Seas in the 21st Century
Somali Pirates have been in the news often lately. Although these pirates appear to be equal opportunity thieves raiding ships from both the West and Islamic nations, I wish to point out they reside in a nation that has had close roots to both radical Islam and to warlord thugs.
Pirating has become a venture of illicit money making much like dealing in drugs, weapons or slavery. In other words it is dangerous business in which the only regulatory rules are who is tougher than whom.
It has been speculated the Somali Pirates have sent of some of their spoils to Islamic terrorists like al-Qaeda. The speculation is based on the known use of Islamic terrorists have used Sharia Finance practice known as hawala. Hawala is an Islamic money transfer practice that uses little to nothing of a paper trail; thus the suspicion of portions of the booty going to Islamic terrorists.
General William Ward of AFRICOM has made it known that there is no direct evidence linking the Somali Pirates to al-Qaeda. I suspect Ward’s opinion is closer to military Machiavellianism so that American pro-military and anti-Islamist groups do not call for a military expedition to Somalia to clean the vermin out.
There is harder evidence that the spoils have been redistributed within Somalia as part of the disorganized rogue nation’s economy.
Leslie J. Sacks has emailed a post to SlantRight regarding on how the Somali Pirates should be dealt with. His first solution was essentially to pay the Pirates for stolen oil to get it at a cheaper price than the Islamic oil nations provide. I’m still not sure how serious Sacks is about that solution. Due to what I have just researched I have a huge sense that some of that dough is going to America’s terrorist enemies. Yes Virginia there is a Global War on Terror (GWOT).
I tend to favor Sacks’ alternative. GO THERE AND READ IT. (OR at the end of this introduction SlantRight)
JRH 11/25/08
