Doug Miller wrote:
In article , Morris Dovey wrote:

There is apparently some reason to believe that the pirate operations
have been funded at least in part by wealthy parties - and should that
be proven true, I think that their complete assets should be taken to
compensate first the shipping companies for the ransoms and losses due
to having their vessels out of service, secondly the hostage crew
members for their time in captivity, and thirdly any assets left over
should be used under UN supervision to improve conditions in Somalia -
perhaps starting with repatriation and restoration of some semblance of
normal (pre-genocide) life in the Darfur region.

Improving conditions in Somalia, while a laudable goal, has nothing to do with
the genocide in Darfur, which is some 3000km, and two international borders,
to the west in Sudan.

You're correct, but...

I'm not sure that borders have a great deal to do with any of what's
going on in the region, other than to excuse non-pursuit across
boundaries of those folks who've decided that rule of law doesn't solve
their problems or meet their needs. The importance that westerners
attach to national boundaries is not universal.

The piracy problem in Somalia bears more than just a passing resemblance
to the (foreign) oil producer extortions and kidnappings still farther
west. It doesn't take much imagination to find elements of these
behavioral modes in activities like the Nigerian internet-based scams.
Different perps, but (IMO) similarly rooted in a desperate notion that
in order to get one's "fair share" of the planet's wealth, one must
wrest it from those who appear to have more than their share.

It struck me some time ago that anyone with a healthy family and a full
belly was unlikely to pick up a gun or strap on a suicide vest.

I don't think removing four Somali pirates (or even blowing up a pirate
HQ) is going to produce any noticeable change.

Along with playing whack-a-mole with zero-sum predators, we might better
serve everyone (including ourselves) by finding more effective permanent
solutions to the healthy family and full belly problems.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/