The Question of International Piracy
Somalia is an East African nation located on the Horn of Africa with a population of almost 10 million people. Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu was once a rich and powerful city but, beginning in the late 1980s, civil war began to tear the predominantly Muslim country apart. Local militias led by powerful warlords battled for control of the nation’s regions and cities. By 1993, over 300,000 civilians had died from civil war, mass starvation, and disease. In 1995, a two-year UN humanitarian assistance program intended to alleviate famine conditions ended after UN workers and peacekeepers suffered significant casualties. Order still has not been restored and, as of 2009, Somalia has no effective functioning government.
Somalia occupies a strategic position next to the Gulf of Aden, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Most of the world’s trade is conducted by sea. Ships from all over the world carrying goods such as oil, weapons, food, electronics, and trade goods squeeze through the narrow Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on their way to Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Passing between Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula offers the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia but ships have become increasingly exposed to international pirates. Many of these pirates operate out of bases located within the lawless or militia-controlled regions of Somalia.
Most Somalis make less than $600 per year and the literacy rate is about 37%. In contrast, piracy is a relatively easy and lucrative alternative for many young Somalis. “Even as the world's most powerful navies patrol the vast shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, Somali pirates are commanding millions in ransom for the massive cargo vessels they seize.” The pirates attack brazenly from small speed boats and are usually armed with AK-47 assault rifles and shoulder-mounted grenade launchers. Modern tankers and freighters carrying cargoes worth millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars have small crews who are unarmed (as required by international maritime law). Pirates collected anywhere from $50 million to $150 million in ransom payments from 111 attacks off the Gulf of Aden in 2008. These profitable attacks have increased in 2009 as navies struggle to patrol more than a million square miles of ocean. Even after Navy snipers killed three pirates and freed an American captain in April 2009, pirates continue to seize ships and hostages.
As President Obama’s Secretary of State, you must develop a policy for how the United States will respond to international piracy, especially the worsening situation in the Gulf of Aden. Your choice of actions can be roughly broken into five categories:
1. Unilateral Military Action. Use the Navy to protect ships and hunt the pirates. Invade pirate bases in Somalia?
2. Cooperative Military Action. Work together through organizations like the UN to protect shipping and minimize piracy.
3. Regional Cooperation. Put pressure on nations in the region (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Sudan) to suppress piracy.
4. Bilateral Sanctions. Invade or impose economic sanctions on Somalia?
5. Do nothing. This is a private commercial matter. The shipping companies should protect the crews, either by avoiding the area or arming the crews.
What will you do? Your policy can be one or a combination of any of the actions above, or something totally different. As you develop your policy, address the following questions:
What will you do? Why?
What are the potential benefits of the solution? Who will be happy?
What are the possible negative consequences of your actions? What are the potential criticisms?
As you formulate your policy, consider the following concerns and questions:
THESE ARE NOT QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO SUBMIT!
· Do our navy root out and punish/kill the pirates and their bases either on sea or on land? (If so, remember that Somalia is a Muslim country close to Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Will our heavy-handed tactics be resented by the Islamic world? Al-Qaeda is known to be present in Yemen, Somalia, and Sudan. Will the US “invading” a Muslim country, no matter how lawless and ungoverned serve as a terrorist recruiting tool? Can we even spare military resources with our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? )
· Should we commit solely to preventing pirate attacks? Should we concentrate exclusively on defending American ships or is it our responsibility to defend all ships?
· How? Do we send naval escorts with each ship or place an armed security-force on each ship. You’d need a minimum of 3 highly-trained personnel (3 separate 8-hour watches). Can we spare our Special Operations-type military to guard a tuna boat?
· If we don’t use a military security force should the shipping companies employ private security firms (i.e. Blackwater)? Either way, the added cost of private security or using extra fuel to avoid the area will increase the cost of shipping. That cost will be passed on to YOU, the consumer.
· Do we go to NATO? NATO’s mission has always been Europe-focused. Will Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, the UAE and Iran (!!!) accept NATO or the US operating in their territorial waters?
· Do we ask the UN to confront the issue? One criticism leveled at the UN is that it is slow and indecisive. If the UN is preferable, which nations should contribute money, equipment, and troops? Will the US participate under foreign leadership?
· Do we demand surrounding countries to solve the problem? The US has some friends in the region such as Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and India, but very strained if not hostile relations with others including Yemen, Sudan, and Iran. If we ask them to spend their money, time, and lives what do we offer in return? (Rule of diplomacy: You gotta give something to get something.)
· Do we demand that Somalia crack down on their pirates? They have not had a functioning centralized government since 1991 and many warlords or government-backed troops may be supporting the pirates.
· Do we punish Somalia or ask for economic sanctions? (There has been a general and complete arms embargo against Somalia since 1992.)