Somali Pirates: At World's End

I think we knew that recovering Captain Phillips and killing his captors would not be the end of the menace, and indeed the problem is worse than ever. Since the resolution of that crisis, the Associated Press reports that pirates have already seized another four vessels and over 75 hostages. It's estimated that they hold some 17 vessels and over 300 hostages overall.

As I said, we knew that Sunday wouldn't end it. We hurt these thugs, and they were inevitably going to respond, to show us that they're not going anywhere. It's going to take more action from us to beat them. The affected area of ocean in the Gulf of Aden and adjacent waters is four times the size of Texas, so no strictly Naval approach is likely to do the job. Experts say that we may have to put men on the ground again in Somalia. People who remember our actions there in the mid-90s will know how serious it would be for us to do that, but we can't shrink away from it out of squeamishness. We have to be prepared to do what it takes because this situation cannot stand when we have the means to stop it.

Now, make no mistake: This has nothing to do with terrorism, and nothing these thugs have done constitutes an act of war. We are not at war with them, nor could we be. These are despicable criminals, and what we must do is nothing but enforce the law.

Now, it would be easy to let this go and forget about it as the plight of the Maersk Alabama fades into the past. This is a just and necessary fight though, and we have to stay with it. We have to stay on these thugs until they're the ones that don't feel safe in those waters.