Let's not be too jolly, Roger....

Posted By Stephen M. Walt Monday, April 13, 2009 - 4:23 PM Share

Like probably everyone in America, I'm delighted that Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, has been rescued from his pirate captors, and I'm impressed by the tactical skill shown by the U.S. Navy. But I'm with Andrew Sullivan on this one -- although it was a dramatic confrontation with a happy ending, it's ultimately a minor matter. If the Somali pirates were a serious threat to our economy, to world trade, or to anybody's national security, we wouldn't have been buying them off for the past year and we would be taking much more serious action against them. And before we share too many high-fives around the coffee machine this morning, remember that this may just be the first round:

In Somalia itself, other pirates reacted angrily to the news that Captain Phillips had been rescued, and some said they would avenge the deaths of their colleagues by killing Americans in sea hijackings to come.

'Every country will be treated the way it treats us,' Abdullahi Lami, one of the pirates holding a Greek ship anchored in the pirate den of Gaan, a central Somali town, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying in a telephone interview. 'In the future, America will be the one mourning and crying.'"

Even so, in the larger scheme of things, fixing the economy, getting out of Iraq, not getting bogged down in Central Asia, helping Mexico win its war against drug lords, rebuilding America's crumbling infrastructure, getting weapons-grade nuclear material under reliable custody, and trying to work out a modus vivendi with Iran are far more important.

ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:AFRICA, PIRATES, SOMALIA, WINNERS & LOSERS

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RYAN

5:14 PM ET

April 13, 2009

You don't say...

Of course Lami and his cohorts are going to be talking tough. You don't really expect them to say, "Well, it's apparent that American flagged ships present a higher risk, so we're going to avoid them!", do you?

They're quite simply playing to the international attention, and trying to deter further actions similar to the US Navy's by other countries. Everything so far has indicated these rovers are nothing more than opportunistic criminals. Do we have any reason to believe they have either 1) the ability or 2) the will to make good on these threats?

C'mon Mr. Walt. No reason to play up the empty Somali threats of retaliation.

DJUHA

6:54 PM ET

April 13, 2009

Navy resources in Central Asia...

It's not like the Navy has an overly burdensome role to play in any of the problems you mentioned, so might as well let them address the pirate problem before it grows further.

GRAND SEN-OR

7:59 PM ET

April 13, 2009

hehhee the terrorists on the

hehhee the terrorists on the mountain-caves have been finished, now State running after pirates;->>The Navy against Bare-feeted Pirates;->>Comedie par excellence;->>
Oh well, at least they have something to do to justify the Fat Budgets;->>

Professor, is there any tax-payer out there including yourself who asks the question:

"How much this Successful Pirate Operation (SPO) cost to Tax-payers (TPs) and is going to cost further with all the serious measures likely to be taken?"

You Guys are like a Lucky-Inheritor/Lotto-Winner spending like Hell Mate!;-;->>

And that is not enough, you ask other States (G20) to spend the same, Obama must be trying to create some international job-market here;->>

"For Counter-piracy Employment, apply to Navy, all sorts of positions available, from top to bottom, no qualification needed, you'll be trained to think and behave like a pirate first, it is fun and you'll be paid for it, be quick! The Navy Needs U!"

Grand Sen~or.

BLUE13326

9:48 AM ET

April 14, 2009

OK, but it's interesting and

OK, but it's interesting and possibly important. At the least, it highlights the absurdity of our world: The pirates are vowing revenge. Revenge for what? They tried to pull off a heist and lost. Where does the revenge come in to that equation? If I got into a bank, pull out a gun and get shot robbing the place, does it make any sense for my friends to vow revenge? It's absurd, almost as if the pirates feel a sense of entitlement.

And the more interesting part of this is the question as to why Somalia and not say Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, etc.? And what if they decide, hey, this piracy racket seems to work out pretty well; I mean, most of the crews are Filipinos anyway and it's not like they're going to vow revenge, so why not collect some ransom money? After all, not too far from their shores is a whole continent of rich white people who've spent decades disarming and really believe in this universal international law stuff that prevents them from fighting back. Hmmm...Let's see: Rich, helpless, people next to poor people with guns. That usually doesn't work out well.

BRETT

10:45 AM ET

April 14, 2009

In Somalia itself, other

In Somalia itself, other pirates reacted angrily to the news that Captain Phillips had been rescued, and some said they would avenge the deaths of their colleagues by killing Americans in sea hijackings to come.

They're more or less just talking shit to the international news media people that happen to be around. These guys are opportunists, remember? Pirates generally want to live to enjoy their spoils, and we messed with them a bit. Murdering crews when it's not necessary is not a good way of keeping the biggest navy at arm's length.