Experts indicated that piracy in the Indian Ocean off Somalia, which transformed one of the world's busiest shipping lanes into one of its most dangerous, has entered a new phase with the Navy SEAL rescue operation of Phillips.
It "could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it," said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
The International Maritime Bureau said Monday it supported the action by the U.S. and French navies, but cautioned it may spark retaliatory moves by pirates.
"We applaud the U.S. and the French action. We feel that they are making the right move, although the results sometimes may be detrimental," said Noel Choong of the IMB's piracy center in Kuala Lumpur.
Yes, this small victory did not end the pirate threat. And yes, the pirates may be correct that if they boast loudly and attack us in a horrifice fashion, we will shrink from the task of destroying the pirates.
But this is a pirate bluff. They are weak and we are strong. And their success comes only from our refusal to use our strength to crush them.
There needs to be a lot more dead pirates before we can close the books on this chapter.
