Could private warfare get a boost from the piracy problem off of Somalia? With our governments unwilling to go on offense to go ashore and our inability to commit enough naval forces for passive protection, could private security fill the gap?
One author wants the US Congress to issue letters of marque:
The letters, specifically authorized in the Article 1 section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, allow private parties to attack and seize the property of other parties that have committed violations of international law. Congress has the power to grant the letters.
This Congress would never do this, of course.
Some would like to arm the crews of these ships or put armed guards on them:
Graeme Gibbon Brooks, founder of Dryad Maritime Intelligence Ltd., said his company did not provide armed guards although they were often asked by clients for advice on a firm to hire.
He noted that one of the biggest problems with carrying weapons is that ships may often be outgunned. Pirates tend to use long-range assault rifles capable of firing up to 600 rounds a minute, he said, whereas sailors or guards carrying weapons must satisfy the laws of both the ship's flag carrier and the nations where the vessel will dock. Many countries will only allow shotguns — traditionally used for bird control — with a much shorter range than the pirates' weapons.
"Essentially in that situation you're getting into a sword fight armed with a dagger," Brooks said.
Ship owners have shown little appetite for more serious weaponry. Last October, the American firm XE — then known as Blackwater — offered a ship fitted with helicopters and armed guards for escorting vessels past the lawless Somalia coast. But spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said the company, had had no takers so far. Blackwater, which provided private security in Iraq, is under investigation for its role in the fatal shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007.
So there are real problems with arming crews who may not know how to use limited weapons.
Why not have the navies involved in patrolling and escorting ships use modern Q-ships?
Outfit slow merchant ships with hidden naval weapons and trained and armed navy crews to troll for pirates and kill them when they approach the ship. A nice vertical-launch cell plus .50 caliber machine guns would perhaps give pirates enough fear to deter attacks. Heck, maybe the shipping companies would hire XE to operate such Q-ships as a quasi-East India Company strategy of having private armed merchant ships.
All these defensive solutions wouldn't be necessary if we did what we should and mount a punitive mission on the ground.
It is outrageous that the civilized sea-going nations of this planet can't resolve to go ashore in Somalia and kill those pirates where they live and tear apart their communities and equipment. We're letting our laws hamsting our efforts to defeat men who reject laws in order to prey on the weak.
