Quest Pirates

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by sdowney717

oh the pirates life has vastly improved now that they are in a US jail....
Yet we are so humane with out prisons. Imagine if those pirates, all terrorists, enemy combatants, etc... all were locked up in US jails, our prison system would totally devastate our economy. In fact every pirate that is taken out of the way likely has 10 more waiting to step in. The whole country can turn pirate and in past years entire peoples have gone to war and destroyed entire civilizations, wiping all of them out.

these pirates should just be taken out where they are when they are caught and not even brought into the system. That is what happens in war.

I doubt anyone would regard their life as " better" in gaol, no matter where it is.

"That is what happens in war" Were not at war, simply because a few rich ( and frankly very stupid) white folk get killed does not make us "at war". Also not that even in war the Geneva convention applies and summary justice cannot be carried out against soldiers. Of course we could reclassify them as enemy combatants.....!

As democratic nations with a sense of social responsibility, we try these people according to our laws and that's right, no one is suggesting that they get away scot free. But this " eye for an eye" stuff is nonsense, should you be able to march down the street and shoot someone who was " alleged" to have shot one of yours, of course not, the posse and lynching mob have passed into history. its funny how we ensure there is legal process for our home grown murders, but them " funny foreigners" well of course they dont deserve such treatment ( see untermenschen)

The pirate problem in Somalia is a result of social, economic and political failure that has brought a country to its knees and made it ungovernable. Into that gap are people that exploit such desperate conditions and make use of local " fodder" to do their dirty work. Very few people actually want to do bad, most people would prefer an honest days pay for an honest days work, as would most Somalis.

Its worth noting that most hi-jacks, have been carried out in general without loss of life and the pirates have shown that they are not out to kill people. Most of the deaths have been the result of ham-fisted military intervention.

We have to work on the big picture solution, because until we do the actual problem will never be resolved.

Dave

[sailorboy1]

These threads always seem to bring the social issue agruements. While I accept that social issues are a big part of the problem it isn't any different than the cause of most crime since time of man begain.

I don't care about the social causes of the pirate problem.

I just want the pirates stopped!!!!!!!

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

These threads always seem to bring the social issue agruements. While I accept that social issues are a big part of the problem it isn't any different than the cause of most crime since time of man begain.

I don't care about the social causes of the pirate problem.

I just want the pirates stopped!!!!!!!

Thats fine we all want that.

But the grubby reality of conflict resolution, is that you have to look behind the immediate violence and deal with the underlying issues. Piracy in Somalia is not random isolated acts of violence, it stems from a social situation that has been preyed upon. To resolve it to any degree of permanence we have to fix/deal with that underlying set of issues. This is true in Somalia as it is in Northern Ireland, Afghanistan or any other conflict. Military action may bring short term cessations or cause a certain amount of interdiction, but it is always incapable of solving the problem


In dealing with it, we will undoubtedly " negotiate with terrorists", a process overtly denied, and covertly carried out by all governments.

Yes we'all "want it stopped", unfortunately the way to do it is grubbly, devious and long winded.

Dave

[hummingway]

The average life expectancy in Somalia is 50. It's the most dangerous country in the world and Mogadishu is the most dangerous city. They are in the midst of drought and famine so life expectancy is plummetting. There are 9 million people.

Somehow making piracy more dangerous then simply living in the country seems a quixotic task to me unless you do something to make the country safer but that will mean people will have to care about the people who live there since the biggest hurdle they face is political stability.

[Blue Stocking]

I would like to think that my Canadian friends are familiar with Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire.
His experience in Rwanda really describes the politics.
Read "Shake Hands With The Devil"- "The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda"

[enovillo]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

I would like to think that my Canadian friends are familiar with Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire.
His experience in Rwanda really describes the politics.
Read "Shake Hands With The Devil"- "The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda"

We're joking, of course.

Dallaire's book is eye-opening, a sad mea culpa by someone who cared too much for his own good.