The London Times reports today that Pirates are wreaking havoc off Africa, threatening world trade. But as governments fight back, the raiders are getting more daring and their demands are growing.
Google Somali Pirates and the headlines abound, but this is nothing new even in Somalia, below is a map of the recorded Pirate attacks of the coast of Somalia, East Africa from 2007;
Surprise attacks by Muslim pirates, lost lives, cargo and ships lost, a U.S. president who decides to let slip the dogs of war --these are the headlines of today, yet these are ripped not from the headlines but from the pages of history books. If you have forgotten the Barbary War, Joseph Wheelan who wrote the book "Jefferson's War: The First War on Terror 1801-1805" wants to remind you.
"When it is remembered at all," the former newspaper reporter writes in "Jefferson's War," "the 1801-5 war with Tripoli is often recalled as a swashbuckling adventure bookended by America's two struggles with England. ... In truth, the Barbary War was America's first war on terror."
For two centuries, the piratical Muslim powers of Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers and Morocco had treated the Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic as their personal hunting preserve, capturing hundreds of thousands of Christian slaves and millions of dollars' worth of booty. And although their power had faded significantly by the end of the 18th century, the North Africans continued to extort additional millions from Western nations by means of regularly broken treaties - "a jihad protection racket," in Wheelan's phrase.
When Thomas Jefferson assumed the presidency in 1801, the Barbary States and the idea of dealing with them by naval force had been in his mind for years. And so U.S. ships were dispatched _ to serve as a "squadron of observation" if violence proved unnecessary or (in the words of Navy Secretary Samuel Smith) "to protect our commerce and chastise their insolence - by sinking, burning or destroying their ships and vessels wherever you shall find them."
As it happened, the Barbary War was not a constant clash of water-borne cannon - frustrations emerged because some U.S. officers proved less than pugnacious - and "Jefferson's War" smells less of blood and gunpowder than some might expect. But the martially inclined will be intrigued by the Philadelphia story - a daring raid to destroy a captured U.S. vessel - as well as an expedition aimed at "regime change" that inspired the "Marine Hymn" line "... to the shores of Tripoli."
Wheelan draws lines between "The Terror" of 200 years ago and that of today, and the headlines in the past few weeks draw the lines boldly. Yet, something is missing . . . could it be a leader of Jefferson's calibre?
Thirty percent of Europe's Oil arrives via the Gulf of Aden and When the Sirius Star and its US$100 million crude oil cargo and 25 crew were hijacked by Somali pirates nine days ago, one country was ready to respond immediately. The USA, I am afraid not, but it was the up-in-coming Naval Super Power to be, INDIA. Yes, India is wanting to show its muscle, after a successful trip to the Moon, India dispatched the INS Tabor. The National reports that India's anti-piracy aggression is a sign of an emerging Super-Power, the article continues, the United States has been particularly feeble. Last week the US navy told shipping companies to ensure their own security by hiring private contractors. Yet over three years ago Adm Michael Mullin, now chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested a global security partnership to tackle maritime piracy and terrorism. The only result is the US-run Global Fleet Station, a pilot version of which was launched last year in the Caribbean, suggesting the United States is either living in the past or watching too many movies. Contrast this with the Indian government authorised hot pursuit of pirate vessels, announced the imminent dispatch of three more warships and a reconnaissance aircraft and urged the United Nations to orchestrate joint action. The International Maritime Bureau has praised India’s response and urged the international community to follow it. The INS Tabor below, has since sunk a Somalia pirate "Mother Ship" in the treacherous Gulf of Aden." in
the Gulf of Aden, the world’s most treacherous waterway
Where is Jefferson? Where is the USA? Is the USA on the verge of losing its dominance in the world? Is Somalian Pirates along with the War in Iraq, the War in Afghanistan, and the coming show-down with Iran, along with the Economic turmoil in our markets the final steps toward the future of the USA as a Super-Power of yesterday? For the USSR it was perestroika, For the United Kingdom it was the Suez Canal 1956 crises, Is it the Somalia Pirates for the USA? Where is Jefferson when you need him?
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