Pirates, Fishermen, and Mercenaries

I thought the U.S. military was funded by American taxpayers for the purpose of protecting our population (yes, rescuing an American hostage from pirates falls under “protection”).

But there is a difference between rescuing a kidnapped American citizen and providing routine sea patrols outside of U.S. jurisdiction – something that sounds more like corporate security at taxpayer expense. Yet a cacophony of voices is calling for the military to begin enforcing its rule over the one million square miles of open sea near Eastern Africa to ward off piracy.

It’s no surprise that commercial shipping companies want free military aid. The civilians that run the U.S. Department of Defense have made it quite clear that our superior military force is only to be used when corporate profits are threatened. The Iraq invasion sent a message to the world that the U.S. military acts at the behest of giant conglomerates like Halliburton, Lockheed-Martin, and Exxon Mobil.

So now everyone wants in on the free security services. Commercial shipping companies – who spend most of their time outside of U.S. jurisdiction – now believe they are entitled to military protection.

If ever there was a job for Blackwater and the private mercenary armies that our perpetual state of war have encouraged, this is it. The cost of protecting commercial shipping should be born by the companies doing the shipping – not by U.S. taxpayers.

Hiring mercenaries like Blackwater would do four things:

1. It would create occupational openings for mercenary firms and draw them away from theaters of war like Iraq and Afghanistan. Providing a job alternative for these private armies would fade the image America currently projects abroad with tattooed, gun-happy, testosterone-filled private contractors fighting wars in sovereign nations.
2. It would relieve the U.S. military from the “responsibility” of protecting the one-million square miles of open sea that commercial shipping companies fear (and would thus avoid cost to American taxpayers). An already-stretched U.S. military cannot afford to be spread even thinner.
3. Consider the rules of open sea: for all practical purposes, there are none. Throughout history, pirates have not enjoyed any rights or privileges. They live without rules and, thus, die without rules. Fight fire with fire – mercenaries are the perfect answer to modern-day piracy.
4. It would be nearly impossible for trigger-happy Blackwater contractors to shoot unarmed civilians in one million square miles of open sea.

Problem solved.

Or at least the security problem would be solved. The root of the piracy issue still needs to be addressed, though few people other than Katie Stuhldreher seem interested.

Stuhldreher notes that when Somalia collapsed in the early 1990s, the rich fishing coastline was left with no state control. Foreign commercial fishing operations moved in and pushed out the locals. The first “pirates” were actually local Somali fisherman seeking “compensation” from foreign fishing companies that were profiting at the expense of Somalia.

Stuhldreher goes on:

“The success of these early raids in the mid-1990s persuaded many young men to hang up their nets in favor of AK-47s. Making the coastal areas lucrative for local fishermen again could encourage pirates to return to legitimate livelihoods.”

(Or at least encourage would-be pirates to consider another line of work…)

Stuhldreher’s solution? Fishery protection – either through the African Union, the United Nations, or a coalition of states.

Yet it’s important to separate “fishery protection” from “counter-piracy.” While commercial shipping companies would be responsible for their own private security (via firms like Blackwater), an international body would be responsible for monitoring fishing rights off the Somali coast, allowing locals to return to a profitable business.

There’s no doubt that a rescue operation, like the one that occurred over Easter weekend, requires highly-trained U.S. Navy Seals or Special Forces. But with heavily armed, muscle-bound mercenary guards on commercial vessels, the pirate’s chances of successfully boarding a ship in the first place would be next to impossible. Hostage situations would become far less frequent, local Somali fishermen could return to their livelihoods, and best of all – private mercenaries would have a safe place to operate without ruining America’s reputation abroad.

Any move by the U.S. military to assume the role of corporate security guard in the world’s oceans is a backward step for President Obama and our military.

It’s time for America to move away from the corporate warfare that assures industry profits are placed before human lives. It’s time for the U.S. to start addressing the root of problems instead of playing firefighter. It’s time for new, innovative ideas that create a better world instead of trying to return to an idealized past that has been whitewashed by a fuzzy memory.

How America moves forward on the piracy issue – a centuries-old problem – will determine whether we are moving into a new future, or retaining the failed policies of the past.

Wil Robinson
AWOP International Editor
Author of International Political Will Blog

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Peace Y'all