By Christopher M. Cassidy, Staff Writer
As you may have heard, there is a huge issue with piracy near the coast of Somalia. Pirates have hijacked lots of ships, and acquired huge ransoms for ships and sometimes hostages. They recently took Captain Richard Phillips hostage in exchange for his ship, the Maersk Alabama, to be free. However, US foreign policy does not allow for negotiation in terms of hostages; you get them back by force. Navy snipers recently killed three pirates and captured another in a rescue operation for Captain Phillips. President Obama has vowed to put an end to piracy off Somalia by naval force in cooperation with naval task forces from India, Japan, Germany, France, and China, to name a few. This long episode of piracy is expected to come to a climax and a finish sometime in the presidency of Mr. Obama. Anti-piracy motion has taken action immediately. Pirates are being put on trial in Kenya, and a high pirate leader recently surrendered in response to increasing naval pressure and increasing hostility on Somalian shores. Indian warships have also sunk larger numbers of pirate ships off of Somalian trade routes. This is one of the Obama administration’s earliest promises to take action. Let’s hope this one works, and that other promises do too!
