Politics
Out of context: Reply #6540
- Started
- Last post
- 33,773 Responses
- TheBlueOne0
"TBO, what should the Administration do to curb piracy? Should they attack the pirate's strongholds, or, police the seas, or, nothing more than we have done in past, or are doing today?"
A) Police the seas, and seek to attack and deter the pirates.
B) Figure out the root causes of the piracy and address those issues. To that end, why and when did this move to piracy begin? Why is it so profitable?I think this article in the Independent points out some rationale behind these pirates actions. Doesn't in any means forgive the crime, but places it in a context:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opi…
Furthermore you usual right-wing distorted view of history by trying to invoke Jefferson as some rah-rah go kill 'em all, let god sort 'em out guy is incomplete. First Jefferson did try diplomacy and to negotiate ransoms, although strongly:
"In the early nineteenth century, President Thomas Jefferson proposed a league of smaller nations to patrol the area, but the United States could not contribute. For the prisoners, Algeria wanted $60,000, while America offered only $4,000. Jefferson said a million dollars would buy them off, but Congress would only appropriate $80,000."
Only after such a course failed did Jefferson pursue a military option:
"This new military [US naval & Marines] presence helped to stiffen American resolve to resist the continuation of tribute payments, leading to the two Barbary Wars along the North African coast: the First Barbary War from 1801 to 1805[24] and the Second Barbary War in 1815. It was not until 1815 that naval victories ended tribute payments by the U.S."
In the end it was the French invasion and occupation of Algiers that wiped out the pirates: "The thoroughness with which the French conquered and colonized Algeria, causing the deaths of up to a third of Algeria's population, put an effective end to piracy from the Barbary coast."
So, while I do favor a stong military response to these acts of piracy, I would say a two pronged approach of a) making the acts themselves pay dearly in lives and fortune of said pirates and b) utilizing all available diplomatic soft power to make the reasons for such piracy less necessary.
If you do indeed favor a use of solely military means to wiping out the piracy emanating from Somalia, I'd have to ask you, you being obviously a small-state, no deficient spending, no tax paying tea bag favoring Conservative if you're willing to expend billions of dollars to invade and occupy Somalia, because quite honestly history bears out that the only way to eliminate these things entirely.
And why would today being Jefferson's birthday be "ironic" rather than "timely"? I believe you're using the word wrong. As for the French being the ones who ended the scourge of the Barbary pirates ultimately and not the Americans, that would be, in light of your statement about rah-rah american military power, indeed, "ironic."