U.S. Role Against Somalian Pirates - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... Somalia’s eastern coastal areas and Gulf of Aden are the major areas in which Somali pirates base their operations. Multinational naval force including warships from America, Britain, India and Australia are currently patrolling in Somali coastal areas in order to avoid further mishaps.
However, the threats from the pirates are increasing day by day even though UN Security Council and other countries did everything possible to counter the threats from the pirates. Being the sole super power in the world at present, America has definitely a major role to play in Somali pirate issue. It should be noted that America is currently conducting war on terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many people have the belief that Somali pirates definitely have some close connections with Islamic terrorists even though it is not proved yet. Under such circumstances, America should give more emphasize to the Somali pirate issue so that its counter terrorism efforts would be more meaningful. This paper analyses the role of America against Somali pirate issue.
Warner pointed out that “Given Somalia’s proximity to one of the world’s main sea lines of communications through the Gulf of Aden, Somali fishermen, unrestrained by a functioning coast guard or navy, seized the opportunity to engage in maritime piracy starting in the 1990s”....
In fact, it is difficult for Somali government to establish law and order in the country when people are suffering a lot from poverty and unemployment. Terrorists know this fact very well and they can easily establish links with Somali pirates. In other words, America cannot stay away from the Somali piracy issue if they like to end war on terror successfully. Terrorists are now establishing their bases in Somali like poorly governed countries. America should realize this fact and respond properly to this issue. Operation Enduring Freedom, a military mission by the US and coalition partners in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001, contained a naval component. As their mission was essentially a counter-terrorism mission, it initially had no intention to take action against pirates. The area of operations of Task Force 150 however included the area off the coast of Somalia (Fink & Galvin, 2009, p.382) Terrorism in any form cannot be justified even if it may have some credible reasons. For example, Somali pirates are looting or attacking the ships passing through its coastal lines because of poverty in their country. Same way, Islamic terrorists attack innocent people in order to save their belief or religion; as proclaimed by them. In any case, it should be noted that taking the life and property of another person is illegal and unethical. Terrorists and pirates cite many reasons to justify their activities. In short, Somali piracy should be dealt as a form of terrorism and United States should interfere more meaningfully in this issue. “Some nations act as part of an international organization, such as NATO and EU, and others act individually, such as China, Russia, India and Pakistan, while others take part in multinational coalition operations, ...Download file to see next pagesRead More