Countries took a dozen or so steps to safeguard the seas during the pirate wars that stretched roughly from 1650
to 1850. These included changing public attitudes, hiring private pirate hunters, rooting out corruption,
improving the administration of justice, offering pardons to pirates who voluntarily surrendered, increasing the
number of naval ships dedicated to antipiracy duty, cooperating with other nations, convoying merchant ships,
blockading and bombarding pirate ports, chasing pirates both at sea and on land, and, finally, occupying and
dismantling pirate lairs.
Left unchallenged, piracy is spiralling out of control, and now threatens the sea-lanes that transport almost half
the world's cargo, including one-third of Europe's oil supplies. In addition, many of the proceeds from this
modern-day piracy may wind up underwriting an extreme Islamist movement.
Regardless of however many additional warships are sent, it is important that they be allowed to use more
effective tactics than currently permitted by their political masters. Most of the naval ships now stationed off
the Horn of Africa are not convoying merchant vessels, hunting down pirate ships, or bombarding pirate lairs.
Instead, all they are authorized to do is float around in an attempt to deter pirates from striking and respond to
distress calls when they do strike. These are fools' errands when undertaken by a dozen or so ships scattered
across an area four times the size of Texas. The pirates are equipped with satellite phones and GPS devices and
are sophisticated enough to monitor naval movements and strike when and where patrollers are absent.