According to The Hill, Senator John Kerry has called for hearings on the mounting piracy problem. Call me cynical if you will, but why wasn't this issue discussed before an American ship was taken. It wasn't as if the taking of an American ship was not inevitable. The piracy off Somalia has been going on for a number of years now. It's funny that while George Bush was President, they never touched American shipping.
According to the article:
"There have been more than 50 attacks in the area this year alone and the problem isn't going away," Kerry said. "I plan to hold hearings to further examine the growing threat of piracy and all the policy options that need to be on the table before the next fire drill becomes an international incident with big implications."
Note to Senator Kerry: the piracy will stop when the risk outweighs the possible material gain. As long as the ransoms are paid and no pirates are killed, there is no incentive for the pirates to stop. The ransom income for Somalia from piracy is larger than the country's gross national product. It is also a scary thought to wonder how much of the ransom money goes toward the funding of terrorism. That alone should have been reason to put a stop to this long ago.
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