Phillip Betts
Mrs. Baggett
Pre-DP/AP English 10
2 May 2009
Piracy in International Waters: Economic or Military Problem?
Piracy has found its way back into popularity through the gangs of the ungoverned Somalia, and now the question is if this is an economic problem or a military problem. Piracy has now become a popular form of crime in the Indian Ocean. The Somalian’s resistance head Abdweli Ali Taar claims that the problems of piracy are from Somalia’s hyper-inflation, and if countries would help fix this problem, then piracy would reduce greatly. However Taar also claims that if countries would support his coast guard, then he and his men alone could wipe out the pirates. So now the decision lies with the UN and other countries that would be supporting one of Taar’s theories.
One of Taar’s theories is that the pirate problem in the east is due to the economical situation in Somalia. Abdullahi Yusuf becomes the new president of Somalia in 2004 after a brutal civil war. After his election, things in Somalia started to fall quickly. However Somalia’s government had mainly fallen in 1991. Soon after Yusuf’s election, the massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean struck all of its surrounding countries and land masses, causing devastation to the whole world. This event caused Somalia’s inshare stocks to plummet. Due to these economic injuries, Taar asks the UN for help for Somalia in this horrible predicament:
“I told the UN, ‘look, if you want to help Somalia, the pirates are peanuts compared to the problems we have. Instead of spending millions to patrol our waters, use the money to help stabilize our institutions.’” (Gatehouse 6)
Taar blames the economy for the amazing crime rate in Somalia because many of the pirates and other criminals are just normal, some respectable men that need money, and this is the only way they know to get it to their knowledge. Many of these men used to be fishermen. They became frustrated with the large tankers and...