The entire world’s navies cannot win against a rag-tag "navy" of 3rd world bandits? At sea, where without the typical guerrilla war problems. The bandits cannot hide among the masses. Still they are almost safe.   Human rights sensitivities protect them.

As human-stupidity has noted before, Somali pirates rewarded with asylum in Europe.   Often, Somali Pirates are just released. If they drowned their weapons, and no positive proof can be found, then obvious pirates are just sent home to come back and try again next week We don’t have enough proof to convict in a far away court.

Our human rights laws were not made for Somali pirates. Our human rights laws are well intended, but often ineffective. They often cost us not only money, but cost victimization of innocent upstanding citizens. Of course the cost is exorbitant. Entire navies are there to arrest them. Free flights to Europe. free defense lawyers, and free housing for 5 years in jail. Asylum, welfare, and family immigration to Europe later on. And we all pay in higher merchandise cost for the vastly increased shipping insurance rates.

No wonder many people think that old fashioned methods like summary execution would be much more appropriate methods to nip piracy in the bud. The same way as Guantanamo’s human rights violations probably are saving lives and stemming the terrorist tide.

Late action is another problem. The problem has grown, it is very late. The enemy has become rich and powerful. Now the pirates have good weapons, equipment, good logistics. Similar things have happened in the drug war and with the spam problem. We created the monsters ourselves. Had we acted forcefully beginning, there would be no spam problem. Now the top spammers make millions a month, and enlist the worlds best hackers to aid them.

Admiral MARK FOX (Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet): At 8 o’clock this morning local time, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired from the Quest, by the pirates, towards the Starrett. Immediately thereafter, gunfire also erupted inside the cabin of the Quest.

Several pirates appeared on deck and moved up to the bow with their hands in the air in surrender.

LANGFITT: When U.S. Special Forces boarded the yacht, they said they found the Adams and two fellow American sailors dead or dying. The other sailors were identified as Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle, both of Seattle, Washington.

Admiral Fox also said they found two pirates who had already been killed. He emphasized that U.S. Special Forces did not shoot those pirates, and had not tried to launch a rescue.

Officials: Somali Pirates Kill 4 American Hostages|NPR

Somalische Piraten immer brutaler|Der Spiegel (in German, with very intelligent comments)

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Human Rights, when overdone as a inflexible dogma, encourage crime.

Somali pirates embrace capture as route to Europe

Pirates captured after attacking a Dutch vessel have gone on trial in the liberal Netherlands and at least two of them have declared their intention to stay on as residents.

Geert-Jan Knoops, an international criminal law attorney and professor at the Royal University of Utrecht, has suggested that the Dutch trial might encourage pirates to surrender just in order to seek a better life in Western countries. [ . . . ]

“Life is good here,” said one of the defendants, named Sayid, about his experience in a Dutch jail.
[ . . . ]

“My client feels safe here. His own village is dominated by poverty and sharia [Islamic law] but here he has good food and can play football and watch television. He thinks the lavatory in his cell is fantastic,” he said.

Mr Ausma has told the Somali that he will be considered for a residence permit after serving his sentence, expected to be a maximum of four years in prison.

“He intends to send for his wife and children as soon as he is released from prison. He knows he cannot easily be sent back to Somalia. He loves it here in the Netherlands,” Mr Ausma told the NRC Handelsblad newspaper.

Mr Ausma has also warned that ongoing piracy trials in the Netherlands, France and the United States will encourage pirates to commit crimes, for the purpose of being captured, rather than deterring attacks on Western flagged vessels.

“Anything is better than Somalia,” he said.

Prof Knoops has called for an international tribunal to deal with Somali pirates.

quoted from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/piracy/5350183/Somali-pirates-embrace-capture-as-route-to-Europe.html

Maybe the old time solution of sinking pirate ships and letting the pirates drown, or executing them on high seas would be a better service to humanity.  It would be more humane to worry about the safety of law abiding citizens, instead of worrying about the well being of violent dangerous criminals.

Interestingly, nobody worries much about the human rights violation of the average law abiding Somali citizen who was not captured by a foreign navy for being a criminal.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3736239.ece

From The Sunday Times
April 13, 2008

Pirates can claim UK asylum

THE Royal Navy, once the scourge of brigands on the high seas, has been told by the Foreign Office not to detain pirates because doing so may breach their human rights.

Warships patrolling pirate-infested waters, such as those off Somalia, have been warned that there is also a risk that captured pirates could claim asylum in Britain.

The Foreign Office has advised that pirates sent back to Somalia could have their human rights breached because, under Islamic law, they face beheading for murder or having a hand chopped off for theft.

[ . . . ]

Britain is part of a coalition force that patrols piracy stricken areas and the guidance has troubled navy officers who believe they should have more freedom to intervene.

The guidance was sharply criticised by Julian Brazier MP, the Conservative shipping spokesman, who said: “These people commit horrendous offences. The solution is not to turn a blind eye but to turn them over to the local authorities. The convention on human rights quite rightly doesn’t cover the high seas. It’s a pathetic indictment of what our legal system has come to.”

http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2009/04/britain-hangs-out-welcome-mat-to-somali-pirates/

Britain Hangs Out Welcome Mat to Somali Pirates

A refreshing point of view follows:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3736239.ece

Pirates must be hunted down and their vessels sunk on sight

Such ships must act promptly and ruthlessly, as piracy will spread unless it is stamped out. The Gulf of Aden is an exit from the Mediterranean, one of the world’s most important seas, crossed annually by thousands of ships. So our campaign must be ruthless and pitiless: pirate ships must be sunk on sight and the crews left to swim to safety, if it can be reached.

Many would complain about such tactics but, in my opinion, pirates have no rights – indeed, it will be vital to exclude human rights lawyers from the anti-piracy campaign. To bring any captives to Europe or America for trial would probably be to grant them their dearest wish, which is to secure entry to a new life in the First World.