"In Somalia's main pirate lair of Haradheere [about 400 km/ 250 miles NE of Mogadishu], the sea gangs have set up a cooperative to fund their hijackings offshore, a sort of stock exchange meets criminal syndicate.... "Four months ago, during the monsoon rains, we decided to set up this stock exchange. We started with 15 'maritime companies' and now we are hosting 72. Ten of them have so far been successful at hijacking," Mohammed said.
"The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials ... we've made piracy a community activity.".... "Piracy-related business has become the main profitable economic activity in our area and as locals we depend on their output," said Mohamed Adam, the town's deputy security officer.
This is just the beginning of the true cost of the dithering and ineffective measures demanded by the UN and its enablers. Large sections of the Indian Ocean, far beyond Somalia, are already becoming dangerous for shipping and trade. And the forces on land will continue to morph toward more sophisticated - and hostile - models, the longer they're left alone. This is far too good a racket not to attract interest from al-Qaeda, which already has reliable proxies in the area - and a long Islamic history of piracy and slavery to use as justification and rallying call.
It would take one visit from the New Jersey (if she were still commissioned) to end the Somalian piracy problem for good.
In a spirit of good fellowship and international amity, I suggest we provide celebratory fireworks and sound effects for their market opening some day soon. 500 pounds or so, air express delivery, should be roughly appropriate.
Are you kidding? It sounds like the sort of place where there would be a large amount of untraceable cash (not to mention guns!). Man, it would be a shame if the prevailing lack of law and order allowed a large group of bandits to attack the market, abscond with all the cash and guns, and set fire to all the records...
That would be a shame. Wonder how much the Marines could carry?
No, no, this sort of thing should be left to private enterprise.
You could probably make pretty good money as a truly-hardcore adventure tour operator. Visit Somalia! See real pirates in action! (And kill them.) All the loot you can carry! No pesky law enforcement to deal with! A real-life Most Dangerous Game...
(No sense in taking pirates hostage, after all. They're not insured! And, technically, under sentence of death if apprehended...)
Sorry, ADV, too slow off the mark. The entrepreneurs are there ahead of you. I'm saving up the dinero for the mini-gun option!