The Red State Ranger

"He is a very shallow critic who cannot see an eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative." - GK Chesterton

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Barbarians in the Ports

By now, you've all seen the news. Thar be pirates.

For nearly a century, during peacetime, there has been freedom of navigation for all on the high seas. This universal freedom was bought and paid for by the US Navy. Similarly, we have freedom of navigation in the ether of modern communication - space and these interwebs right here - thanks to the US Air Force.

Does this mean the US Navy is no longer strong enough to maintain full freedom of the seas? Make no mistake; you're going to hear from people blaming this on the atrophy brought on by the War in Iraq, or the War on Terror, or the Failed Bush Policies, or even Clinton's Peace Dividend. Don't believe them.

I agree with the premise that the US Navy can no longer control and defend the entirety of the sea. But the reason is not through the fault of the Navy. The economies of the world have expanded explosively, and commerce is more and more global. Heck, one look at the multi-national crew manifests on these ships is evidence of that. Simply put, there's just too much traffic, and too many sea lanes to protect every single one - especially when it's not really your job in the first place.

But we're not facing the end of global shipping, nor even the end of "Made in China" tags. The good news about the expansion of other economies is the expansion of self-interest. Other countries are stepping up to defend their economy and their sense of nationhood.

If it's the Wild West, the cattle rustlers have ticked off just about every sheriff on this side of the Pecos.

What's really interesting is we've been here before. A nation, relatively new to the global scene, stands up to defend its commerce and interests against piracy on the high seas.

This ties into the War on Terror, as well. The Barbary Pirates came about as a result of the Crusades; it could be said that that medieval battle between Europe and the Middle East didn't end until the conquering of Algiers in 1830. And it's safe to say that these Somali pirates aren't exactly independent of the modern-day crusade. Will history repeat itself, and will those aggrieved by piracy set aside their differences and put down the barbarians at the gates? (You can watch - isn't the internet cool?)

Two things are certain - First, in indiscriminately attacking vessels of all nationalities and origins and destinations, the pirates have succeeded in making the war (not just the battlefields) truly Global in nature, and they've given us some allies in the process. That should be capitalized on in this global counterinsurgency.

Second, everything old is new again:
It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise. He said, also, that the man who was the first to board a vessel had one slave over and above his share, and that when they sprang to the deck of an enemy's ship, every sailor held a dagger in each hand and a third in his mouth; which usually struck such terror into the foe that they cried out for quarter at once.

Sound familiar?

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