From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Apr 15 2009 - 14:45:11 EDT
EDITORIAL
Don’t go there: Use of military force in Horn of Africa would only end in
frustration
Published: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 8:14 AM EDT
With visions of the shores of Tripoli dancing in their heads, some people
want the U.S. military to wipe out the nest of pirates that swarm the seas
around the Horn of Africa.
In the midst of the attempted hijacking of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama
and the kidnapping of the American captain and the hostage situation that
followed, many Americans were up in arms.
Fortunately, Richard Phillips was freed, unharmed, after Navy SEAL snipers
were able to kill three of the pirates who were holding him hostage. What
made the rescue especially noteworthy, satisfying and honorable was that
Phillips had placed himself in this position so that his crew would not be
taken hostage.
Steps must be taken to reduce the danger that pirates pose to shipping in
this critical area of the world. But sending in a military force to
eliminate their bases of operations is not a long-term solution. This is not
the early 1800s, this is not a small area of northern Africa’s Mediterranean
coastline and these are not the Barbary pirates.
Six countries make up the Horn of Africa — Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia,
Eritrea, Kenya and Djibouti. Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia, the three that
border the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, encompass about
782,000 square kilometers. (Somalia alone is roughly the size of Texas.) In
comparison, Iraq is 437,073 square kilometers, about the size of California.
Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia are home to 10 million people. In comparison,
Iraq’s population is estimated to be around 29 million.
These three nations are almost twice the geographic size of Iraq and have
one-third of its population. Finding and identifying the pirates would be a
monumental, almost impossible task. They could fade into the hinterlands or
blend in with the native population to elude and outwait their pursuers. It
would be an exercise in frustration.
The Horn of Africa does need to be stabilized, and not just to protect
shipping. The AP reported U.S. officials fear that these countries could
become breeding and training grounds for Islamic terrorists.
Piracy around the Horn of Africa is the direct result of the lack of strong
central governments and, in the case of Somalia, no real government at all.
Addressing that problem, not sending in the Marines, is the real solution.
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