Heh, I thought that statement might stir up some commentary.

There is some confusion, though. I'm not saying "Why should we bother trying to stop piracy?" Rather, I'm saying "Why is stopping piracy the first step to creating a stable Somali state?" Why should the piracy problem be tackled first, over all other issues? It seems to me that the reason people are advocating tackling piracy first is exactly what carl said: that "if it doesn't hurt me or mine, it's okay". Non-pirate-related issues in Somalia don't hurt "me or mine", so there's no interest in solving them. If we can't be bothered to view as important those issues which don't directly affect us and ours, why should Somalia?

It doesn't seem to me that piracy is the primary issue causing strife in Somalia. It seems pretty clear, actually, that it's the other way around: the strife allows and possibly even encourages the pirates to prosper. Solving the piracy won't, in any apparent way, address the strife. So why tackle it first?