Motorfirebox:

First off, how did you come up with that name? It is kind of interesting as I imagine is the story behind it.

I am interested in the immediate problem at hand, murderous Somali teenagers shooting people, kidnapping them and stealing their things. The immediate solution to that immediate problem is shooting said teenagers, sinking their boats and continuing to do so until they figure pirating isn't really so much fun. That puts an end to the violence (no more pirates, no more shooting pirates) and the whole cloth solutions can be started. As mentioned by Bill Moore, I think, you have to stop the shooting first before you can start effective development.

We haven't been doing that much, hardly at all. It is still big news when one or two pirates dies by the sword at sea. When it doesn't make the news at all because it has become routine, then the thing will stop; and then it won't make the news because it has stopped. If there is a pack of coyotes beleaguering your sheep, you don't just drop one, almost hit one then throw up your hands and wail that there is nothing you can do; you keep dropping them till they are all gone. (please don't come back with the coyotes from the next county will come over, these analogies can only take so much strain)

You mentioned starving fishermen. I don't know that much about the area in the area that used to be Somalia where all this started, but most of the starvation I've read about in the area that used to be Somalia was caused by armed groups of murderous Somali teenagers (they make another appearance) stealing food from other Somalis. My information is probably dated though. I would note that most of the pirates identified, to my knowledge, have been teens or men in their early 20s, about what you would expect in brigands. There don't seem to be many mature men who are heads of families righting the wrong by stealing the M.V. Itinerant and crew and ransoming it for $50 million.

There are lots of organizations who would be willing to go to the area that used to be Somalia to provide whatever help you care to name. I read they don't because it is too blinking dangerous. They operate in other completely confused areas of Africa, but not in the area that used to be Somalia. That may have something to do with the nature of the people who live in that area.

You mention building up the Somali naval forces. That is a grand idea. I think the first order of business would be to make a Somalia out of the area that used to be Somalia. That is a hard thing that nobody seems to have the stomach for, except the Ugandans. They are trying at least, and maybe the Burundians too, I think they are up there with the Ugandans. But in lieu of that, we should build up the Somaliland naval forces. There might be a chance there. Puntland, not so much.

I really don't care about what grave policy errors we made in the past concerning the area that used to be Somalia. As I said above, I am concerned about here and now. Therefore, I symbolically scourge the west, and the US most of all (naturally), for our past sins in the area that used to be Somalia. Now can we get to shooting some pirates and making the lives of innocent mariners a little easier?

Regarding this statement-"If you spank your kid when he's good, and you spank your kid when he's bad, he's not going to bother trying to be good for long. " You do what you want with your kid. But when you are driving down the distant interstate and some kid who lives next to it tries to carjack you, I concede your right to smite him a mighty blow regardless of what he says his circumstances are. (I hope I didn't strain that analogy beyond the breaking point.)