Amazing. If you read this, it matches exactly how the US privateers impacted the local colonies back in our early history. The question I have, is what direction will this go? Will Al Shabaab demand a cut or participate in these ventures to make money for jihad? If the local religious leaders keep scorning the capitalist activities of these newly rich pirates, then maybe religious extremists will attach the whole piracy thing to jihad, in order to keep the activity going strong and take advantage of the skills of these guys?
It is an excellent money maker, and if Al Qaeda is not doing too well in the donations department, then I could see them going down this path. I could also see them going down the drug smuggling path, just as long as they can somehow tie it into jihad. If they can justify suicide bombers and killing innocents in jihad, they can justify privateering and drug smuggling.
Despite the direction it goes, these guys will continue to get more loot. They have a taste of that good life, and they will not let go of that anytime soon. Piracy is king in Somalia, and all the kids are doing it.
I say break out the LoM and lets make a pirate’s life miserable and poor. Turn the eradication of pirates, into a full blown industry and take back the high seas. –Matt
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A pirate’s life is good in Somalia
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Mohamed Olad Hassan
BOSSASO, Somalia
A parcel of land here that sold for $12,000 two years ago now costs more than $20,000. The price of a nice pair of men’s shoes has gone up from $20 to $50. The reason: pirates. The influx of millions of dollars in ransoms has changed life in this coastal Muslim community, driving prices up and creating a schism between the pirate haves and have-nots. As piracy ramps up again with the end of the monsoon season, the lifestyle of the pirates – big houses, fast cars and easy drugs – is decried by both religious leaders and ordinary villagers.
“The use of drugs such as cannabis and the drinking of alcohol, sex and other obnoxious misconduct are now becoming common within the pirates, causing social problems,” said Sheik Ahmed, a mosque leader in the town of Galkayo. “That is what is worrying us, a lot more than the risk they pose to the foreign ships and crew.”