Fighting Piracy Should Be More Like the Old Days
David B. Rivkin Jr. & Lee A. Casey | November 19, 2008
The hijacking of a Saudi-owned oil tanker is unprecedented but only part of the recent, dramatic rise in piracy. ++ Capturing pirates in not a major problem, but due process makes dealing with captive pirates more complex than in the 1700s. ++ Universal jurisdiction should be applied in this case, allowing any state to try and punish pirates. ++ States should then try them in military courts. ++ Piracy, like terrorism, is “part of a broad challenge to civilization and international order” and will test the grit of Western governments.
By passing an economic rescue package, Congress intended to stabilize the banking system by “purchasing illiquid mortgages and mortgage-related securities.” ++ Rising unemployment, falling house prices and European economies in crisis have averted the desired outcome. ++ However, the next administration will have less trouble dealing with challenges as it will face a “more stable banking system.” ++ “Resources, authority and potential programs” will help deal with liquidity needs of credit providers and boost the economic recovery.
The lessons of Iraq, and history, have been ignored and are being repeated in Afghanistan. ++ The US and UK have only succeeded to “reduce what should be one of the world’s richest countries to shambles.” ++ If there is one lesson from Iraq it is that “foreign expeditions undertaken in a spirit of jingoist revenge, with a crazed optimism and no strategic plan, are usually a bad idea.” ++ While Hamid Karzai seeks political reconciliation with the Taliban, US and British special forces continue their campaign of losing hearts and minds.
Afghanistan has been at war for almost 30 years. ++ The possibility of US exit strategies hovers on the horizon but winning the war would require carpet-bombing of southern Afghanistan. ++ Many Afghans hostile to the Taliban still support the resistance. ++ The British ambassador to Kabul considers the war lost. ++ General Petraeus will not be able to work miracles in Afghanistan. ++ The main task should be creation of social infrastructure and the preservation of peace. ++ Only breaking with previous policy offers a viable future.
The largely unknown British oil industry was one of the largest in the world, but is now running dry. ++ The drilling platforms off the shore of Scotland gave Prime Minister Thatcher a one-time economic boost that funded her economic policies. ++ The possibility of an independent, oil-financed Scotland has not made oil popular in the 
