Paul Jay's Ponderings

I'm wondering where the hold up is. If the U.S. can take out suspect buildings in Pakistan, which is a nuclear armed, and mostly amicable country, and do so despite their protests, then what is preventing the same type of action in Somalia? Note that Somalia isn't nuclear armed, and doesn't have a government with any major resources, U.S. relations, or political importance. If you want to stop the piracy, make some select buildings within the country disappear. We shouldn't be letting thugs armed with AK-47s and rocket launchers be calling the shots and restricting international waters. Also why not put some pressure on neighboring countries to do something about Somalia? It's likely affecting trade to them as well if the seas aren't safe for shipping. Certainly there should be some way of striking a deal that might get Ethiopia or Kenya to stop sitting around on their hands.

Before the point of making an actual strike, I'd suggest making a few dry runs with some carrier aircraft just to show where we can reach. If anybody really wanted to scare the shit out of 'em, put a formation of B-52s low enough to be noticed on a flight over the Somali coast. Make it understood that ransoms, hostages, and looted shipping aren't going to be worth what it may cost in return.