Somalian headache

A question that is being posed by CNN is whether Somalian pirates can be stopped at all. A number of proposals were then issued, ranging from making it extra difficult for pirates to board ships to cracking down on the pirates in Somalia itself.

There is of course very little that can be done to stop really determined pirates from succeeding in taking over any of the hundreds of cargo ships that pass along the coast of Somalia each day.

If at all, the pirates can be delayed for a while, such as by barbed wires strung around ships or by high pressure water cannons that can be employed by the crew. But as the facts would show, there is little that these measures can really do.

So the only really viable alternative would be to do something against the pirates in Somalia itself. The pirates, after all, cannot stay in the water forever. They have to come ashore somehow.

But what to do about the pirates on shore is as difficult as the problem with the piracy itself. Being a crime, piracy is a matter of law enforcement. Unfortunately, there is no law at work in Somalia.

Lawlessness runs rampant in a country that has not seen an effective government in years. There is no one in Somalia to go cracking down against the pirates. Maybe the pirates are even encouraged by those who used to be the symbols of law in Somalia.

Nevertheless, no matter how lawless and ungovernable Somalia is, there is the only hope that anything can be done against the piracy off its coast. What needs to be done has to be done on dry land. The high seas are simply too inhospitable for anything.

The area being terrorized by pirates is reportedly more than twice the size of Texas. With that kind of killer zone to manage, the presence of a multinational naval force off the coast of Somalia has truly a formidable job as it is.

And as recent events have clearly shown, not even the best navies in the world, such as those of the United States, France, China, India and others, have demonstrated the kind of luck to find those pernicious needles in the haystack.

If the problem has to be licked, it has to be brought on shore in Somalia. If it does not have a working government, then one has to be set up. Perhaps nobody knows how. But saying no is simply not an option.

Those who have sent their navies to sea over Somalia ought to better bring their forces in into Somalia, perhaps under United Nations supervision, and there try to bring the country together back on its feet.

Interdicting pirates out at sea is a piece-meal approach to the problem. The only way it can be licked is by bringing the fight right into that country's living room and make its occupants realize the importance of law and order.

It may take some time to do that, but then who said this kind of problem can be solved in a day. Lawlessness always has a way of making things get worse before they can get any better.

But the world should be prepared to meet the problem over the long run because that is precisely what this problem is all about. There are no quick fixes, although God knows we need to fix it quick before others catch the idea and the problem spreads.