A failed state with no fish

Somalia has found a potential home in the 24-7 news cycle.

How long will it last? Who knows with the idiot empire we live in known as the United States of ADD.

Considering that the most in-depth knowledge people have of the East African country is the movie "Blackhawk Down" -- note that I said movie and not military mission -- my hopes aren't very high.

The sad thing is that this is a country that has not had a functioning government in 18 years, yet one American being kidnapped from a cargo ship turns into a miniseries for every media member taking part in the collective beating of the dead horse known as breaking news.

Even sadder is the thought that a teenage girl being stoned to death after saying she was raped never amounted to more than a one-day story that didn't resonate beyond some mediocre print coverage and a passing mention on the crawl that runs below your anchor of choice.

Our country walked out when a soldier's body was dragged through the street by clan militia, and the international community has turned a blind eye altogether since then it seems. As a side note, I quite vividly recall contractors strung up on a bridge early in the current Iraq military operation and we're still there.

Back to my continent of choice.

Now Islamic militancy has found a home, and the problem could get worse -- though, living in the Wild West of Africa, where guns and money mean power, hasn't exactly been paradise for many Somali people.

However, the pirates who have sailed onto our TV screens should not be confused with terrorism so much. Of the hostages taken, only a few have lost their lives, and it is a profit-driven business in a country where desperation drives motivation.

[What is of concern is the fact that the militant Al-Shabab may find more recruits in a failed state with a flimsy government. Their aim doesn't appear to be stretched beyond the border of their own country, but that is of no comfort for the everyday Somali. Piracy did slow under a brief period of Islamist rule, but what are the tradeoffs for people who live there?]


Desperate people do desperate things. The commercial fishing industry and its accompanying overconsumption have much more to do with what unemployed fishermen are doing with a GPS and RPG in hand than a motivation to wage war on other nations' maritime industries.

President Obama is to be applauded for overseeing the Navy Seals' operation, but his focus will also have to be turned toward what's happening on the ground in Somalia, not out in the sea. If people do not have stability on land, then the shoreline will be no different.

The pirates may just have done the average Somali a favor by docking their ship at the world's front door. Or Johnny Depp will soon be appearing in CBS' Pirates in the Caribbean 17: Mogadishu Mix-Up, which isn't good for anybody.