Maritime Piracy and U.S. Power Projection
The United States has always been a maritime nation, holding a border with the Atlantic Ocean since the idea of a free nation took flight. As such, the element of maritime security is of utmost importance in National Security interests, as much as it was two-hundred years ago as it is now.
With the rise in attacks of domestic terror growing in rapid amount over the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the current, and although Piracy is often disassociated with most aspects of terrorism, the United States must always compare the two as merely constituents. The sea is the lifeline to all wealth and trade. Its disruption is, in one way or another, an act of economic, physical, or national terror. Combating this lucrative form of crime is imperative to the success of nations regardless of their affiliation with the world’s oceans, as all trade at one point or another must be run via ship. Disruption of this line when repeated often enough will lead to the eventual rift in the balance of power. As most pirates who claim allegiance to any body are either revolutionary or ideologically driven, malicious action against a sovereign state is usually no issue.
One of the founding and most important goals of the United States Navy is to keep sea lanes open to international trade, as our nation straddles two of the largest oceans on earth. In order to survive, our own nation and most others depend on open lanes, constricted and dangerous straits, gulfs, and other bodies of water important to the economy of several nations. Not only does this include economic need, but also a humanitarian cause as well. The Coast Guard, often thought of as an appendage of the Navy, was originally designated as the one law enforcement agency empowered with jurisdiction over the seas, under constant watch for enemies both domestic and foreign, and to halt all illegal actions, both within national waters and international. Piracy is no exception. Together, the maritime Armed Forces act as our vanguard against the very ideal of piracy, symbolizing a beacon of economic hope to those who seek it. The techniques when combating piracy have proved worthwhile and constant, the effort at maintaining a free sea not perfected, but possible.
As defined by the International Maritime Organization, a constituent body of the United Nations, Piracy is any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed: (i) on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft; (ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State. Plaguing littoral nations and international waters since time immemorial, maritime piracy both of independent initiative and by the incentive of a sovereign state has been a common route for those seeking quick wealth and power within a region. Heavily romanticized and more likely career during the eighteenth century, and contrary to popular belief, piracy has not at all vanished. No longer as prolific as it was in its heyday, it still maintains popularity with international crime syndicates and militant separatist movements all throughout the world.
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