Somili Pirates: We will fight to the death!

The Barbary pirates operated from North Africa from the time of the Crusades until the early 19th Century. These Muslim pirates and privateers were noted for the raiding of Christain towns and the enslavement of millions of people.

There was a time when no ship, no port would be safe from them.

It seems that history is repeating itself. For today, off the coast of East Africa, Muslim pirates are again taking to the seas to rape, rob and destroy.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A group of Somali pirates who have hijacked a tanker loaded with military supplies say they will fight to the death before giving in to Russian and U.S. authorities.

The superpowers have been unable to end the standoff and remain concerned that the ship's cargo of 33 tanks and other weapons could fall into enemy hands.

They have asked for a ransom of about $22 million, or 11 million British pounds, to release the 21 Ukrainian, Latvian and Russian hostages and the cargo.

"If we are attacked we will defend ourselves until every last one of us dies," Sugule Ali, a spokesman for the pirates, said in an interview over satellite telephone from the ship.

Ali's words came as U.S. warships continued to surround the ship and American helicopters buzzed overhead.

A Russian frigate is also expected to arrive within days.
Somali pirates have seized more that 30 vessels off the coast of their country so far this year.

They have received ransoms of between $20 million and $32 million, according to a report by British think tank Chatham House released earlier this week.

Residents confirmed fears that ransom payments to pirates were being passed onto the Islamist movement and were fueling the insurgency against President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.

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It took the combined effort of many nations over many years to destroy the Barbany Pirates, but if the Somilis think that they can survive the combined effort of the United States and Russia, they have been smoking too much wacky weed.

To finally end this piracy will take a combined effort of many nations. It will take international cooperation and the willingness to actually fire back and attack the enemy. And it will take a leader that is willing to take action instead of giving into the terrorist. It will take a leader, not an appeaser.