Somali pirates have been holding ships hostage and charging ransoms for so long that it has become a major business for the country. It's a source of income for the people who live there, which means it's possible the government is involved in the piracy in some way.

Recently, the pirates attempted to take over a ship captained by an American named Richard Phillips.

Phillips was able to thwart the takeover, but ended up as a hostage. The ship and crew were able to escape, and the pirates have demanded a ransom for the captured captain.

U.S. Navy is nearby, and a destroyer ship can see the lifeboat Phillips is being held on. The pirates and Americans are in negotiations, and the pirates have said they are willing to kill Phillips if they are attacked.

These pirates seem to be pretty sure of themselves when you consider the position they're in. The pirates have failed to capture a ship, have taken one hostage, and are now demanding a ransom as a Navy destroyer is circling them. At some point, it seems like these pirates should cut they're loses and go home.

That is, unless their arrogance is justified by the backing of a national government. Maybe these pirates don't fear the U.S. because they know they have support from elsewhere. If these pirates were truly alone in what they were doing, they'd probably have the sense to run away and live to fight another day.

The only way for the U.S. to find out for sure who's backing who, is to attack these pirates. If at all possible we should save Phillips first, but after that, we need to attack. The land bases and ships of the pirates aren't hidden, and could easily be taken out if we so choose.

If the Somali government really doesn't back these pirates, than they should have no problem letting us come in and take care of business. How are these pirates any different from terrorists? Isn't our War on Terror still going on? If so, here are some easy targets to get out of the way.

These pirates are terrorizing ships from almost every nation, how it is that no one has got on the offensive yet?