Is it really that hard?

[A Can of Man]

Is it really that hard to combat pirates??
I'm sure up to this point the whole thing about combating terrorists or insurgents was that this sort of thing hadn't really been done before, not like the way it is done now. But what about piracy on the high seas? Thsoe were dealt with back in the old days when the technological gap between pirates and the military wasn't even as great as it is now. So why is it harder to combat them in this day and age compared to the last? What does that suggest about the challenges facing combating any army that is not considered "official" and likes to hide in villages?

 

[BritinBritain]

As I mentioned some time ago, piracy was at an all time low during the cold war, that must say something.

I tend to agree it wouldn't be too difficult to suppress piracy, but who's going to do it and pay for it? If the US, UK and others got involved, would the countries who's territorial waters were being patrolled object to foreign warships and or submarines? Some rescued seamen have stated that when the hi-jack was reported to officials, a number of those officials were actually the ones who took part in the hi-jacking.

 

[A Can of Man]

Well, it is a lucarative business.
The illegality of having armed guards on ships is somewhat surprising. You could of course make a procedure where the guards' equipment (i.e. firearms) can be transported back to their main base of operations if the ship will not return to the port of origin right after reaching its first destination. Or if it's going to a port in another country and then returning, the weapons stay on until it's returned to its original port.