We had yet another amazing conversation with David Axe ...
[T]he Bush Administration unwittingly assisted in the expansion of pirate activity several years ago. The Islamic Courts emerged in Somalia with some popular support to provide security and stability in the war-torn country. Their appeal was similar to the Taliban's more than a decade ago. Once in power, the Bush Administration assumed the Islamic Courts had a substantial relationship with Al Qaeda. It was later determined that this was not the case. But before that intelligence could sink in, the Bush Administration supported landlocked Ethiopia's take over of Somalia. Ethiopia got access to ports, and Washington removed a perceived problem.
However, the law of unintended consequences ruled the day. The Islamic Courts fell, the Ethiopians got locked into an Iraq-style occupation which led them to finally retreat, and the one check on the pirates (the Courts) disappeared. The Islamic Courts were not fans of the pirates and worked to dismantle the pirate network. With that adversary gone, the pirates flourished.
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What do you think?