Two interviews on hijacked U.S. ship off the coast of Somalia

On April 9, I gave separate interviews to the Voice of America and Ron Reagan's Air America program, both on the American ship briefly hijacked off the coast of Somalia. I explained the complexity of the Somali piracy problem and the difficulty of taking counter measures. Many shipping companies are reluctant to invest in expensive security measures because statistically the chance of being captured in any given year is less than one-half of one percent. The area where piracy is taking place is so vast that it is impossible for a naval force to protect the entire region at the same time. I emphasized that the key is reestablishing a national government in Somalia that is committed to rooting out piracy and one that has the capacity on land and off shore to fulfill this commitment. Finally, I explained it is incumbent on the international community to end the devastating illegal fishing that takes place off the coast of Somalia by foreign fishing vessels.