Pirate State
Inside Somalia's Terrorism at Sea
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In 2009, the United States was hit broadside by Somali pirates who attempted to capture the U.S. flag ship Maersk Alabama. Suddenly, the pirates were no longer a distant menace. They had thrust themselves onto the American stage.
Are the Somali pirates a legion of desperate fisherman attacking cargo ships and ocean cruisers to reclaim their waters? Or is piracy connected to crime networks and the madness that grips Somalia? What threats do pirates pose to international security?
To answer these questions, Peter Eichstaedt crisscrosses East Africa, meeting with pirates both in and out of prisons, talking with them about their lives, tactics, and motives. Ultimately, he comes face-to-face with a former fighter with Somalia's brutal Islamic al-Shabaab militia. He discovers that piracy is a symptom of a much deeper problem: Somalia itself.
Pirate State explores the links between the pirates, global financiers, and extremists who control southern Somalia and whose influence extends across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen and connects to extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Somali pirates are desperate and dangerous men who will do just about anything for money, and Pirate State argues that turning a blind eye to piracy and the problems of Somalia is inviting a disaster of horrific proportions.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Veteran journalist Eichstaedt's (First Kill Your Family) compelling book, based on his extended African visits, portrays a country in chaos, torn about by tribal fighting, corruption, and the violence of desperate people fighting for survival. Beginning with the dramatic re-telling of Maersk Alabama's capture by a small group of pirates and its eighteen year old leader, Eichstaedt then discusses the tiered payment system for the pirates and the countless individuals vying for the million dollar ransoms. Although piracy began in response to the usurpation of Somalia's fishing waters by larger foreign vessels, it quickly became a money-making operation generating a "total ransom purse " of $82 million in 2009. We see interviews with the Somali refugees who fled from a camp in Kenya, and we see the devastating effects of piracy on ordinary citizens. The book includes an analysis of the UN efforts to end piracy, the hijacking of humanitarian food supplies, and even the expansion of criminal networks into other countries. Eichstaedt recognizes that Somalia's pervasive poverty and illiteracy pose major obstacles to change. His even-handed polished style, and impressive documentation let the horrors and ramifications of piracy speak for themselves. The only quibble is that an additional map of Africa is sorely needed.
