The Somali pirates have sized an aid ship and captured its twenty US crew members. This is the first time that the pirates of the Indian ocean have attacked an American crew. The US is shocked. Apparently, the Danish-owned ship that was hijacked was loaded with emergency United Nations food supplies.

Piracy has become an increasingly lucrative business. The pirates usually use rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank rocket launchers, and automatic weapons to capture large, slow-moving vessels. This is another declaration of war, not only against the US, but against the world economy.

I am not sure what will be the response of the Obama administration, which already has so much to deal with. One thing is sure, by touching Americans, the pirates will face one of the strongest naval forces in the world. As the Malagasy say, “A chicken that hatches a crocodile’s eggs is looking for trouble.”