No Hollywood Ending to Piracy Off Somalia

The Tom Hanks movie "Captain Phillips," which opens Friday, will focus attention — again — on piracy off the coast of Somalia. The movie, in which (spoiler alert) the bad guys get caught, unfortunately might lead you to think that this is a problem that's been solved. After all, since the April 2009 seizure of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, recounted in "Captain Phillips," there has been only one hijacking of a U.S.-flagged vessel by Somali pirates, the February 2011 seizure of a U.S. yacht in which the Americans were killed. And Somalia's other evils — the Shabab and its terrorist activities, for example — have taken over news headlines. But a lull in activity doesn't mean there is a happy ending. The threat of piracy remains, along with its underlying causes, and Somali piracy still carries an important message for the United States and for international order.