The Reason We Can't Stop Pirates? The UN

FOXNews.com - Enemies of All Mankind: Who Can Stop the Pirates There are a lot of reasons, but the principle one is that the "Law of the Sea" as rewritten under the spineless UN doesn't allow much action.

For example, the idea that self-defense might work is discouraged.

Bringing weapons on board ships is "strongly discouraged" by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization, and experts agree that arming commercial crews is a bad idea.

Apparently it is much better to have defenseless victims.

The last time piracy was a problem, the Brits took action that made an impact.

In the 18th century, the British government made a "great show of how wicked pirates were" by hanging them in public, said David Cordingly, author of "Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates."

"Often their bodies were coated in tar and wrapped up in chains and then hung from a gallows at the entrance of a port or harbor," Cordingly said. "The idea was to make it seem that it wasn't a very good career option to become a pirate."

Any bets on how likely that is to happen today?

But of course it won't happen.

"The authorities have to be very careful with the law of the sea and United Nations charters," Cordingly said. "Nowadays you can't simply charge in with warships, blast the pirates and hang them on the waterfront."

We had better get used to dealing with pirates, because we aren't going to get rid of them anytime soon.