Anti-Piracy Plan

I did some thinking about the best way to deter pirates from attaching US ships. Since the crews are not allowed to be armed in order to be allowed to port, I say we bookend the Gulf of Aden with the USS Bainbridge and a similar destroyer. Let a 4 or 6 man Navy SEAL team board the ships as they enter the gulf. If there's an attack, the crew attempts to stop the pirates and if the pirates board the ship, the crew hides in the engine room, per protocol. Then, the SEALs do their thing, and disembark on the other side. There's got to be about the same number of ships coming as going and I'm sure that other countries wouldn't mind giving a group of Navy Seals a ride back across if it gets too lopsided.

So, 2 ships, maybe 60 SEALs, and maybe we contract them out on the rides back across the gulf. Its pretty decent training for SEALs since this is right up their alley and I don't know how long it takes to cross, but I'd guess three to four weeks. These pirates are 14 to 25 years old, it shouldn't take long to make an impact. If Somali pirates are going to target US Ships, then its time to get proactive instead of waiting for an attack and speeding to the rescue. I guess this is still somewhat reactive, but if we're worried about the US looking like the bad guy, Shock & Awe II: The College Years, is out of the question.