...how they should be treated.

As I see it, piracy is piracy. A crime. And that's how it's to be dealt with. Not by declaring war against the alleged pirates. One way or another, you capture 'em. You bring 'em to justice. And you give 'em a fair trial. No need to go to war over acts of piracy. Seems to me that we Americans make a big mistake in confusing criminals with 'enemy combatants.' The 911 atrocity, for instance, was conducted by a handful (19) of criminals. Not by soldiers or combatants. If 19 Mafia-connected thugs had committed the same act, we wouldn't go to war, would we? We'd crack down on the Mafia. And we wouldn't declare war on Italy if we thought Italy wasn't doing enough to stamp out the Mafia. Instead, it'd make more sense to take a world-wide policing action against Mafia criminals. Not a war. Not an invasion of Italy. I think we're waking up. Seems to me that the Obama administration isn't calling it a war on terror any more. So-called 'terrorists' are criminals, really. So are the pirates. And that's how they should be treated. --Jim Broede