Ron Pauls idea.. interesting actually, it might be an idea.
Linky Here..
[a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090415/pl_politico/21245"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20090415/pl_politico/21245[/a]
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[div class="bd"] [div class="byline"] [cite class="vcard"] Erika Lovley [span class="fn org"]Erika Lovley[/span] [/cite] – [abbr title="2009-04-15T02:16:00-0700" class="timedate"]Wed Apr 15, 5:16 am ET[/abbr][/div][!-- end .byline --] [div class="yn-story-content"] A little-known congressional power could help the federal government keep the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_0"]Somali pirates[/span] in check — and possibly do it for a discount price. [/p] [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_1"]Rep. Ron Paul[/span] (R-Texas) and a growing number of [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_2"]national security experts[/span] are calling on Congress to consider using [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_3"]letters of marque and reprisal[/span], a power written into the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_4"]Constitution[/span] that allows the United States to hire private citizens to keep [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_5"]international waters[/span] safe. [/p] Used heavily during the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_6"]Revolution[/span] and the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_7"]War of 1812[/span], [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_8"]letters of marque[/span] serve as official warrants from the government, allowing privateers to seize or destroy enemies, their loot and their vessels in exchange for bounty money. [/p] The letters also require would-be thrill seekers to post a bond promising to abide by international rules of war. [/p] In a [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_9"]YouTube[/span] video earlier this week, Paul suggested lawmakers consider issuing letters, which could relieve American [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_10"]naval ships[/span] from being the nation's primary pirate responders — a free-market solution to make the high seas safer for [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_11"]cargo ships[/span]. [/p] "I think if every potential pirate knew this would be the case, they would have second thoughts because they could probably be blown out of the water rather easily if those were the conditions," Paul said. [/p] Theoretically, hiring [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_12"]bounty hunters[/span] would also be a cheaper option.[/p] National security experts estimate that this week's [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_13"]ship captain[/span] rescue by [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_14"]Navy SEALs[/span] cost tens of millions, although a Navy spokesman says the military cannot confirm the exact cost of the mission. [/p] Instead, privateers would be incentivized to patrol the ocean looking for key targets — and money would be paid only to the contractor who completed the job. [/p] "If we have 100 American wanna-be Rambos patrolling the seas, it's probably a good way of getting the job done," said Competitive Enterprise Institute senior fellow and security expert Eli Lehrer. "Right now we have a Navy designed mostly to fight other navies. The weapons we have are all excellent, but they may not be the best ones to fight these kinds of pirates. The only cost under [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_15"]letters of marque[/span] would be some sort of bounty for the pirates." [/p] According to Senate historians, Congress hasn't issued a letter of marquee since the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_16"]War of 1812[/span], but the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_17"]Confederate States of America[/span] issued them during the Civil War to deliver supplies behind enemy lines. There are also some indications that a letter was granted to a flying band of armed civilians during [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_18"]World War II[/span] to operate the Resolute, a [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_19"]Goodyear Blimp[/span] used to patrol the ocean for enemy submarines, but the issuance isn't apparent in the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_20"]Congressional Record[/span]. [/p] If Congress were to revisit the antiquated process, a serious makeover would be required. [/p] In the past, privateers were allowed to keep the ship and treasure they captured in an enemy encounter. [/p] "That isn't a viable way of funding in today's world," said Lehrer. "These pirates don't really have [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_21"]treasure chests[/span], and their money is tied up in [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_22"]Swiss Bank accounts[/span]. Congress would probably have to attach sizable bounties to people." [/p] Bounties are not a new idea — there is still a $25 million bounty on [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_23"]Osama bin Laden[/span], and millions have been awarded by the government for other enemy captures.[/p] [/p] The U.S. State Department earlier this month put a $5 million bounty on the head of the top Pakistani Taliban leader, and even local police departments use rewards to solve cold cases. [/p] University of Oregon economics professor Bill Harbaugh argues the setup could potentially work better than some of the United States' relationships with modern-day security contractors. [/p] "Obviously, this is somewhat like the contract the government had with Blackwater, except we forgot the bond part of the contract, he said. "If Congress had used this contract from 1776, it would have been more sophisticated than the one they issued with Blackwater." [/p] Harbaugh's fifth great-grandfather, [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_24"]Silas Talbot[/span], worked as an early privateer for the United States in 1780 after serving in the [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_25"]Revolutionary War[/span]. His [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_26"]letter of marque[/span] shows he set out with 12 carriage guns and a crew of 50 men to attack and seize [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_27"]cargo ships[/span] coming from Great Britain on the high seas. [/p] Could it really work again? [/p] "It may work in the sense that if you give people incentives to fight piracy, you'll see more action taken against it," said Andrew Grotto, a senior national security analyst with the Center for American Progress. "The ocean is huge and, practically speaking, there's no way the Navy can prevent piracy; it's too big. But just given the experience in [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_28"]Iraq[/span] with private contractors, that effort showcases the difficulties dealing with folks who aren't answerable to anyone but shareholders." [/p] But Paul has already thought through a number of these updates. [/p] Days after [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_29"]Sept. 11[/span], Paul introduced legislation allowing [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_30"]President Bush[/span] to allow private citizens to go after [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_31"]Osama bin Laden[/span] and other identified terrorists and put a bounty price on the heads of targets responsible for the New York attacks. Contractors would also be required to post a play-by-the-rules bond and turn over any terrorists — and their seized property —to U.S. authorities. [/p] "The [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_32"]Constitution[/span] gives Congress the power to [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_33"]issue letters of marque and reprisal[/span] when a precise [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_34"]declaration of war[/span] is impossible due to the vagueness of the enemy," Paul wrote in a press release. "Once [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_35"]letters of marque and reprisal[/span] are issued, every terrorist is essentially a marked man." [/p] But [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_36"]national security experts[/span] and legal analysts warn that applying a colonial-era policy to a modern-day problem could be wrought with legal pitfalls that the Founding Fathers never encountered. [/p] If [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_37"]bounty hunters[/span] chase pirates into territorial coastal waters or on to the shore of another country, the problem would fall under the jurisdiction of that country. And any plundering activity that takes place in coastal waters is no longer considered piracy, according to College of William and Mary national security law professor Linda Malone. [/p] Not to mention that there's also no clear indication where and how the captured pirates should be prosecuted. [/p] "You have to find a stable court system nearby to have them tried for these offenses, but that can be quite complicated," Malone said. "The fact that the pirates are from [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_38"]Somalia[/span] doesn't make them [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_39"]state actors[/span]. They are doing this for private gain." [/p] And how to determine exactly who is a pirate — and what constitutes pirate activity — could get fuzzy. [/p] "What happens when a ship flying under Congress accidentally takes out an aid ship bound for Somalia?" Grotto said. "At what time does an act seem pirate-like enough to cross the line? Do we really want these snap judgments being made on the fly in waters thousands of miles away from Washington? This is not [span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1239813597_40"]Johnny Depp[/span] we're dealing with."[/p] [/div] [/div]
