More on Iran and Piracy

Following up on the post below this one, here's a great article on the similarities between piracy and terrorism. Well, it's great reading and well-reasoned, but rather pie-in-the sky; the legal changes it recommends aren't to the advantage of nations that either support terrorism directly or that wish to see the United States confounded by it. It's long and thinky, but worth it. Fair use excerpt? Sure, why not:

The corollaries between the pirates' "war against the world" and modern terrorism are profound and disturbing. With their vengeful practices, pirates were the first and perhaps only historical precedent for the terrorist cell: a group of men who bound themselves in extraterritorial enclaves, removed themselves from the protection and jurisdiction of the nation-state, and declared war against civilization. Both pirates and terrorists deliberately employ this extranationality as a means of pursuing their activities. The pirates hid in the myriad shoals and islands of the Atlantic. The terrorists hide in cells throughout the world. Both seek through their acts to bring notice to themselves and their causes. They share means as well—destruction of property, frustration of commerce, and homicide. Most important, both are properly considered enemies of the rest of the human race.

And another, about the state sponsorship of piracy and how it blew up in the sponsors' faces:

After a series of draconian laws passed by George I of England effectively banished pirates from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean corsairs emerged as pre-eminent maritime mercenaries in the employ of any European state wishing to harass another. This situation proved disastrous. The corsairs refused to curtail their activities after each war's conclusion, and the states realized that they had created an uncontrollable force. It was this realization that led to the Declaration of Paris in 1856, signed by England, France, Spain, and most other European nations, which abolished the use of piracy for state purposes. Piracy became and remained beyond the pale of legitimate state behavior.

The article mentions English legal commenter William Blackstone's take on pirates, which is a good one. He reiterates the notion of universal jurisdiction against pirates and mentions another largely forgotten term that needs to be applied to terrorists: hostis humani generis--"enemies of mankind". He also had this to say about pirates:

As therefore [the pirate] has renounced all the benefits of society and government, and has reduced himself afresh to the savage state of nature, by declaring war against all mankind, all mankind must declare war against him.

These words are true for terrorism as well.

Even more interesting from Blackstone is his take on British law about pirates. In this post yesterday I noted how surprised Americans were that the British didn't defend themselves against the Iranians--and cited the American reaction to an American captain who failed to defend his crew against the British in 1807. Turns out that in Blackstone's day, British captains were obliged to defend their ships as well:

And if the commander shall behave cowardly, by not defending the ship, if she carries guns or arms, or shall discharge the mariners from fighting, so that ship falls into the hand of pirates, such commander shall forfeit all his wages, and suffer six months imprisonment.

Now British rules of engagement require what Blackstone once called cowardice.

(Blackstone quotes from his Commentaries on the Laws of England, Vol. IV, pp.71-3.)

PS: If you would like to play a Flash game in which you can shoot pirates out of a cannon, banking them off of other pirates who are wearing parachutes, follow the link in this post.

PPS On further reflection, this British policy is utterly unsurprising. Blackstone's analogy between a man defending himself from robbers and nations defending themselves from pirates makes no sense in modern Britain and Europe, which deny their citizens the individual right--and the means--to self defense. Thus this sort of thing happens.