SOMALIA PIRATES, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S 3.00AM RED-PHONE CALL?

True to type of the office of the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, President Barack Obama was woken up in the wee-hours of Wednesday morning to answer to a red phone call? The crisis, the errant Somalia pirates have taken a United States registered merchant vessel, the Maersk Alabama, with its cargo and twenty United States citizens crew on board.

The president was calm, cool and collected as he took the red phone; and was briefed on the developing story. President Barack Obama is presently working with his national security team to find the best possible solution to resolve the crisis; as their options may be limited by the presence of a hostage. Icheoku wishes the president, a King Solomon's wisdom in finding the most effective solution to the crisis as well as a safe return of the captain of the ship, Richard Phillips of Vermont, who has been taken hostage by the Somalian criminals. According to inside sources, President Barack Obama is getting regular updates on the situation and the United States will take whatever steps are needed to protect U.S. shipping interests against pirates in the Somalian waters or other waters anywhere? However the good news is that the US crew members have since recaptured their ship but the captain is still being held hostage by the attackers. The pirates with their hostage are currently adrift and floating in a life boat on the Indian ocean within the perimeters where the Maersk Alabama was assaulted.

The 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama, pictured left, carrying U.N. food aid for East Africa, was attacked and momentarily taken about 500km (311 miles) off Somalia's coast by these pirates of Somalia.

Icheoku says that these bold-faced pirates deserve a resounding showdown to forever put an end to the scourge, which has made maritime activities off the coast of Somalia more cumbersome. If it means re-deploying some of the drones presently operating in the lawless northwestern Wazaristan territories of Pakistan to the Somalian waters, to track and incinerate these hoodlums for a watery grave, so be it; but this ship-taking and ransom collection illegality must be stopped. This is necessary to put to an end, a someday fully armed terrorist group, which with the ransom money may become fully equipped and armed to the teeth to challenge any authority both within and outside Somalia. Who even knows if Al-queida is behind this menace and supplying the logistics of this piracy? Every available hands and tools must be put in place to dislodge this criminal pirate activities off the Somalia coastal waters.

With about 130 pirate incidents in 2008 and 50 successful hijacks, this problem is growing out of proportion and should be checkmated now and immediately forthwith. In 2008, pirates made a whopping $80m (£54m) as proceeds from ransom for hijacked ships? The US Maersk Alabama is the sixth ship seized by the Somalian pirates within the last week alone and the first U.S.-flagged ship? It is also the first United States registered ship to be taken by pirates in the last one hundred years, which increases the stake to secure the next hundred years free from any hijack!

Like 9/11, the Somalian pirates have bitten more than they can chew as their days of carefree hijacks of ships off the Somalian coast has now come to an end. This particular hijack is a finger-pointing in the face of America and as always, America stands tall and proud not to be pointed at by little Somalian rascals. There will be consequences for this thoughtless act of hijacking one ship too many. No one messes with the Americans, ask Bin Laden and his thugs! However it ends, the outcome will make these pirates think twice before trying to seize any other ship; especially when that ship is an American registered ship!

This ship-taking is one heck of a miscalculation as according to Somali Foreign Minister Mohamed Omaar, the pirates "have got themselves into a situation where they have to extricate themselves because there is no way they can win." What a frank assessment of the situation by the Somalia minister who is well aware of the fearsome awesome power of the United States of America, roundly. Icheoku says, a wise man does not start a fight he cannot win and these Somalian pirates are imbeciles and very idiotic. American warship, the USS Bainbridge, has already reached the waters of Somalia to face-down these hostage-taking pirates of Somalia.

Somalian pirates usually go to sea in open skiffs with outboard engines, working in concert with larger ships that tow them out to sea. Using satellite navigational and communications equipment, and with very intimate knowledge of their local waters, the pirates, usually armed with AK47s, clamber aboard ships with ladders and grappling hooks to foment their hostage-taking and ransom trouble?

Icheoku concludes that these pirates might have taken their last ship in life; as their lives may end with this or they will forever be put out of commission as a consequence! Either way, they deserve their fate, as they brought the mighty American searchlight to beam on them menacingly.