Security Firms’ Questionable Iraq Tactics Taken to the High Seas

In the late 17th century, the threat of piracy off the coast of West Africa was a very real threat to Britain’s East India Company and the royalty of India and the Middle East. The threat seemed to have died out just twenty years later, but now the modern world faces a new threat of piracy that has originated in Somalia and taken a toll on international shipping. The solution that has been put in place by some shipping companies has been the hiring of private security firms, including Blackwater Worldwide, the firm that was hired to provide security in Iraq and which is now under investigation for its role in the shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007. While many rue the involvement of private security firms, noting that they are notoriously trigger happy, the U.S. Navy, among other groups, welcomes the private companies.

"This is a great trend," notes Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet. "We would encourage shipping companies to take proactive measures to help ensure their own safety." As it turns out, Somali government officials also condone the hiring of such private companies, though the groups are not without their detractors. "Security companies haven’t always had the lightest of touches in Iraq, and I think Somalia is a pretty delicate situation" notes Roger Middleton, a writer for London think tank Chatham House.

The U.S. Navy, which patrols large swaths of coast off Somalia, points out that they, along with the rest of the coalition patrolling the shores, cannot effectively police the 2.5 million square miles of waters in the area, making private companies a good alternative. The worry among those who express concern is that the paid guards may inject greater danger to benign situations, unwittingly mistaking fishermen or commercial vessels as those of pirates and engaging them. The security firms have gotten a lot of press lately after a spate of shootings in Iraq and Afghanistan by the employees of private security firms led to an agreement between U.S. and Iraqi officials that limits the immunity of those companies. For their part, the security firms promise to stand tough against piracy, as Blackwater CEO John Harris notes, "We’ll get your crew and cargo back to you, whether through negotiations or through sending a team in."