NATO Lacks Rules of Engagement to Fight Pirates

Well, credit Reuters for asking the question that we've been discussing since the early rumors naval forces would move to Somalia. With all the firepower you would ever need to send some pirates to Davy Jones's Locker, we still lack the political leadership to make RoE decisions about behavior like piracy.

The commander of a NATO task force on its way to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia has said he still does not know what the rules are for taking on the high-seas bandits.

U.S. Admiral Mark Fitzgerald said while he was aware of where the pirates were operating, there was little he could do militarily to stop them and that guidelines on how to take them on -- including whether to shoot -- were still in the works.

"You know, I don't think we've gotten the rules of engagement yet from NATO," Fitzgerald told reporters on Monday during a briefing on U.S. naval operations in Europe and Africa.

This is why I don't blame the Russians at all for making it clear they are doing their own thing. The west needs rule sets for piracy.