Pirate State: Inside Somalia's Terrorism at Sea

In 2009, the United States was hit broadside by Somali pirates who attempted to capture the U.S. flag ship Maersk Alabama. Suddenly, the pirates were no longer a distant menace. They had thrust themselves onto the American stage.
            Were the Somali pirates a legion of desperate fisherman attacking cargo ships and ocean cruisers to reclaim their waters? Or was piracy connected to crime networks and the madness that grips Somalia? What threats did pirates pose to international security?
            To answer these questions, Peter Eichstaedt crisscrossed East Africa, meeting with pirates both in and out of prisons, talking with them about their lives, tactics, and motives. Ultimately, he came face-to-face with a former fighter with Somalia's brutal Islamic al-Shabaab militia. He discovered that piracy was a symptom of a much deeper problem: Somalia itself.
            Pirate State explores the links between the pirates, global financiers, and extremists who control southern Somalia and whose influence extends across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen and connects to extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Somali pirates continue to be desperate and dangerous men who will do just about anything for money. Pirate State argues that turning a blind eye to piracy and the problems of Somalia is inviting a disaster of horrific proportions.