Well, the Chinese understand successful counter-piracy

Heck, if we won't do it - then maybe a nation that still has self-confidence and good domestic political top-cover will.

"For counter-piracy campaigns to be effective, we should probably move beyond the ocean and crash their bases on the land," said General Chen Bingde, the chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army.

China is among the countries fighting increasingly aggressive Somali pirates, who are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden and increasingly in the Indian Ocean.

Earlier this year, a U.S. Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Mark Fox, said he believed some of the pre-emptive techniques used to battle terrorism should be used to combat pirates, particularly the aggressive approach to tracking terrorist financing.

Chen appeared to be favoring an even more aggressive approach.

"It is important that we target not only the operators, those on the small ships or crafts conducting the hijacking activities, but also the figureheads," Chen said.

General Chen .... most professionals I know would sail under your flag with those orders. It is sound and based on literally thousands of years of anti-piracy best practices. Go for it.

Hat tip E40.