The West Turns to Kenya as Piracy Criminal Court: by JEFFREY GETTLEMAN - Piracy suspects are being sent to Mombasa, where officials are eager to mete out justice.

In the shadow of Fort Jesus, a 16th-century Portuguese stronghold that truly belongs to the era of slave raiders and pirate ships, is the office of Kenya’s premier pirate lawyer...

Muhammad on the High Seas: By Stephen Prothero - The late spate of piracy off the coast of Somalia has been analyzed so far almost entirely in political and economic terms: Somalia is lawless and impoverished, so Somali men are taking world trade for a ride. Religion comes up in this analysis only in terms of fears about potential ties between Somali pirates and Islamist groups such as al Qaeda and al Shabab.

Bombing Somalia is a dud: By Micah Zenko - Some propose airstrikes against Somali pirates, but past attacks in the region have been ineffective.

Buoyed by the remarkable marksmanship of U.S. Navy SEALs against Somali pirates, a debate has emerged about the wisdom of bombing the pirates' support infrastructure onshore in Somalia. Given the painful memory of 18 U.S. soldiers killed in 1993 in Mogadishu in the "Black Hawk Down" battle, deploying U.S. ground forces in Somalia is not seriously being considered, making airstrikes the best military option.