At the end of WW2 the US needed cannon fodder to stand between us and Joseph Stalin's Red Army. So, we created the Breton Woods System. We would use our naval power to ensure that anyone could go anywhere and trade anything world wide for the low, low price of having you side with us against the Soviet Union. It worked. Nations could now specialize and do what they do best and use the proceeds to buy what they needed. Nations that previously couldn't industrialize, industrialized. World trade boomed. Despite a huge rise in population, per capita wealth increased. A lot.
Since the end of the Soviet Union the US has generally taken the stance that it is no longer our job to police the world's oceans. The exception is piracy. The founding document for the current version of the US Navy lists one of our jobs as anti-piracy.
As I stated in my original post, the big problem is that the ships being threatened are not registered in nor do they pay taxes to the nations with navies capable of protecting them.
WWG1WGA
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
It seems like our guys are still keeping the Indian Ocean pretty clear of Somali pirates. That whole Mersk Alabama(?) incident pretty much cleaned that up. But this flying krap from Yemen is land based. and we still owe the Yemens a flaming thank you for the USS Cole. Way overdue. I expect the Soddies would help if Slojoe would just give the nod to making a smoking hole out of Yemen?
At the end of WW2 the US needed cannon fodder to stand between us and Joseph Stalin's Red Army. So, we created the Breton Woods System. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fascinating comment.
According to Luttwak (Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace), the front line (mostly U.S. & U.K.) facing the USSR was intended to hold just long enough (a few days?) to allow tactical nukes to be deployed by America, but not long enough for the Euros to surrender.