[VRWCmember]

Whether it's kidnapping for ransom in Columbia, stagecoach robberies on the great American frontier, or piracy on the Indian ocean, those crimes are all perpetrated by criminals, not people with a political agenda.

That said, they are criminals engaging in piracy -- which is in effect an unlawful act of warfare without the official declaration of war by any nation/state. As such, they should not be treated pursuant to any criminal justice statutes but rather as unlawful combatants subject to summary execution.

[OldDeckHand]

". As such, they should not be treated pursuant to any criminal justice statutes but rather as unlawful combatants subject to summary execution. "

Whether they should or shouldn't be is wholly irrelevant. We do have laws in this country, and our Armed Forces are compelled to follow those laws. 18 U.S.C. § 1651 demands that "robbery on the high sea" be punished as a criminal act, with a maximum punishment possible of life in prison.