The thwarted attack on a second U.S. ship by Somali pirates works as a metaphor for foreign aid. The gratitude expressed to the deliverers of "thousands of tons" of humanitarian aid on the Liberty Sun came in the form of rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire. When the aid is delivered, its principal beneficiaries are the thugs and strongmen. The thugs and strongmen attacking the Liberty Sun, one might say, were just trying to speed up the process that would have inevitably worked out on dry land.

Is there something in the water on that continent that makes the people crazier and act in more chaotic ways than in other places?