Somalia might be the most chaotic state in the world, to the point that it barely qualifies as a state any more. It's location on the Gulf of Aden means that Somalia also represents a sort of wild west for piracy. In the last two weeks two ships have been hijacked off the coast of Somalia. The latest of these took place yesterday and involved the seizure of a ship, The Bunga Melati Dua, carrying palm oil from Indonesia to the Netherlands.
Instability on Africa's horn has a tremendous ripple effect on global politics. Somalia is ripe for not only regional destabilization and for this sort of piracy but also for radicals of all stripes, including radical Islamists.
