What the pirates do is exactly what Somali militias do on land: They feed off of anyone with anything to steal. On land, rival clan-based militias attack UN aid convoys, food trucks—even refugees forced to carry all their wealth in the world as they flee from home. At sea, they use the same tactics, only with higher, more public stakes. In the past year, they have seized 30 Russian-made tanks (from a Ukrainian ship bound for Kenya); they have stripped parts from luxury yachts and oil tankers; and last year they raked in an estimated $30 million. Finally, two weeks ago, they drew the world’s attention by attacking their first American ship, the Maersk Alabama. The Alabama was carrying containers of food —vegetable oil, wheat, and dehydrated vegetables—meant to alleviate starvation in Somalia. And while the attack kept the world riveted, as if this were a unique and astonishing event, in reality, it was just a larger-scale version of what these bandits do on land every day, while the world pays little attention.

Thanks to the high-profile rescue and the courageous tale of the Alabama’s captain and crew, however, the world is paying attention now. Last week, Hillary Clinton unveiled several new anti-pirate initiatives, which include proposals for freezing pirate assets, arrangements to work with 30 nations on international maritime protection, and, most importantly, new plans to address the glaring chaos of Somalia—Finally.

Secretary Clinton also spoke of the need to take Somalia’s new Prime Minister, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed—one of the leading Islamists who fled the U.S.-backed invasion by Ethiopia nearly three years ago—very seriously. Paradoxically, the Islamists led by Sheikh Ahmed, are the only leaders who have effectively banned piracy ever—during their six months in power in 2006. Under the Islamist’s watch, piracy stopped almost completely. Now, heading back into power after nearly three years of bloody insurgency, the Islamists are ready to take on the pirates again. In the past few days, the Islamists leading Somalia’s transitional government have announced that piracy is a crime against Islam and punishable by death.

The Islamists have other concerns along their coast, however. For years, a number of countries (especially the Japanese) have taken advantage of Somalia’s chaos to poach tuna by helicopter, while others have dumped their toxic waste along what is one of the world’s longest coastlines. As Ibrahim Addou, an American citizen and high-ranking minister in the new Somali transitional government said, these international practices, too, must end. The pirates are only a symptom of an increasingly desperate nation struggling to survive.

And what of those Somali women dolling themselves up and racing to the coast in search of pirate husbands? A couple of salient facts render this alleged trend implausible. For both men and women, crossing clan lines—or even traveling at all—can be lethal, due to the warlord-controlled militias that trawl the highways and set up makeshift checkpoints. What’s more, most Somali women have their hands full just trying to feed themselves and their children, let alone plotting to run off with pirates.