Current rules of engagement are that a pirate can be apprehended while in the process of committing an act of piracy, but cannot be engaged otherwise.
Left up to the military, nuclear subs would have already torpedoed the pirate motherships and Marines would hit their shore bases (it cannot be coincidence that the task force includes USS Boxer, a ship whose sole purpose is doing forced entries into other countries - you don't use assault ships to patrol shipping lanes).
Left up to the military, nuclear subs would have already torpedoed the pirate motherships and Marines would hit their shore bases (it cannot be coincidence that the task force includes USS Boxer, a ship whose sole purpose is doing forced entries into other countries - you don't use assault ships to patrol shipping lanes).