Load Toad,
When I asked you if you've read ' Black Hawk Down ', you came back with a flippant answer about comic books...I get the impression that the film may come over that way - haven't seen it - but the book is most definitely worth your reading.
It certainly doesn't glamourise the Americans, and gives a huge amount of detail including mistakes made, names names, and their subsequent careers or lack thereof.
It does also describe what the Somali's are like; the main pastime is indulging in a drug called Khat, and local tribes shooting each other; until someone like the U.S. Turn up, when they all suddenly join forces, in thousands - shooters hiding among crowds as they know Westerners won't fire back, and women with a baby in one arm & gun in the other.
" How would they launder such large ransom fees ? " MMM, let me see, weapons and Al Queda require money, but I'm sure they've spent it on all those civic building projects, schools & hospitals which of course are everywhere...
Shooting a few 'footsoldiers' will barely register with them, their families have probably forgotten them by now; if they are 'pirates' then they can't really 'up the ante' if they want intact ships to steal.
If they are Al Queda led ( which even they would probably find difficult, probably easier just to take the Somali money and do the 'spectaculars' themselves ) then they may try more destructive methods, and would have anyway - as I say, if they can get their act together beyond waving AK-47's & RPG's around.
Seriously, BHD is a good, well written, detailed book; give it a try and you'll see what I'm getting at.
I don't read comics.