What the West is doing wrong with the pirates could be mirrored in recent events in Korea. The North torpedoes a South Korean naval vessel and kills 46 sailors.
After how many weeks, (or is it months?), the South announces something along the lines of "if you do that again, we'll retaliate".
C'mon, South Korea, let's get real. Such a pussy response to people like the North Koreans is akin to removing the excess fuel from a pirate mother ship and sending those naughty pirates home with just enough fuel (plus reserves) - and will be seen by the North Koreans in the same light as the pirates undoubtedly saw the RN response, as a total joke.
The pirates and the North Koreans understand only one common language and only one "King's Regulation" (to quote 'Breaker' Morant) - KR .303 (or it's NATO equivalent, KR 7.62).
We are past risking being perceived as a joke because we already are perceived to be a joke, both by the pirates and the North Koreans, because our leaders aren't willing to face them down - and if they (the other side) don't blink, (as they surely won't after the horribly mixed messages our inaction and pussy footing over the last few years have given them) to take the argument to its logical conclusion.