Piracy today is still a serious problem, and has been increasing in
recent years, especially in the East Indian Ocean. The last time I
checked the statistics over 270 ship piracy incidents had occurred
there. With our island base out there, Diego Garcia (where we have
spent billions, and currently the natives are suing the British over
their relocation from it. http://www.mydiegogarcia.com) you'd think
maybe we'd be into bringing those pirates in.

Of course historically, piracy had different roots than today, often
in a politically incorrect world of slavery and exploitation as a
colonial imperative.