US Navy Turns Over Pirates To.... Puntland?

What does this say about our relationship with the new provisional government in Somalia? The US Navy has released 9 of the 16 pirates being held to the authorities in... Puntland.

U.S. forces handed over to authorities in northern Somalia on Monday nine pirates they captured after capsizing their boats at sea, a local official said.

The handcuffed men, paraded before reporters in the enclave of Puntland, are expected to appear in court this week, said Mohamed Said, Puntland's deputy police commander.

"The U.S. Navy told us they captured nine pirates on Friday and they handed them over to us this afternoon as you can see," he told reporters in the port of Bosasso.

"These pirates were captured as they were trying to hijack ships in the Gulf of Aden ... the U.S. navy capsized the pirates' boats." U.S. officials were not immediately available to comment.

CNN notes the US Navy did not have enough evidence for the pirates to be prosecuted in a Kenyan court.

So what are the legal ramifications of negotiating prisoner transfers with simi-autonomous regions of a country instead of the provisional government of that country? Let me ask a more provocative question...

Why is this different than Russia working with separatists in South Ossetia and Abkhazia?

I'll let folks with more familiarity with policy answer that one. I don't have a problem with this, France is already working with Puntland regarding pirates they capture. I do however believe policy decisions like this need to be made with both eyes wide open, because there can be consequences that are not easily seen when treating regions of failed states or weak states like a legitimate government, which is what the United States and France are doing with Puntland.

The truth is, Puntland is more of a state than the rest of Somalia is right now, and with diplomatic relations opening up for that region, may be a recognized state with a diplomatic relationship with the United States before the rest of Somalia.