Is it possible to get government approval to hunt down pirates? Something like a letter of marque? I'm kind of surprised a company hasn't tried it already, although there's probably not much profit in it.
Actually yes. However, getting the current, or even the previous admin to locate their nads and issue the letters is another matter.. way too touchy-feely these days...
But, the old Letter or Margue acts are still on the books,so to speak. They just havent been used for a long time..
"Article 1 of the United States Constitution lists issuing letters of marque and reprisal in Section 8 as one of the enumerated powers of Congress, alongside the power to "declare War", and because the United States has not renounced privateering by treaty, in theory it could still issue letters of marque.
No letter of marque has been legitimately issued by the United States since the nineteenth century.[29] The status of submarine-hunting Goodyear airships in the early days of World War II has created significant confusion. Although various accounts refer to airships Resolute and Volunteer as operating under a "privateer status", Congress never authorized a commission, nor did the President sign one.
The issue of marque and reprisal was raised before Congress after the September 11 attacks[30] and again on July 21, 2007, by Congressman Ron Paul. The attacks were defined as acts of "air piracy" and the Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001 was introduced, which would have granted the president the authority to use letters of marque and reprisal against the specific terrorists, instead of warring against a foreign state. The terrorists were compared to pirates in that they are difficult to fight by traditional military means.[31]
Congressman Paul also advocated the use of letters of marque to address the issue of Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden on April 15, 2009. However, the bills Congressman Paul introduced were not enacted into law."