The U.S. looks like the tyrant in Africa?

For the last couple days, the news has been talking about this Somalian "pirate" hostage situation. Basically, a U.S. vessel was transporting aid to Kenya and was hijacked in the open seas near Somalia by the now notorious Somali pirates. There was a scuffle on the boat that resulted in all the hostages being free except the captain, Richard Phillips. The details have not fully come out yet, but the pirates took him and got on a lifeboat. There has been a standoff between them and U.S. warships monitoring the boat every since, until today. Today, there was a daring rescue in which the U.S. military shot and killed 3 hostage takers after the Captain jumped overboard.

Before we can discuss the implications of this, I have to give you a little history on these pirates. As the story goes, these pirates were originally Somali fishermen who tired of illegal fishing off there coast by Asian countries. They then became what they are because of the dire situation in their country and the profits they get from piracy.

The P.R. problems I see are regarding the U.S. image to poor countries and what I see as an armed uprising against the wealth of Western and Asian economies. I believe that in places like Palestine and of course really poor parts of Africa that blame the West for their anguish, (possibly rightfully so, at least in part), these pirates will and are seen as heroes that stood up against the great oppressive powers, and the killing of the pirates just made the people angry. It should be interesting to see how this changes the tide of piracy and anti-American/ Western sentiment. I think that now U.S. ships may be targeted, as the highest form of prize for the pirates. What do you think this event meant for the region?