The issue of marque and reprisal was raised before Congress after the September 11 attacks 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 . On April 15 , 2009 , Paul also advocated the use of letters of marque to address the issue of Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden . However , the bills Paul introduced were not enacted into law
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Letter of marque