America, do you know your history? Recently, we have witnessed the Boston bombings, the Fort Hood shootings, the 9/11 events and numerous international Islamic terrorist activities. However, do you know that our country has a history of fighting against Islamic terrorists?
Our founders fought their own battles against Arab terrorists. Arab pirates attacked colonial merchant ships in the Mediterranean for years, demanding ransoms in exchange for the safety of cargos and crews. Everything changed after Thomas Jefferson became president. When he refused to continue paying increased amounts of money for protection from the pirates, Tripoli declared war on the United States. As a result, the U.S. Navy blockaded Tripoli from 1803 to 1805 and the U.S. Marines captured the city of Derna, which resulted in a peace treaty that outlawed ransoms.
Many Americans are familiar with the first line of the Marine Corps hymn, “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.” Most do not realize the reference is to the first Barbary War, specifically the Battle of Derna that took place in 1805.
America, the Islamic terrorists have been at war with us for more than 200 years. They are trying to force us to accept their radical ideology, they are capturing and killing nonbelievers, and they are demanding money. (Egypt-Libya-Syria etc.) When will we wake up?
Diana Thorn
Carpinteria