Thomas Jefferson's response

The barbary pirates were borderless criminals too. Tunisia took the rap.

Wisdom of our founding fathers that the libs keep trying to bury.

Even then...it was Bush's Fault

Actually, I prefer a ratio of 1000 of theirs to 1 of ours.

Much more efficient.

"You wanna know how you do it? Here's how, they pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way, and that's how you get Capone! Now do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that?"

The best way to deal with terrorists is to kill their family members. If you kill them they are martyrs, if you kill their mothers they have to answer to the living family members.

So, Jefferson supported proportionality when fighting the mother country.

What did he support when fighting the Barbary pirates?

Such a novel proposal. Violence is the only language that those savages understand. If it came back to bite them, then even they would begin to get the idea.

America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe

click here to view

True even today.

“...The real issues are whether the power of Western civilization, as God has permitted it to flower in our own beloved lands, shall defy and defeat Communism: whether the rule of men who shoot their prisoners enslave their citizens end deride the dignity of man, shall displace the rule of those to whom the individual and his individual rights are sacred; Whether we are to survive with God’s hand to guide and lead us, or to perish in the dead existence of a Godless world.

If these be true, and to me they are, beyond any possibility of challenge, then this has long since ceased to be a fight for freedom for our Korean Allies alone and for their national survival. It has become, and it continues to be, a fight for our own freedom for our own survival, in an honorable, independent national existence...”

Source: Why we are here. 1951
M. B. Ridgeway.
Lieutenant General, United States Army

The barbary Pirates (Muslim terrorists)

A little American history

The New United States of America was desperate for trade in the 1780’s. It’s economy was in shambles, and it’s paper money was almost worthless. The ousted British excluded American vessels from their dominion of Canada, the West Indies and Britain. Moreover, the British no longer protected American merchant ships, which had traded heavily in the Mediterranean before the revolutionary war.

As a result, in July 1785, Algerian Barbary pirates seized two American ships of the coast of Portugal and forced 21 American Sailors into slave labor. Morocco seized another ship, but soon freed the American crew in exchange for a ransom of $25,000.

Thus began the first foreign policy crisis for the USA-how to manage the Barbary pirates who demanded “tributes” from the USA in return for safe passage of her ships, and ransoms for captured sailors and passengers.

By 1797, three ships, including the USS constitution (old ironsides) were completed. When George Washington died on Dec 14 1797, Yusuf, the pasha of Tripoli informed President Adams that it was customary when a great man passed away from a tributary state to make a gift in his name to the crown of Tripoli. Yusuf estimated Washington to be worth $10,000. When, in the spring of 1801, Yusuf had not yet received the cash, he summoned the American representative to his court, demanded that he kiss his hand, and relay a message to the USA that the annual tribute would be raised to $250,000. and $25,000. worth of goods of his choice. If refused, the alternative was war. To make his point, Yusuf had his men chop down the flagpole in front of the US consulate, a significant gesture in a land of no trees and one that meant war.

The reason that no tribute had been forthcoming is that Thomas Jefferson had been elected president. To his horror, he learned that tributes and ransoms paid to Barbary had exceeded $2,000,000., about one fifth of the entire US governments annual income.

Prior to Thomas Jefferson becoming president, he had interactions with the rulers of the Barbary States of North Africa for at least 15 years, first as Ambassador to France and then as Secretary of state to President George Washington. He and congress were fed up with what they considered outright blackmail. The slogan of the day became “Millions for defense, not a penny for tribute”. This was a change in tenor from President John Adams who declared in 1787 “ We aught not fight them at all, least we determine to fight them forever”.

Congress immediately ended tributes. The Pasha of Tripoli became enraged, and on May 10 1801, declared war on the USA, thus beginning the Tripolitan war, also called the Barbary Wars of 1801 to 1805. The Pasha’s allies in Morocco, Algiers and Tunis followed suit. Jefferson, anticipating the Pasha’s actions, had already informed congress and sent three frigates, (the President, the Philadelphia, and the war sloop Enterprise) under the command of commodore Richard Dale to defend America’s interests in the Mediterranean.

When Commodore Dale reached Gibraltar on July 1, 1801, he learned that war had already been declared on his ships, and quickly shifted his mission from a cruise of observation to a state of war. He ordered the bulk of his squadron to Tripoli, which, he learned, was protected by a rocky reef and a large citadel with smaller forts overlooking the harbor.

After two years of war with Tripoli, the USA had accomplished little. But all this changed when commodore Edward Preble assumed command of a seven ship, 2,000 man fleet in June 1803. A veteran of the continental navy, Preble had been a prisoner of the British aboard the notorious prison hulk Jersey.

Preble had a reputation as a short tempered and stern disciplinarian. However, he was admired for his great courage, his fairness in dealing with his men, and his expertise as a mariner. Indeed, treble trained a group of men loyal to him (e.g., Stephen Decatur, William Bainbridge and others) during that voyage that later became hero’s of the US Navy.

In October 1803, Captain William Bainbridge ran aground the USS Philadelphia on a reef at the entrance to Tripoli Harbor. The Pasha’s men quickly took the ship and crew and moved them near the Tripoli Citadel. Preble knew he had no chance of re capturing the Philadelphia. Instead, he sent Lieutenant Stephen Decatur in to the harbor on a night raid using a captured Tripolitan ship, now renamed the Intrepid. The Intrepid coasted up to the Philadelphia, boarded her, set her on fire and escaped. As a result of these heroic efforts, Decatur at age 25 years, was appointed the youngest Captain in the US Navy. This early navel event is one of the most famous in US history.

Preble pressed on. He shelled Tripoli repeatedly, all the while requesting the Pasha, now Karamanli, negotiate for the release of Bainbridge and his crew. In September 1804, Preble tried to run a raiding party into the harbor by loading the Intrepid with gunpowder and exploding it amongst the Corsair ships. This plan however, failed, as pirates cannoned the Intrepid and blew her up, obliterating the ship and her crew. Preble was called home and replaced by Commodore Barron, who continued the blockade of Tripoli.
Preble died a year later of tuberculosis.

Jefferson had opened negotiations with Yusuf Karamanli through Tobias Lear, former secretary to George Washington. The Yusuf realized that he was doomed, and negotiated for peace by accepting the last American offer of $60,000. for the release of the American prisoners and approved a new treaty that did not require the payments of tributes. Eaton’s mercenaries were denied the opportunity of the spoils of war and rebelled and hamet returned to Egypt. The American Fleet returned to American waters and the public largely forgot the Barbary wars.

In 1807 the Algerians (not the Tripolitans) seized three American ships and again demanded ransom for her crew. Thus, the Barbary wars continued in this way for another 7 years. Following the war of 1812, Stephen Decatur entered the Mediterranean with ten tall ships and the steely determination that made him a hero. Like Preble before him, he let his cannons do the talking. Fighting fire with fire, he took 486 Algerians prisoner and demanded the Algerians pay $10,000 immediately for the release of the prisoners and to cease and desist all further demands for tributes from America forever. Such insurmountable logic was not lost on the Dey. Likewise, the Dey of Tunis paid Decatur $46,000 not to hurt him, and the Pasha of Tripoli contributed $25,000. to see the last of the Americans.
Decatur broke the Barbary threat with the only weapon the pirates understood.[and it's still the only weapon they understand today]

Lasting lessons from the Barbary wars include the maxim articulated by President James Madison (1809-1817) as follows: “The United States, whilst they wish for war with no nation, will buy peace from none.” Furthermore he said;” The settled policy of the United states is that “as peace is better than war, war is better than tribute”.

It is really not that novel. In the 1980s some Russians were kidnapped in Beirut and held hostage(by Muslims). The KGB was able to identify the kidnappers and kidnapped their family members in return. Then, the KGB began sending body parts of their hostages to the original hostage takers. The Russian hostages were released unharmed after being held only a short while. It may seem barbaric but it was definitely more effective than how Jimmah Carter dealt with the hostages held in Iran. Violence is all these people understand, and the only thing that will get their attention.

AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!

Violence is the only language that those savages understand.

Which in fact is REALLY the only way it solves these kinds of problems. The ole sticks & stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me needs to be the mantra.

BTW...great tagline.