"Nah, the Barbary Pirates were a Naval action."
Which was interference with the affairs of other nations.
Other nations had a stake in keeping the Barbary Pirates active.
"And it was OBL who said he was waging war against the US because of the troops in Saudi Arabia."
Really?
I seem to recall he mentioned more than just our troops being in Saudi Arabia.
Fact is, he would have attacked us regardless of whether we had troops in Saudi Arabia or not.
Try again.
Subtle distinction: we overthrew noone, we simply pounded them a bit with Navy and Marines until they backed off. And President Jefferson had the authority to do this in order to protect American commerce. He would not, however, have had the authority to commit the resources of the War Department - the Army, had their been a standing Army - without a formal declaration of war from Congress.
Fact is, he would have attacked us regardless of whether we had troops in Saudi Arabia or not.
I'm not sure you can state as a fact - with absolute certainty - that OBL would have attacked us if we had not had troops in the Middle East. Can you cite a source?