WAR AGAINST TERRORISTS GOES BACK

[Major]

I got this in an E-mail and I thought it was worth sharing. I had no idea we have been at this for so long.
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U.S. WAR AGAINST TERRORISTS GOES BACK TO FOUNDING FATHERS
(www.WorldNetDaily.com, 4/27/04)

Most Americans probably think the Islamic terrorists declared war on the United States Sept. 11, 2001. Actually, it started a long time before - right from the birth of the nation. In 1784, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin were commissioned by the first Congress to assemble in Paris to see about marketing U.S. products in Europe. Jefferson quickly surmised that the biggest challenge facing U.S. merchant ships were those referred to euphemistically as "Barbary pirates."

They weren't "pirates" at all in the traditional sense, Jefferson noticed. They didn't drink and chase women, and they really weren't out to strike it rich. Instead, their motivation was strictly religious. They bought and sold slaves, to be sure. They looted ships. But they used their booty to buy guns, ships, cannon and ammunition. Like those we call "terrorists" today, they saw themselves engaged in jihad and called themselves "mujahiddin."  Gee, does that name ring a bell?

Why did these 18th-century terrorists represent such a grave threat to U.S. merchant ships? With independence from Great Britain, the former colonists lost the protection of the greatest navy in the world. The U.S. had no navy - not a single warship. Jefferson inquired of his European hosts how they dealt with the problem. He was stunned to find out that France and England both paid tribute to the fiends - who would, in turn, use the money to expand their own armada, buy more weaponry, hijack more commercial ships, enslave more innocent civilians and demand greater ransom. This didn't make sense to Jefferson. He recognized the purchase of peace from the Muslims only worked temporarily. They would always find an excuse to break an agreement, blame the Europeans and demand higher tribute.

A Very Different Policy

After three months researching the history of militant Islam, he came up with a very different policy to deal with the terrorists. But he didn't get to implement it until years later. As the first secretary of state, Jefferson urged the building of a navy to rescue American hostages held in North Africa and to deter future attacks on U.S. ships. In 1792, he commissioned John Paul Jones to go to Algiers under the guise of diplomatic negotiations, but with the real intent of sizing up a future target of a naval attack.

Jefferson was ready to retire a year later when what could only be described as "America's first Sept. 11" happened. America was struck with its first mega-terror attack by jihadists. In the fall of 1793, the Algerians seized 11 U.S. merchant ships and enslaved more than 100 Americans. When word of the attack reached New York, the stock market crashed. Voyages were canceled in every major port. Seamen were thrown out of work. Ship suppliers went out of business. What Sept. 11 did to the U.S. economy in 2001, the mass shipjacking of 1793 did to the fledgling U.S. economy in that year.

Accordingly, it took the U.S. Congress only four months to decide to build a fleet of warships. But even then, Congress didn't choose war as Jefferson prescribed. Instead, while building what would become the U.S. Navy, Congress sent diplomats to reason with the Algerians. The U.S. ended up paying close to $1 million and giving the pasha of Algiers a new warship, "The Crescent," to win release of 85 surviving American hostages.

It wasn't until 1801, under the presidency of Jefferson, that the U.S. engaged in what became a four-year war against Tripoli. And it wasn't until 1830, when France occupied Algiers, and later Tunisia and Morocco, that the terrorism on the high seas finally ended. France didn't leave North Africa until 1962 - and it quickly became a major base of terrorism once again.

What's the moral of the story?

Appeasement never works. Jefferson saw it. Sept. 11 was hardly the beginning. The war in which we fight today is the longest conflict in human history. It's time to learn from history, not repeat its mistakes.

[Major]

Here is the rest of the E-mail.

Anybody remember Presley O'Bannon?

Presley Neville O'Bannon was born on 1776, in Fauquier County, Virginia. First appointed a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps on 18 January 1801, he served in various stations in the United States prior to assignment onboard USS ADAMS. Following a deployment to the Mediterranean on the ADAMS, First Lieutenant O'Bannon returned to the United States in November 1803. He was assigned to duty at Marine Barracks, Washington D.C.

In 1804, First Lieutenant O'Bannon was again called to sea duty, this time onboard USS PRESIDENT. Setting sail for the Mediterranean in May 1804, the PRESIDENT arrived at Gibraltar in August. Following several months in the Mediterranean, First Lieutenant O'Bannon was transferred to another warship, USS CONSTITUTION, and then to USS ARGUS. While serving as the Marine Officer on the later vessel, he was selected for a mission that later was commemorated in the colors of the Marine Corps and recorded in the Marine Hymn in the words "to the shores of Tripoli".

For many years the United States had maintained peace with the Barbary States by "buying" treaties and paying tributes to the Pasha. The states of Algiers, Morocco, and Tunis remained reasonably complacent under this system, though Tripoli continued to demand larger payments and make threats against the United States.

Finally, (May 14th 1801) the Pasha of Tripoli, Yousuf, demonstrated his dissatisfaction by cutting down the flag staff in front of the U.S. Consulate. This led to a declaration of war by the United States and more warships being dispatched to the Mediterranean. During a storm, one of these, USS PHILADELPHIA, went on the rocks off Tripoli, with her crew being captured and imprisoned at Derna.

This event, and the inability of U.S. agents to ransom the crew of the PHILADELPHIA, led to the formation of a bold rescue plan, which included First Lieutenant O'Bannon. The plan, conceived by Naval Agent William Eaton, proposed the formation of an alliance with Hamet, elder brother of the Pasha of Tripoli.

In January of 1805, First Lieutenant O'Bannon, in command of a Marine Detachment consisting of one sergeant and six privates, joined Eaton's allied force at Alexandria, Egypt. This army of 500 men then began an expedition against Derna. The ships HORNET, NAUTILUS, and ARGUS further augmented the force. Under a bombardment provided by these ships, Lt. O'Bannon led his force on March 27th 1805 through a shower of musketry and stormed the principal edifices, routing the enemy in such haste that their guns were left loaded and primed. First Lieutenant O'Bannon planted the United States Flag upon the ramparts and then turned the guns upon the enemy. After some two hours of hand-to-hand fighting, the stronghold was occupied and for the first time in history the flag of the United States flew over a fortress of the Old World.

The Tripolitains counter-attacked the fortress a number of times, but were repelled with heavy losses. Finally, through a spirited bayonet charge, the enemy was driven from the vicinity of Derna. This stubbornness and pugnacity by the Americans led to an almost mythical belief in their fighting ability.

On the occasion of his departure, Hamet honored Presley O'Bannon by giving him his jeweled sword with a Mameluke Hilt. This sword was the model for the dress sword used by Marine Corps Officers today, making it the oldest continuously used weapon in the U.S. Military Arsenal. Upon his return to the United States, the state of Virginia presented O'Bannon a sword modeled after the original Mameluke blade given him by Hamet.
Hailed as a national hero, "the hero of Derna", Presley O'Bannon resigned from the Marine Corps on March 6th, 1807. He went to Kentucky and served in the State Legislature. He died on September 12th, 1850 at the age of 74. A monument to his memory was erected over his grave in the state cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky

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Muslem Terrorists!

That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to
hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes peaceful sleep since then.

It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian "students" attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil. It was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign U. S. embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 24 years.

America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when, then President Carter, had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the
start.

Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued.
In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it exploded, it killed 63 people.

The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.

Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourned her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.

Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives was driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continued her slumber.

The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gates of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept. Soon the terrorism spread to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb exploded in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid.

Then in August a Volkswagen loaded with explosives was driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed and the snooze alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US interests abroad are continually attacked. Fifty-nine days later a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed. The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259.

America wants to treat these terrorist acts as crimes; when in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These are acts of war!

The wake up alarm is getting louder and louder. The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

The following month, February 1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war?

The Snooze alarm is depressed again. Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.

A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500. The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively....They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These attacks were planned with precision. hey kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.

The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.

And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.

In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from many high officials in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But, if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979.

The President is right on when he says we are engaged in a war. I think we have been in a war for the past 24 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough.

America needs to "Get out of Bed" and act decisively now. America has been changed forever. We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. We cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button again and again and roll over and go back to sleep.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto said "...it seems all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant." This is the message we need to disseminate to terrorists around the world. Support Our Troops and support President Bush for having the courage, political or militarily, to address what so many who preceded him didn't have the backbone to do - both Democrats and Republicans.

This is not a political thing to be hashed over in an election year - this is an AMERICAN thing. This is about our Freedom and the Freedom of our children in years to come.

[Loader 3009]

Major, this war goes even farther back into history than you or the writer think.  It goes back to the time that Esau said, "I will kill my brother".

[Robert]

I also beleive it goes back to biblical days.  But not Esau.  I forget where the story is...but God told one of the sons of Israel to anihilate an entire tribe from the face of the earth...Every Man, woman and child.  But he had mercy to a woman and her child, and God cursed him. This is still the same curse and Israel needs to finish the damn job once and for all.  This aint even OUR WAR.

[Loader 3009]

Jacob's name was changed to Israel.  You must not confuse the Biblical Israel with the modern day state/nation of Israel.  The state/nation named "Israel" would have been more correctly named "Judah".

Many of your Muslim nations descended from Esau.  Many, if not most, of your Arab nations descended from Ishmael, who, if you'll remember, had no love for Isaac.

We, as Americans, and the British are descendents of both Isaac and Jacob, hence the Arab/Muslim hatred for us... and us for them, I suppose.  

September 11, 2001 made it our war.

[BattleRifleG3]

I thought Europeans were traditionally held to be descendents of Japheth, son of Noah.  :confused:  Weren't Abraham, Issac, and Jacob sons of Shem, from where we get the word "Semitic"?

Traditionally I thought Europe came from Japheth, Africa came from Ham, and Asia came from Shem.

Islam holds that Ishmael, not Issac, was the child of the promise, and that they are his descendents.

A history teacher noted that it's roughly half a millenia between world scale wars between Islam and the west, and that the cycle's come around.  I believe that an Arab world war, which the US has been trying to prevent for decades by tinkering with the balance of power in the region, is a matter of when, not if.  I think we shouldn't have supported Saddam Hussein in the '80s, rather kept our involvement in the middle east strictly to our friendship with Israel.  If the Arab world was going to unite and fight, better to get it over with instead of trying to keep them in splinters that end up hurting us at every turn.

[Loader 3009]

Japheth was the father of many Asian nations.  Most Western European nations are descendents of Shem.  Much of the confusion comes from the partnership of Asshur (a Shemite) with Nimrod (a Hamite).  Intermarriages were very prevalent in Babylon and surrounding cities.

Many Arabs are Semitic people through Ishmael, who had a Semitic father (Abraham).  Arabs, however, existed before Ishmael.

[huntsman]

We should learn from history, not continue it. This kind of thinking (that we are fighting because of a long-held feud between our ancestors) is a big part what fuels the whole terrorist ideology.

We are all human beings, regardless of our cultures, and all capable of understanding moral right and wrong. The terrorists, national leaders, and their henchmen who perpetrate these evil deeds are warped, sick, and criminal individuals. They have been propogandized into believing that what they are doing is right. They have lost their sense of moral right and have replaced it with a doctrine of hatred aimed at a common scapegoat: the free world and its central figurehead, the United States. As long as we exist and they continue to breed ignorance and futility, they will remain our enemies and we will suffer from their misdeeds.

It matters little to us from whence they come, only that they are our sworn enemies and that they have imbraced an insane moral system. For our own survival and the  perseverance of a true moral system, their SYSTEM OF HATRED AND INDOCTRINATION OF THE INNOCENT must be eradicated from the earth if we are to ever have peace. You can eliminate Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, or anyone else you choose, but as long as the ideology remains, someone else will simply replace them.

That is the real power of what both Bush Administrations have finally done; they have taken the risky but necessary steps to begin to change the ideology that breeds this kind of moral perversion. It may not, probably will not, happen in a decade or even two or three, but the seeds of democracy and representative self-rule must begin to replace the monarchies and anarchy of the Middle East if terrorism is ever to be checkmated.

I believe that we are witnessing the first contractions in the birth of a new world revolution, one that proclaims that morality and freedom is an inherent right of all people, not just a blessing reserved for those who live in privileged nations. Those who sit back and take no effective action to change the world for those living in repression, poverty, and ignorance are in their own way prolonging and supporting the will of terrorism and evil in the world.

As we have sadly witnessed, diplomacy and world organizations for peace have little real influence on this process. It must be bought, like all freedom from the dawn of mankind, with the blood, sweat, and tears of the brave and devoted for the good of future generations. That has been the ultimate sacrifice of good men and women the world over throughout history. I am proud to be a citizen of the leading nation in this new revolution. May it be the destiny of a world long oppressed to find moral dignity and true honor through our courage and sacrifices.