Eight Miserable Years for America
I’m pleased that Barack has faded from the public scene – even though he still wants to be somebody, that ship has sailed and all that is left is for him to build a monument (Presidential library) to himself.
A Recurring Theme
There is a lot of chatter from the progs, supported by the corrupt, elite, lying, nasty, sexually ambiguous, filthy mainstream media about Islam and jihadis. In the wake of the slaughter of young girls in Manchester, the wanton murder of Coptic Christians on a bus in Egypt, etc. etc., the plea of the media and the Hollywood elite is that we must learn to coexist with the savages. However a review of American history teaches us a different lesson — except in universities today, “history” takes the form of ‘lesbian studies’ and ‘social justice’, so one can not expect the twenty-somethings who populate the elite media to have read anything of value on the subject. Therefore, this blog will provide one (of many) historical examples of what worked. We have many examples of what does not work…
Overview: On May 10, 1801, Yusuf Karamanli, the Pasha of Tripoli, announced his intention to commence hostilities against the United States and then formally declared war on May 14 when his men chopped down the consulate’s flagpole. Tripoli, along with the other North African (Barbary) states of Tunis and Algiers, was demanding tribute for the passage of American ships. This war ended in 1805 with a U.S. military victory over Tripoli, but without removing any of the Barbary states’ pretensions regarding the United States. By 1807, these states’ depredations resumed until, in 1815-16, a joint European-American naval coalition crushed them utterly. The reasons for the Barbary states’ pretensions, the first Barbary War’s failure to extinguish them, and the manner in which the military actions of the second war extinguished them are worth keeping in mind.
Summary: The Muslim rulers of the southern Mediterranean had long preyed on Christian nations’ commerce, plundered people and property on southern Europe’s coasts, and run markets for Christian slaves. They demanded tribute and ransom. In 1786 Thomas Jefferson and John Adams having asked these states’ representatives why they were harming people who had not harmed them, heard words that are all too familiar today: “It was written in their Koran, that all nations which had not acknowledged the Prophet were sinners, whom it was the right and duty of the faithful to plunder and enslave; and that every mussulman who was slain in this warfare was sure to go to paradise.” Lacking a navy, the U.S. paid them some 10% of its revenues as tribute.
By 1801, President Thomas Jefferson’s refusal to pay tribute was backed by a small but efficient navy, including the Constitution, Constellation, Enterprise, Chesapeake, and Philadelphia. Having secured command of the seas, the Americans blockaded the Barbary coast. Then, backed by local mercenaries, U.S. Marines secured the city of Derna, opening the back door to Tripoli. Thus threatened with regime change, Pasha Karamanli agreed never again to demand tribute from U.S ships. But mere defeat was not enough to absolve him and his from the religious duty to plunder as best they could. As the Western world became embroiled in the Napoleonic wars, the Barbary states reverted to kind.
No sooner had the War of 1812 ended than Commodore Steven Decatur took his squadron’s 206 guns to the Barbary coast. He did not have to use them. The Dey of Algiers, impressed, paid damages for past depredations, freed Christian slaves, and signed a treaty of peace. No sooner had Decatur returned to America, however, then the Dey reneged. This led to the intervention of an even larger British-led squadron that used vastly greater firepower utterly to devastate Algiers. That proved enough to convince the Muslims that, perhaps, the prospect of martyrdom was not so alluring after all.
Guns. They seem to understand that.
And the bigger the guns, the faster they understand….
"one can not expect the twenty-somethings who populate the elite media to have read anything of value on the subject"
A lot of history consists of pain and degradation. How can that be allowed in "safe places"?
Interesting post, I learned something today.
The faster the bigger guns fire, the more prone they are to peace. (we need to station a BB off shore so that they can devastate the Somali Pirates) Suppress the Somali "fishing fleet" tied up for the night with shore bombardment…things like that. 16" Naval rifles with air burst rounds would work best. The Somalis (who survived) would remember.
Social justice has very little to do with history – therefore why would the little progs want to read it?
Thx Brig.
I'm waiting for the 'revisionist' version of the history you've just briefed. You know they'll have US as the aggressors… sigh
My daughter in her senior year of high school 19 years ago put it this way, "Why should we study history when we are making history?"
I don't think she dreamt that up on her own. So I think that is how Millennials feel about history.
It was not just the south European coast that saw muslim depredations- in 1627 they raided ICELAND, took slaves and killed many farmers and fishermen. A book was written about it , by a Pastor who was taken as a slave, and allowed to return to Norway to beg for tribute for the rest of the hostages held in North Africa.
A translation of the book to english was done fairly recently. Curious as Iceland seems to be in a muslim lovefest these days.
A search for this should bring up more info if you are interested.
The Travels of Reverend Ólafur Egilsson: the Story of the Barbary Corsair Raid on Iceland in 1627, translated and edited by Karl Smári Hreinsson and Adam Nichols.
I find the new generation completely missing any relevant experience. It is like they have taken the elevator to the penthouse suite, enjoying the view above the clouds and dreaming about their future where they have constructed a grand plan about globalism and multiculturalism working in a NGO or some entity sponsored by the tax payer where the get empowered and get positive feedback all the time. The theory they have might be correct but it will work. When the Facebook guy made his speech at Harvard recently and said "We should explore ideas like universal basic income to give everyone a cushion to try new things". It seems that all PC use the same media agent and only express the positive neutral words with no realistic content but it sounds good for them who likes to try new things.
LL,
Don't give barry such a hard time, I understand that in his presidential (sic) library all books will come with crayons.
Similar to the Crusades then?
I will share this on faceless book, though I doubt many will be enlightened. Pearls before swine and all.
Muslims will do what they always do. History is replete with examples. They still take slaves because it's spelled out in the Qur'an and women are still chattle in Muslim countries. They genitally mutilate young girls in Egypt (70% mutilated based on studies) and blow them up in Manchester. They're savages, Iceland's current fascination notwithstanding.
Comments are closed.