The Pirates of the Mediterranean
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There is an article in Tech Central Station giving a brief discussion to the Tripolitan War, or the War of the Barbary Pirates. This oft-forgotten first American foreign war is important to us because it shows how we dealt with an Arab threat, and shows how the Europeans dealt with (or failed to deal with) the same threat. Because of our bold and decisive action the Arab pirates never bothered us again. We should take a page from this piece of history.
Every generation thinks that their problems are new, and so we are eternally reinventing the wheel. The fact is, what we are facing in our current, misnamed War on Terror is pretty much the same thing our Forefathers fought and defeated. Arab princes were financing pirates to prey on merchant vessels, often kidnapping and enslaving crew members. Europe, in what was to prove to be their only way of dealing with Arab aggression, gave in and paid whatever protection money the princes required of them. We decided we were not going to be blackmailed, and we went to war. We knew the pirates received financing and support from Tripoli, so we launched a blockade and eventually invaded Tripoli harbor. The pirates could not flourish without State support, and the War ended in victory for the United States.
This should be our model for the Terror War. These terrorists succeed because of state sponsorship. They are powerless without money, without equipment, without places of refuge and training centers. They require a sanctuary. As long as they have this sanctuary, they will continue to regroup and counter-attack. The way to handle the terrorism problem is the way we handled Tripoli; go after them. Police actions and terrorist sweeps are fine, but the War requires destroying the sources of infection-and that means Syria and Iran. We will never be safe as long as these two terror masters continue to operate unmolested.
We have become bogged down in recent days trying to pacify Iraq. This is a serious mistake; Iran has been aiding and abetting the insurgents in Iraq, and we won`t make any headway until we deal with Iran. The Iranians know this; that is why they are desperately trying to stave off an American attack until they can produce a working atomic bomb. Once they go nuclear we will be faced with a terrible dilemma; face the world`s second atomic war or let Iran continue to peddle their death. The second option really is no option because these nuclear weapons will not stay in Iran. We will be in dire trouble if Iran goes nuclear. The time has come to take a page from history.
When we first went into Iraq we were positioned to implement the Contra Solution; we could have begun funneling the means for revolution into Iran and MADE an Orange Revolution there. Unfortunately, President Bush and his advisors thought they could deal with Iran diplomatically while trying to pacify Iraq. It was a miserable policy; Syria and Iran continued to attempt to destabilize Iraq, and thus the process of reconstruction has been much longer and harder than anyone thought. Had we taken the high ground and destabilized Iran, the insurrection would be finished by now. Instead, we are facing our worst fear-a nuclear Iran.
Stephen Decatur, where are you when we need you?
There is an article in Tech Central Station giving a brief discussion to the Tripolitan War, or the War of the Barbary Pirates. This oft-forgotten first American foreign war is important to us because it shows how we dealt with an Arab threat, and shows how the Europeans dealt with (or failed to deal with) the same threat. Because of our bold and decisive action the Arab pirates never bothered us again. We should take a page from this piece of history.
Every generation thinks that their problems are new, and so we are eternally reinventing the wheel. The fact is, what we are facing in our current, misnamed War on Terror is pretty much the same thing our Forefathers fought and defeated. Arab princes were financing pirates to prey on merchant vessels, often kidnapping and enslaving crew members. Europe, in what was to prove to be their only way of dealing with Arab aggression, gave in and paid whatever protection money the princes required of them. We decided we were not going to be blackmailed, and we went to war. We knew the pirates received financing and support from Tripoli, so we launched a blockade and eventually invaded Tripoli harbor. The pirates could not flourish without State support, and the War ended in victory for the United States.
This should be our model for the Terror War. These terrorists succeed because of state sponsorship. They are powerless without money, without equipment, without places of refuge and training centers. They require a sanctuary. As long as they have this sanctuary, they will continue to regroup and counter-attack. The way to handle the terrorism problem is the way we handled Tripoli; go after them. Police actions and terrorist sweeps are fine, but the War requires destroying the sources of infection-and that means Syria and Iran. We will never be safe as long as these two terror masters continue to operate unmolested.
We have become bogged down in recent days trying to pacify Iraq. This is a serious mistake; Iran has been aiding and abetting the insurgents in Iraq, and we won`t make any headway until we deal with Iran. The Iranians know this; that is why they are desperately trying to stave off an American attack until they can produce a working atomic bomb. Once they go nuclear we will be faced with a terrible dilemma; face the world`s second atomic war or let Iran continue to peddle their death. The second option really is no option because these nuclear weapons will not stay in Iran. We will be in dire trouble if Iran goes nuclear. The time has come to take a page from history.
When we first went into Iraq we were positioned to implement the Contra Solution; we could have begun funneling the means for revolution into Iran and MADE an Orange Revolution there. Unfortunately, President Bush and his advisors thought they could deal with Iran diplomatically while trying to pacify Iraq. It was a miserable policy; Syria and Iran continued to attempt to destabilize Iraq, and thus the process of reconstruction has been much longer and harder than anyone thought. Had we taken the high ground and destabilized Iran, the insurrection would be finished by now. Instead, we are facing our worst fear-a nuclear Iran.
Stephen Decatur, where are you when we need you?
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 2:33 PM
1 Comments:
Too bad our limp wristed leaders in Washington lack the backbone of our forfathers. But alas, in today's world there would not even have been a Boston Tea Party. Our actions might have offended someone let alone started a war. Yes. political correctness forver.
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