Exactly 233 years ago this week, two of America’s founding fathers documented their first exposure to Islamic jihad in a letter to Congress; like many Americans today, they too were shocked at what they learned.
Context: in 1785, Muslim pirates from North Africa, or “Barbary,” had captured two American ships, the Maria and Dauphin, and enslaved their crews. In an effort to ransom the enslaved Americans and establish peaceful relations, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams — then ambassadors to France and England respectively — met with Tripoli’s ambassador to Britain, Abdul Rahman Adja. Following this diplomatic exchange, they laid out the source of the Barbary States’ hitherto inexplicable animosity to American vessels in a letter to Congress dated March 28, 1786:
We took the liberty to make some inquiries concerning the grounds of their [Barbary’s] pretentions to make war upon nations who had done them no injury, and observed that we considered all mankind as our friends who had done us no wrong, nor had given us any provocation. The ambassador answered us that it was founded on the laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Musselman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise
One need not conjecture what the American ambassadors — who years earlier had asserted that all men were “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights” — thought of their Muslim counterpart’s answer.Read more:
Bang,,,
should have been the response,,
Next?
What pussy’s they were.
…and this was the necessary response…
“From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country’s battles
On the lands, and on the sea
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine
Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines
Here’s health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve
In many a strife we’ve fought for life
And never lost our nerve
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines
From the Halls of Montezuma
To the shores of Tripoli
We fight our country’s battles
On the lands, and on the sea
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine”
https://youtu.be/sSRlQPD6Xiw
Excellent post @BFH – turns out Adams was the clairvoyant, even though TJ said “THAT”S ENOUGH!”
Adams:
“We ought not to fight them at all unless we determine to fight them forever.”
God bless those early sailors, patriots and yes marines, remember this is where the term ‘leathernecks’ came from.
The Marines had to armour themselves in a new way of protecting themselves in combat against an enemy not seen before and therefore their tactics.
They would apply thick leather ‘strapping’ around their neck to protect from the large, well handled, long swords of the Moslems trying to whack their heads off.
“From the halls of Montezuuuuma, to the shores of Tripo….li”
How do you have an article about muzzie pirates in Tripoli and not mention The Marines?
The Marines first won fame for fighting pirates.
U.S. Marine Corps
Marine Corps attack on Derna. (Credit: Naval Historical Center)
Following a brief disbandment after the American Revolution, the Marine Corps was revived in July 1798 and later sent into action against the Barbary pirates, a group of North African corsairs that had spent years raiding American merchant shipping and extorting costly ransoms and tributes. In 1805, Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon and a small contingent of Marines arrived in Egypt and assisted American naval agent William Eaton in assembling a mercenary army to overthrow the Barbary ruler of Tripoli. They then took their soldiers-for-hire on a grueling 50-day march across the desert to Derna in modern day Libya. With the help of a bombardment of U.S. Navy ships, the Marines participated in a daring assault on April 27 that successfully seized the city and its fortifications. The victory was the first ever battle fought by the United States on foreign soil, and helped lead to a favorable peace deal in the First Barbary War. The Derna campaign has since been enshrined in the Marines’ Hymn with the famous line “to the shores of Tripoli.”
Islam is incompatible with the constitution and membership in that demonic death cult should bar any person from immigrating to this country, serving in the military or holding public office.
^ Or owning property.
My brother is a Marine and I am proud of everything they stand for!
Islam sucks!
seek and you shall find, a library at your finger tips
https://archive.org/details/jeffersoncyclo00folerich/page/n10
“I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” Thomas Jefferson