In a recent Townhall.com essay, titled Jefferson Versus the Muslim
Pirates (April 26, 2007),
Christopher Hitchens paints a picture of Jefferson and Madison’s conflict
with the Barbary pirates that should serve as an object lesson for western
political leaders of today.
In 1784, Barbary pirates of Morocco and Algiers captured three American
merchant ships. After six months of negotiations, the United States signed a
treaty with Morocco. A $60,000 ransom was paid and our hostages were released.
Those captured by the Algerians didn’t fare so well; they were sold into
slavery. As the Wikipedia Encyclopedia tells us, "Christian slaves were
preferred… (They were) forced to do degrading work and treated harshly so
letters would be written home to prompt the payment of a bigger ransom."
In 1786, Thomas
Jefferson, then ambassador to France, and John Adams, then
ambassador to Britain, met in London with Tripoli’s ambassador, Sidi Haji Abdul
Rahman Adja. Jefferson and Adams asked by what right the
Barbary States preyed upon American shipping, enslaving crews and
passengers.
Adja replied that the actions of the Islamic nations were "… 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 [Muslim] who should
be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise."
As the Founding Fathers debated the terms of the U.S. Constitution, the
outrages of the Barbary pirates were never far from their minds. Many sounded
like Republicans of today, making the case for war against Islamic
fundamentalism, while others sounded like Democrats of today, urging surrender
and appeasement.
James Madison insisted that only a strong union could guard America’s
maritime capacity from "the rapacious demands of pirates and barbarians." While
on the opposite side of the issue, much like Democrats of today, John Adams
argued that it was far better to pay the tribute… that it was cheaper than the
loss of trade, and that to fight a war against the pirates of Islam would be
"too rugged for our people to bear." He said, "We ought not
to fight them at all unless we determine to fight them forever."
Meanwhile, Hitchens notes, "…the level of tribute demanded began to reach ten
percent of the American national budget… while from the dungeons of Algiers and
Tripoli came appalling reports of the mistreatment of captured men and women.
Gradually… public opinion began to harden in favor of war."
There is little chance, today, that the voices of those enslaved or
threatened by radical Islam can drown out the shrill voices of the anti-war
radicals who now control the Democratic Party. Short of divine intervention, our
nation may soon find itself confronting the worldwide onslaught of radical Islam
with a Democrat in the White House and with Democrats in control of Congress.
They will have it no other way and they will do literally anything to
accomplish that end.
The current administration has been forced to fight the war against radical
Islam in much the same way that Jefferson was forced to proceed in his day.
Hitchens tells us that, "Jefferson took a shortcut through this (congressional)
thicket in 1801 and sent the Navy to North Africa on patrol… with instructions
to enforce existing treaties and to punish infractions of them. He did not
inform Congress of his authorization of this mission until the fleet was too far
away to recall."
And when the Pasha of Tripoli, Yusuf Karamanli, declared war on the United
States in May 1801, the port city of Tripoli was heavily bombarded by our Navy,
crippling one of the Pasha’s most important ships. But even this defeat was
insufficient to deter the Muslims. Finally, in February 1802, Congress consented
to a permanent naval presence in the Mediterranean, which equated to a
declaration of war.
In the decade that followed, the Barbary States attempted to exploit
Anglo-American hostilities, both before and during the War of 1812. However, in
1814, President James Madison asked Congress for permission to send a naval
force to "pacify" the Algerians, and the Algerians soon found their harbor
filled with heavily-armed American ships.
Madison’s words on that occasion could have been the words of Ronald Reagan
or the words of George W. Bush in the days following 9/11. He said, "It is a
settled policy of America, that as peace is better than war, war is better than
tribute. The United States, while (we) wish for war with no nation, will buy
peace with none."
Those words are an affront to Democratic policy of today. Unfortunately, it
appears that the American people will be forced to endure yet another 9/11, or
more, before they are convinced to rise up and "throw the rascals out."
