America's first war against terrorism

For centuries the Barbary States--which included Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis and Morocco--operated a protection racket that required every European country whose trading ships entered the Mediterranean to pay them substantial tribute for the privilege. If a nation failed to yield to the blackmail, its ships were plundered by pirates, who kidnapped any surviving crew members. They were then either ransomed or sold into slavery at workhouses.

Jefferson was so shocked by this behavior that he demanded an explanation from his counterpart, Abdel Rahman Al-Ajar, the representative of Tripoli. "The Ambassador answered us," Jefferson, along with his colleague John Adams, wrote in their report sent back home, "that it was founded on the Laws of the 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..."

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Those who fail to learn from History, are sure to repeat the same mistakes.