The first US war against Islamic terrorism

 Stephen B. Young:

Most Americans seem to have forgotten our first war against Muslims.  In the late 18th century, our objection to Islamist practice was their piracy and slaving against our ships and sailors in the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1794, provoked by Algerian captures of American ships, our Congress authorized construction of the first six ships of the U.S. Navy, including the U.S.S. Constitution, still in commissioned service and now docked in Boston.

In 1795, our diplomats negotiated treaties with the Muslim states of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli to pay them tribute for the privilege of free passage.

But in 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli, citing late payments of tribute, demanded additional money and declared war on the United States. The United States Marines defeated the Pasha’ forces with a combined naval and land assault. That short foreign conflict is remembered in the Marines’ Hymn in the words “to the shores of Tripoli.”

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Then the Americans asked the Muslim diplomat what justified his country’s seizures of ships and making slaves of their crew or passengers.  The answer given by the Ambassador of Tripoli in 1786 was consistent with the 1988 Covenant of Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on the right of Muslims to wage war on those who professed a different faith....

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That testament by the Ambassador of Tripoli as to a generic, universal, Muslim right of war against non-believers predated by 215 years the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, which killed 2,996 American civilians, and by 237 years the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli civilians.

The 1786 defeat of the Islamists resulted in over two hundred years of peace on the part of Muslims against the US until 9-11.  The Afghan war probably has not had the same results at this point.