Another Barbary War?

The fledgling United States fought two little known wars against Barbary pirates, who forced tribute on the American government in exchange for safe passage of merchant ships. The resulting Barbary war saw the U.S. Navy and a handful of Marines rise to everlasting fame. This war was over by 1805. In 1815, the second war began and the coup de gras for the piracy in the Mediterranean.

In a previous article, Mr. Guidry asked the question if we should be fighting this fight that is not our own. My answer to this is no. The concept of a sovereign nation is the ability to rule over its own people without interference from others.

Frankly, I believe the United States should commit totally and disregard allies that we have to be polite to or stay out of it.

War requires bold moves to win. Rommel took back Libya in 1941 faster than these so-called air strikes of today could. As it is, we are broke, morally and financially. It is not the fault of the everyday system. It was ancient Greece that started the trend of meddling in affairs, and they were crushed under the Persian jackboot.

Who is to say we won’t be caught with out pants down? That is the question I present to whomever reads this.

Terril Hebert

History sophomore from Gray, LA