Islam’s Long War Against America
“From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli”
The phrase “the tail wagging the dog” in relation to Israel is a political idiom used by commentators and analysts to describe the situation where Israel (the “tail,” a smaller state) is perceived to influence or even control the foreign policy of the United States (the “dog,” a much larger and more powerful nation).
The phrase was notably used in this context by President Nixon, who reportedly said, “I’m not going to let Israel’s tail wag the dog.”
Proponents of this view often point to the significant influence of the pro-Israel lobby in the US political system, which they argue can pressure politicians and steer US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction, sometimes against broader US national interests.
This viewpoint becomes questionable in light of Qatar’s pervasive influence over US Congressmen, universities, media, sports and especially the First Family.
The truth is that Islam has been at war with America since 1776, long before Israel was even a puppy.
Thomas Jefferson was the first American president to have gone to war against fundamentalist Islam. Jefferson was convinced that one day Islam would return on the world scene and pose an even greater threat to America. Over 200 years ago, America had declared war on Islam and President Thomas Jefferson led the charge.
The issue for Jefferson was not the intrinsic nature of one specific religion’s strain, but rather the danger posed to liberty by any religious ideology that sought to override civil law and individual rights in the new nation.
In the 1700s, Muslim pirates terrorized the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic. They attacked merchant ships and held the crews for ransom. Failure to pay the ransom resulted in slavery, cruel punishment or death of the captives. The pirates hailed from the Islamic countries of North Africa, namely Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis, known as the Barbary Coast.
Before the Revolutionary War, American merchant ships were under the protection of the British Navy and after the War began, France protected the American ships. But once America gained its independence then its merchant fleet was on its own. In July 1785, while Jefferson was US Minister to France, the pirates seized two ships and the Dey (Governor) of Algiers demanded the exorbitant sum of $60,000.
Congress wanted to appease the pirates, following in the footsteps of the European countries, by paying the ransom in order to avoid war. Jefferson was vehemently opposed to this and instead called for a “coalition of allied nations” to fight against the terrorists and sue for peace.
In March 1786, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson met with the Ambassador of Tripoli in London to understand the terms for peace and the release of American captives held by the Barbary States. When asked by what right Tripoli made war on nations that had done them no injury, the ambassador explained it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, written in the Quran, which stated that all nations not acknowledging their authority were “sinners” whom it was their right and duty to plunder and enslave.
The Muslim ambassador specified the high costs for temporary and “perpetual” peace treaties, as well as his own commission.
In spite of the efforts made by George Washington and the Executive branch, Congress continued to pay the ransom for the next 15 years amounting to $1 million per year. When Jefferson became president 14 years later, the Pasha of Tripoli sent the new president an extortion demand for $225,000 plus $25,000 per year on an ongoing basis.
That is when things changed.
Thus began the Barbary Wars of 1801-1805 and 1815. Jefferson was able to finally convince Congress to build six frigates which he dispatched to the Barbary Coast. And the US Navy was born.
He also dispatched a special unit prior to the establishment of the Navy to join the French fleet in order to free some of the captives.
And the US Marine Corp was born. They were called “leathernecks” because they wore a band of leather around their necks to withstand a machete chopping off their head.
Thomas Jefferson initially wanted to build a navy to defend America’s coast. But events halfway around the world forced America to start building a formidable naval presence around the world.
Thomas Jefferson was a Founder whose mission it was to build a nation based on religious freedom and tolerance. The explanation told to him by the Ambassador of Tripoli showed the intolerance of fundamental Islam. Jefferson studied Comparative Religion in university and owned a 1734 English edition of the Quran. Thomas Jefferson’s copy of the Quran was famously used by Keith Ellison, America’s first Muslim congressman, for his ceremonial oath of office in 2007, symbolizing religious tolerance and America’s diverse founding principles.
The Terrorist Playbook was conceived in 622, and written and used by 1776 to attack America. The fundamentalist Islamist playbook is still in print today.
If Israel is the “tail wagging the dog” then fundamental Islam is the matador waving the red cloth.
