To the Shores of Tripoli

Wow.

From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.
We fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.
First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.

That’s from the Marine Corps Hymn, of course, and you can thank me for not singing it. When I was a boy, a lot of America kids knew that verse — and probably a few more. I hope they still do, but I get the impression that might not be the case.

... From beginning to end, in fact, the conflict lasted approximately 14 years. I couldn’t tell you, by the way, if the Barbary wars were ever described as a “quagmire” or “lost.” I won’t describe here the taking of Tripoli by courageous American soldiers. And I sure don’t have time to talk about America’s eventual victory over the forces of that era’s religiously justified terrorism.... Listening to the messages of al Qaeda’s leaders, you understand that they see their old defeats in very personal and contemporary terms. They are in a “long war” against us, even if we don’t know it. And they’re committed to winning it.

Courtesy of Fred Thompson at National Review

Fantastic. I'm speechless - go read it all at NRO, I really cannot do it justice excerpting it here.