We are familiar today with the spectacle of warships belonging to the United States sailing the world’s oceans, maintaining and enforcing a particular vision of freedom and democracy. Similarly, the image of American troops operating in the Middle East is one which we have seen a good deal of on television and in newspapers over the last 30 years or so. It is strange to think that the very existence of the United States Navy as an international force owes its existence to the activities of the Barbary corsairs. Over 200 years ago, American marines landed in Libya, because the then president
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