1803

 In a conversation that took place shortly after 9/11. There was much talk about going to war against terrorists at that time, and a leading U.S. Senator had been on the news saying that we can’t declare war against anybody unless it is a country. I pointed out that the very first time that the U.S. had declared war under the Constitution in 1803; we declared war on the Barbary pirates. A modern day terrorist who hijacks an aircraft is called an “air pirate” by the law, thus “terrorist” is the modern term and “pirate” is the old term. The Barbary pirates of 1803 were sea terrorists operating off the coast of North Africa who were Islamic, therefore the very first time that the United States declared war was against Islamic terrorists. That particular senator nearly fell off his chair in