Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Few know history and that creates problems. If you don’t know history you are bound to repeat it. We don’t need to do that; there are enough new mistakes still available.

The president had little time in office when he found that Muslims did not like the United States and wanted to destroy it. American ships were being captured by Muslims and the crews held for ransom. Paying these ransoms was the largest government expenditure for several years. With no notice to Congress, the president dispatched several Navy ships to resolve the issue.

They returned successfully—mission accomplished—at least for a while. In fact, that’s where the phrase “from the shores of Tripoli” comes from. Yes, the first U.S. president to declare war on Muslims was Thomas Jefferson. “Skeletons of the Zahara” was compiled and written by author Dean King, from Richmond when the book was released in 2004. King discovered a diary conta...