To the editor:

I have a great interest in the Great War, that is from 1793-1815. Noel Mostert has written a very good book on the subject, “The Line Upon The Wind.”

I find it extremely interesting that in the chapter “Barbary,” we learn that when Portugal withdrew from the Straits of Gibraltar in 1793, it opened up opportunities for the Algerine corsairs to capture American ships and hold them for ransom.

“… in October 1793 four more American ships were seized by them. The crews were enslaved.” Mostert goes on. “But it was that first foreign war of their independent nation against the Islamic states of North Africa, that first bewildered and bemused Americans, and which had to be understood.” Now, 216 years later we are still bewildered and bemused and facing the same problems.

The history of the human species has been one of constantly shifting boundaries and alliances. An enemy can become a friend overnight and vice versa.

President Obama should be applauded for reaching out to other countries. Politeness and common courtesy should never be seen as a weakness. Treaties and relationships between countries are based on a lot more than whether the president likes or dislikes the leader of another nation.

It is based on something more substantial than ego, pride and wanting to be Rambo.