Is James Foley the American David(Don) Pacifico? Who was David,know as Don,Pacifico? He was a Gibraltar born merchant whose property had been destroyed in 1847 in riots in Athens against the Greek government.What's that old saying the more things change the more they don't.Anyway,Don Pacifico was a British subject,who appealed to Foreign Minister Henry Temple the third Viscount Palmerston,Anglo-Irish aristocratic,for help.Lord Palmerston ordered the fleet to Athens and threatened to bombard the city if the Don's claims were not satisfied.The Greeks caved!
Palmerston took much fire at home,men like Cobden,Bright(who once said about Disaeli,"He is a self-made man and worships his creator")and Gladstone protest Palmerston action saying it was Gunboat Diplomacy.Palmerston defended himself by saying,"A British subject,in whatever land he may be,shall feel confident that the watchful eye and the strong arm of England will project him against injustice and wrong."
Too bad we don't have stateman Palmerston anymore,indeed,I fear the murder of James Foley will never to hold to account for his crime.
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