Rep. West offers sweeping vision for keeping America secure in the new century - The Hill's Floor Action

Rep. West offers sweeping vision for keeping America secure in the new century - The Hill's Floor Action

Rep. West offers sweeping vision for keeping America secure in the new century

By Pete Kasperowicz - 03/22/12 02:14 PM ET

Freshman Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) on Thursday afternoon offered detailed and aggressive prescription for how the United States can ensure its security in the new century, and warned that the nation faces “dark days ahead” if it does not prepare for several emerging security threats.

“For the sake of our nation, and of all nations who seek freedom for their citizens, we must be prepared to fight on the 21st Century Battlefield, and we can settle for no less than victory upon it,” he said on the House floor (prepared text here).

West said defining the enemy is a key component of this strategy, and that the United States is not at war with terror, because terrorism is just a tactic used by an enemy. Instead, he said a chief U.S. enemy is Hezbollah, even though the United States rarely names it.

“Until we, as a nation, are able to correctly and openly identify our enemy, we will continue to put our men and women on the ground in harm’s way without a clear mission for success,” he said. “On this 21st Century Battlefield we are not fighting against a single organization, a single leader, or a single nation. We are fighting against Islamic fundamentalism, which knows no country, recognizes no borders, and wears no uniform.”

West added that Islamism is a “theocratic-political totalitarian ideology no different from Nazism, Fascism, and Communism which threatens the free world.”

West said the United States needs to deny this enemy any sanctuary and resources, reduce its sphere of influence and “win the information war” by limiting its ability to use the Internet as another medium for its own purposes.

West’s remarks hit countries and regions. He warned that China is looking to use its economic strength and waxing naval strength to advance communism.

“If we cannot protect the sea lanes of commerce, we leave ourselves vulnerable not just militarily, but economically, to a power in China that continues to seek world communism as its ultimate goal, irrefutably so,” he said.

On Iraq, he questioned “the motives of President Barack Obama in announcing a full withdrawal of American forces in October 2011.” West warned that leaving Iraq runs the risk of abandoning U.S. allies there.

He also said he would continue to press the Obama administration to get Pakistan to do more to crack down on terrorists, offer full support for Israel, reject a Palestinian state until it cuts ties to Hamas, keep up pressure for reforms in Iran and impose new sanctions against Syria as a way of pressuring that government to stop its crackdown on pro-democracy forces.