Florida Republican Calls For Stronger Military, Strategic Clarity

By Philip Bunnell

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said Tuesday that the nation’s military strategy lacks clarity and pushed for a stronger military moving forward.

West raised many concerns with American military strategy and objectives. The War on Terror, West said, is “a terrible misnomer, because a nation cannot go and fight a tactic.”

“What has to be presented for us to be successful on this 21st century battlefield is an understanding of who are we fighting against,” he said. 

West warned against “narrowly defining yourself [because] then you create gaps by which you can be exploited.” West spoke of “strategic vision,” and the ability to recognize threats as important to the 21st century battlefield.

“We need to do a better job of getting the word out,” said West, blaming the media for focusing too much on American follies. “I see most stories about us doing things, like Abu Gharaib… than I do about the bad things that the enemy is doing.”  West added that he was concerned about the media becoming an “ideological-political wing.”

West seemed skeptical of the prospects of the Arab Spring and the Obama administration’s strategy in the Middle East. 

“No one can tell me who these [Libyan] rebels are, where they come from, what do they seek to have, what are they going to bring to the table that’s different from Muammar Gaddafi,” said West.  “I am very concerned over what is happening in Egypt because the story has not been told yet,” he said voicing specific concern over the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Florida Republican added that the up-and-down military spending during the 20th century is not a good roadmap. West said that after each of the World Wars, American military spending “fell into a bottomless pit,” and that if spending is not stable, “we will lose an opportunity to ensure that we protect America for the future.”