The New Times calls Rep Allen West’s letter the “dumbest thing ever written on congressional stationery”.
Congressman and possible senator Allen West lives in his own serene and strange reality where, no doubt, his recent response to a local Islamic group makes perfect sense.
In early August, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sent a 679-word letter to West urging him to cut ties with “anti-Islamic extremists. CAIR singled out Bridgette Gabriel, Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, and Rev. Neil Dozier as Muslim-haters with whom West has shared stages.
“Muslims protect and serve our great country and are afforded equal protection under law,” the letter read. “We shouldn’t have to defend our rights to worship freely or participate in the governing of our society.”
Soon afterward, CAIR received the following letter, which was first reported by CBS4. The Muslim group sent us a copy, which we’ve embedded below. We believe it might be the dumbest thing ever written on congressional stationery.
I imagine that West, a somewhat forcibly retired Lt. Colonel, was seeing himself as channeling General Anthony McAuliffe who famously replied “NUTS” when asked to surrender by the Germans who had encircled him in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge.
Think of that: Rep. West sees getting a polite letter from Islamic-Americans asking that he respect their civil rights, and avoid sharing a stage with people leading a hate movement against them, as something akin to being encircled by Nazis in WWII.
“Rep. West sees getting a polite letter from Islamic-Americans asking that he respect their civil rights, and avoid sharing a stage with people leading a hate movement against them, as something akin to being encircled by Nazis in WWII”
You’re right, he sees it that way because that is the correct way to see it. West and the people he associates with hate radical Islam, and vigorously attempt to educate the American public on the degree to which radical Islam has invaded our shores. CAIR has, to put it politely, been wishy-washy on its associations with radical Islamic groups and whether its constituency encompasses Muslims with radical beliefs. There is no significant effort by Muslims in the US to root out Islamic radicalism in the US, and CAIR treats any and all such efforts by non-Muslims as “hate,” and proceeds to spend significant sums towards litigation and other means of intimidation of anyone who even suggests that radical Islam exists and is spreading here.
Let me put it another way. Consider that in the US there is no social taboo to discussing, condemning or even joking about child molestation problems within the Catholic priesthood. San Francisco recently tried to pass an ordinance banning male circumcision, a cornerstone of the Jewish faith, and anti-circumcision web sites flourish on the web. Yet CAIR has a long history letting slip the dogs against anyone with an audience who remotely suggests that Islam has a terrorism problem, and especially anyone who suggests radical Islam exists to a significant degree in the US. They have been so successful, that even an educated person like yourself is completely unaware of the ongoing tiff between West and CAIR, and CAIR’s shady past.
Mr. West’s letter hit the mark, and I thank him for his past and continuing service to the defense of this great nation.
Oh, and by the way, there really is no terrorism problem in Islam. Really, there isn’t. From today’s news:
“Terrorists armed with heavy weapons, guns and explosives launched four attacks in quick succession in southern Israel near the border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, killing seven people and wounding 31 more, officials said.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4110634,00.html
And Fort Hood never happened. And Americans aren’t going to join Islamic terrorists in Somalia. No, none of that is real. CAIR says so.
You’re giving West too much credit in presuming he consciously mimicked General McAuliffe. He simply thought that was the appropriate response to CAIR’s letter.
Surely most field grade officers in the US are subjected to that story at some point in their professional socialization?
West is an avid student of history. It is a mistake to judge him by the hyper-biased New Times portrayals.
Not at all…he just forgot to type “I am” before “nuts”.