Meet Congressman Allen West

My sister Didi sent me this e-mail. I know . . . plenty words. I hate to read plenty words. If you like, go directly to the video link below first. I guarantee, you will come back to read the plenty words.


Only two blacks were newly elected to congress this cycle, and both are Republican. Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Allen West is from southern Florida, a bastion of the Democratic Party. He won in a walk. This new Congressman was an extremely popular commander in Iraq.

During an intense combat action a few of his men were captured. At the same time his men had captured one of the Iraqis who captured his men. Knowing that time was crucial and his interrogators were not getting anywhere with the prisoner Colonel West took matters into his own hands. He burst into the room and demanded through an interpreter that the prisoner tell him where his men were being taken. The prisoner refused. Colonel West took out his pistol and placed it into the prisoner's crotch and fired. Then the Colonel told the prisoner that the next shot would not miss. The prisoner said he would show where the American service members were being taken. The Americans were rescued. Someone filed a report on incorrect handling of prisoners. Colonel West was forced to retire.

Colonel West was just elected in November 2010 to Congress from Florida. During the elections he was part of a panel on how to handle or how to relate to Muslims. You will see his answer in the following video. Here is one of the new congressmen from Florida explaining very definitively in just over a minute the truth about Islam.



Update: Per my faithful reader Linda's request, unedited video of the exchange, which includes the Marine's question and shows the discomfort felt by every other member of this panel in responding to the question:




Update 2: Another reader sent me this link to a New Times blog post by Brandon Thorp dissecting Congressman West's speech and providing his point of view. Plenty, plenty words, but very enlightening.