FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 21, 2023

CONTACT: Tracey Miller, 202-660-1628, Tracey.Miller@theacru.org

MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Former Congressman LTC Allen West, Executive Director, ACRU

Has Barney Fife Taken Over National Security?

Defense Incompetence Emboldens Adversaries

Naples, FL — We’ve seen the full spectrum of national security incompetence over the past two weeks, former Congressman and ACRU Executive Director Allen West observes in this week’s Townhall oped.

What’s worse? Going off half-cocked or indecision to the point of dysfunctional paralysis? Allen West notes, “Here we had a Communist Chinese spy balloon freely traverse across the entire United States, and even took time to hover over sensitive military installations. We looked like Deputy Fife bumbling around trying to figure out what to do, and at the final moment before the episode ended, the balloon gets shot down…long after completing its intelligence surveillance mission.” Great work.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, now the Biden administration is shooting down everything in the sky. “Then, in true Barney Fife manner, we just started shooting at every doggone thing in the sky. I can almost hear ol’ Deputy Fife say to Sheriff Andy, ‘Well, Andy, there ain’t ever gonna be any more balloons flying over Mayberry. I went out and shot at everything I saw in the sky!’ Yes, comical, but in this case, reality reflected a sitcom. This version of Kabuki theater was so laughable that a dear friend of mine in Boca Raton told me he canceled the hot air balloon ride he had scheduled for his wife on Valentine’s Day.”

“When the enemies of America, and our allies, watch the news and see our current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania, they do not see American strength, resolve, will, determination, and courage. At best, they see a crotchety curmudgeon sitting on the front porch, yelling at the neighborhood kids to stay away from his front yard.”

Comedy? No, not when it comes to our national security. Our enemies are now emboldened, and we’re seeing more close encounters around our airspace, the Chinese outpacing our naval fleet, a thriving terrorist sanctuary in Afghanistan and non-existent borders. Enough is enough.

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American Constitutional Rights Union is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy organization dedicated to defending all Americans’ constitutionally protected civil rights.