[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15224-15225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MILITANT ISLAMISM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Clawson) for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mr. CLAWSON of Florida. Madam Speaker, I would like to start by 
commending the Congressman from Nebraska. Having invested across 
borders in many different countries around the world, I believe that 
good-paying American jobs come mostly from competitiveness.
  In order for our companies to be competitive and produce good-paying 
American jobs, we need competitive energy prices. Therefore, I support 
this bill and think that it can produce lots of great jobs in America. 
I, for one, drive an automobile made by Americans in America.
  Yesterday, I voted ``no'' on the proposal to train and arm Syrian 
rebels. I did so because I am convinced that we and our allies need to 
come together and unite behind a much broader and very long-term plan 
with the goal of ending militant Islamism across the globe once and for 
all. In my opinion, anything less, such as reacting crisis by crisis, 
like playing Whac-A-Mole, is doomed to failure.
  To begin, we must accept the realities of the challenges we face and 
the generational nature of the threat. We can easily agree that ISIS 
today is the most visible and immediate threat of militant Islamic 
extremism. It is a clear and present danger to the Middle East region 
and, yes, beyond. We can all agree, ISIS must be eliminated. But moving 
forward, it would be a mistake and, I think, a missed opportunity to 
focus solely on ISIS. ISIS is only one part of a widespread 
metastasizing cancer of hatred, intolerance, and violence.
  We are facing a cancer of militant Islamism, with cells under various 
names in dozens of countries. In planning the elimination of ISIS, we, 
with a coalition of the willing, must do so, recognizing it as part of 
an overall global disease. Success requires a broad, diverse, and 
longstanding international coalition committed to defeating the cancer 
of militant Islamism once and for all.
  Now America is uniquely qualified to provide the leadership, 
including the airpower and mission command structure; but this time, 
the funding, military equipment, and ground forces must be provided by 
others.
  Too many times in the past, the United States has borne an extremely 
disproportionate part of these burdens. This time it must be understood 
that U.S. forces are not going to be the combat boots on the ground, 
nor will the American taxpayer be paying the bill.
  It is time for our allies, especially the Arab and Muslim nations, 
those most significantly and most immediately threatened, to step up. 
They need to provide the resources, especially the ground forces that 
are needed in this conflict. And coalition plans and action plans going 
forward must be guided by an overarching strategic vision of a world 
someday, somehow free of militant Islamism. That must be our cause.
  Success will begin but not end with the containment, isolation, and, 
over time, elimination of ISIS and other militant cells, wherever and 
whenever they arise.
  One by one, Islamic militant organizations must be eradicated around 
the world. They must be eliminated from the Middle East, from the Near 
East, sub-Saharan and north Africa, and south Asia. Any additional 
cancer cells or seeds of cancer in Europe, the U.S., or elsewhere must 
also be eliminated.
  The coalition must also follow the money and take actions to halt all 
financing for militant jihadists from banks, oil revenues, and states 
sponsoring terrorism. The coalition must be united long term behind a 
goal of a world where today's oppression, intolerance, violence, 
brainwashing, and genocide give way to liberty, religious and ethnic 
tolerance, and opportunity for all, regardless of one's sex, faith, or 
ethnicity.
  The coalition must also address the root causes of the cancer, 
something we have been avoiding up until now, something that presents 
an additional challenge of monumental proportions. This means 
correcting conditions that become recruitment tools for jihadist 
organizations.
  Impoverished areas, especially those with disadvantaged Muslim 
populations, must evolve to where they can provide information, 
education, skills training, and economic opportunities for their young 
people to counter environmental conditions that are so ripe for 
radicalization by radical jihadists.
  These challenges are huge, even generational. Handouts are not the 
answer, in my view. The coalition must address these issues with the 
nations involved and with moderate Muslim leaders, providing assistance 
wherever possible. Ultimately, the battle for the hearts and minds must 
be won by voices of moderation and opportunity in rejection of 
extremist voices who offer only hatred and bloodshed.

                              {time}  2015

  Schools and hospitals and, yes, even mosques must condemn and combat 
violence and militant jihad.
  Moderate Muslim leaders must be encouraged to speak out against 
extremism.

[[Page 15225]]

  This does require courage. And as moderate Muslims emerge, the 
coalition must stand ready to defend and support them against those who 
would try to silence their voices.
  Over time, any and all teachings of hatred and intolerance must be 
brought to an end.
  As with cancer in our bodies, the worst thing to do is to deny it, 
ignore it, minimize it, or hope that it will just go away on its own. 
Or fail to call it by its proper name. And when a cancer metastasizes, 
we must accept that we cannot cut it out in one location.
  For decades, we have been fighting the cancer of militant Islamism 
sort of like playing Whac-A-Mole. Whenever an Islamic threat pops up of 
radical nature, be it in the Near East or in the Middle East, New York, 
London, Nigeria, Sudan, Southeast Asia, or elsewhere, be it an 
organized effort or even a lone wolf, we react to it and try to smash 
it away, only to see another Whac-A-Mole pop up soon after in a 
different location.
  After decades of rising Islamism, the Middle and Near East regions 
have seen leadership voids filled by Islamic radicals. As despots are 
threatened or driven out by revolutions or internal civil wars, the 
resulting voids are being filled by others, many of whom are bad 
players. Often the new leaders are worse than those they replace.
  Transforming nations from totalitarian rule to a sustainable form of 
representative governance poses huge challenges, as we have seen in 
recent years.
  This challenge will not end with the elimination of ISIS. Am I 
overstating my concerns? I don't think so.
  I am convinced that America must lead the civilized world and accept 
the nature and breadth and complexity of global militant Islamism and 
call it by its name. And lead a coalition resolved to stay the course 
and end this cancer once and for all.
  We must stop kicking this cancer down the road to jeopardize future 
generations.
  It is neither naive nor idealistic to suggest that the world must 
unite behind the long-term goal of ending radical global militant 
Islamism. Because the alternative is simply not acceptable.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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