(The Hill) — Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) criticized the FBI on Monday for removing nearly 900 pages of training material it deemed to be offensive, saying it showed extremist Muslim groups were influencing national strategy.
The FBI made the move after Sen. Dick Durbin (R-Ill.) complained about some passages, including one that advised agents to “never attempt to shake hands with an Asian” and another that said agents should expect “outbursts” from Arab minds.
West said the by removing such passages, the FBI was committing “cultural suicde” and allowing groups like the Muslim Brotherhood to influence U.S. policy.
“We have to understand that when tolerance becomes a one-way street it leads to cultural suicide,” West told Fox and Friends on Monday. “We should not allow the Muslim Brotherhood or associated groups to be influencing our national strategy.”
When asked if he believed those groups were influencing U.S. strategy, West responded, “oh, absolutely,” and cited the Fort Hood shootings report that didn’t mention the suspect’s Muslim faith as a potential motive for the killings.
Fox News in February reported that the FBI removed hundreds of counterterrorism training documents after a months-long review found inaccuracies and other problems in their description of Muslims.
