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We know about the issues of free speech on our colleges and universities. It appears there are those who define free speech as the speech they deem acceptable. If you attempt to speak on issues to which the liberal progressive socialist left does not consent, you should be censored. Or at a minimum, the little cupcakes ask for a “safe space” where they don’t have to hear opposing views — and here we were under the impression that institutions of higher learning were supposed to be places to encourage the free exchange of ideas. Many times we’ve seen on the news and elsewhere stories of conservative speakers being denied the right to speak on college campuses. I’ve watched this and just shaken my head. And then I would ask myself, when will it happen to me?

Well, it has and I’m not happy about it at all. Earlier today, I did a radio interview with former Boston Red Sox baseball superstar pitcher Curt Schilling, and he informed me of something that’s happening at St. Louis University of which I wasn’t aware. I’m to speak on the campus of St. Louis University next week, September 29th, for the Young America’s Foundation (YAF), a student conservative organization. It appears there’s some administrator at St. Louis University who is attempting to limit the free speech of the YAF chapter on campus. I contacted my speakers bureau, Worldwide Speakers Group, who confirmed through YAF Headquarters in Virginia that a very disconcerting and disrespectful action was being taken.

As posted at the YAF website, This week an administrator at Saint Louis University (SLU) informed students organizing a YAF-sponosred lecture by Lt. Col. Allen West they were not allowed to use the words “radical Islam” on any advertisements for the event. 

The administrator also claimed West, who is a veteran of both Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, does not “have experience with radical Islam.” 

These comments were made after students submitted event flyers for approval and campus officials rejected their design due to the inclusion of the words “radical Islam.”  

SLU students confirmed these details to Young America’s Foundation this week. 

The lecture, scheduled for September 29, is part of Young America’s Foundation’s Fred Allen Lecture Series that is bringing Lt. Col. West to campuses across the country this school year. 

YAF activists will not back down in the face of challenges from politically correct campus bureaucrats.

Let me make myself very clear here, whomever this misguided soul is, he or she has picked the wrong fight. This reminds me of the statement by John Kerry that if the media just didn’t talk about Islamic terrorism, it would not be an issue. This “administrator” at St. Louis University represents the most deplorable embodiment of fascism. Here we are less than a week from a weekend of Islamic terrorist attacks and this individual does not want students to have an in-depth discussion about the most serious, savage, and barbaric threat this Nation has faced — well, at least since the Barbary Pirates.

And who is this person who believes they have any right to prescribe to a campus student group what can be advertised for their lecture series? Is this what our country is coming to, and is this what parents who send their kids to St. Louis University are willing to accept? I’m honored YAF has chosen me to be the main speaker of their Fred Allen Lecture Series, and I take this responsibility seriously to educate and inform our young people of the current geopolitical situation — after all, they are our future leaders.

Now, who is this “administrator” who claims I don’t “have the experience with radical Islam” — Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot! Having served 22 years active service in the United States Army, to include combat tours of duty in the First Persian Gulf conflagration and commanding a Battalion in Operation Iraqi Freedom. And after retiring, I spent two and a half years in Afghanistan as a civilian/military advisor to the Afghan Army, based in Kandahar — the place that was the capitol of the Taliban.

Perhaps having served two years in Congress and sitting on the House Armed Services Committee is just not enough experience to be considered capable of addressing radical Islam. Or maybe, this “administrator” should read the article I was asked to write by Military Review, the official professional journal of the US Army, for their January-February edition that addressed solutions to defeat ISIS — a radical Islamic organization. I wonder if this “administrator” has read, as I have several times, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Explanatory Memorandum for their engagement in North America — the United States. Many nations, except the United States, have declared the Muslim Brotherhood an Islamic terrorist group.

Bottom line, I want to know who this “administrator” is, and I demand he or she contact me directly. Sir or Ma’am, I’m calling you out, and you tell me what about my service and experiences, in and out of uniform, disqualify me from addressing the issue of radical Islam, or Islamo-fascism, Islamic jihadism, or Islamic terrorism? The better question is, what do you think makes you experienced or qualified to make any judgement on me?

Doggone right, I along with the YAF activists will not back down from this challenge. And if this is just a case of ill-conceived political correctness, we’ll rectify that. But, if this is a case of the influence of stealth jihad radical Islamic campus organizations such as the Muslim Student Association, an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, then you will be exposed. And I recommend to the President of St. Louis University, you do not want it known that a radical Islamic organization is dictating speakers on your campus — that is not the type of PR you really want.

I’m coming to St. Louis University next week, Thursday, September 29th. I’ll be discussing radical Islam and its affects upon freedom in the United States and across the globe. I’ll use my intellect, experiences, and historical reading to share with students so they can be better educated and informed. If someone wants to protest a retired Army officer exercising First Amendment free speech on a university campus — feel free, but I’ll take pleasure in easily defeating you in an intellectual engagement — because I do have experiences and historical knowledge.

Again, I want this administrator to contact me. It’s not that hard — that is, unless you’re truly the coward I sense that you are!