Good morning. I’m honored to have the opportunity to speak with you during the American Jewish Committee’s 99th Annual Meeting.

As a freshman Congressman who sits on the International Relations Committee, I’ve had the opportunity over these past five months to begin to immerse myself in a variety of important issues concerning our nation’s role in promoting democratic ideals around the world. And I’ll speak to these shortly.

But it’s important to understand that my staunch commitment to the ideals of freedom, security and prosperity was forged when I was growing up. For these were the ideals I was exposed to almost every night.

My father, mother and I often talked about the perils of communism and tyranny, and the right of every man, woman and child to live in freedom.

In fact it was my father who instilled in me the simple idea that freedom is the core of all human progress.

And yet we see everyday that without security no one is truly free.
By ensuring freedom and security exist together, we can achieve an era of true prosperity for people around the world.

For me though, these principles didn’t begin to have real meaning until I had the opportunity to visit Israel as a teenager. It was a trip that changed my life.

Growing up in Southwest Florida I couldn’t appreciate that life wasn’t the same for everyone around the world.

But those days I spent in Israel -- seeing first-hand the daily threats of death and destruction, witnessing the strength and determination of a people living in a country surrounded by enemies sworn to their annihilation -- are days I will never forget.

Years later, as a husband and a father who is worried about my own children and their futures, the memories of that experience loom even larger as the United States defends our way of life in these dangerous and difficult times.

Freedom is under attack every day in every corner of the world.

But make no mistake about it -- we will defeat the enemies of freedom and extinguish the flames of terror and tyranny. Not because America is seeking to be the bully of the world, but rather, because the human spirit longs to be free.

To do so requires the United States and our allies to continue to pursue a strategy that combines diplomatic, economic and military activities, and that demonstrates to people who know only a world of tyranny and hatred that the ideals of freedom, security and prosperity can yield a better life and a brighter future.

One of our staunchest allies in the war on terror is the state of Israel.
The cooperation between the United States and Israel in defense technology, national security and intelligence is essential to winning the war on terrorism, and ensuring freedom and peace.

We share common values, and together I am confident we will succeed in defending freedom, defeating terrorism, deterring war, securing peace and promoting democracy throughout the Middle East.

There’s no mistaking the fact the United States and our allies are succeeding in the effort to advance the cause of freedom.

In Afghanistan, a coalition of free countries liberated a nation from Taliban rule, and for the first time in the country’s history elections have been held.

Democracy is taking root. Women have been allowed to more fully participate in society.
Education is improving. The Afghan people are living free from fear and full of optimism for a better tomorrow.

In Iraq, Saddam Hussein and his government of thugs were swiftly swept from power, laying the foundation for democracy. And while coalition forces continue to battle terrorists and insurgents who grow more desperate by the day, there is no mistaking the historic progress on the ground.

Humanitarian assistance is making a difference throughout the country. Reconstruction and modernization of the Iraqi infrastructure is setting the stage for economic transformation. And a democratically-elected government is securing the right of the Iraqi people to self-determination.

These examples of our strategy at work serve only to highlight how vital it is to continue to export the ideals of freedom, security and prosperity throughout the world.

From the Philippines and Indonesia, to Africa, Asia, the Middle-East and Latin America, the United States and our allies must continue to eradicate the roots of terror and to sow the seeds of liberty.

Like the American Jewish Committee I am also particularly concerned with the proliferation of anti-Semitic, anti-freedom movements in Latin America.

In particular, the growing ties between Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, coupled with Chavez’s growing anti-US rhetoric over the past weeks, are just some of the signs that there is growing instability in Latin America.

Many years ago the Soviet Union tried to use Cuba as a platform to export communism throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Today, the Castro-Chavez alliance is doing just that. And while Chavez’s growing rhetoric is aimed at the United States, my fear is that his true intention is to attack freedom and liberty throughout the Western Hemisphere and beyond.

As we contemplate the challenges we face in the world today, it’s important to understand that the United States is at a crossroads in foreign policy.

Those on the left continue to believe in peace at any price even if that price is the loss of freedom.

Those of us on the right believe that freedom is worth fighting for, and that together, freedom, security and prosperity will yield lasting peace for all.

Thank you.