Perry speaks to veterans, says US should be ‘taking the fight to the enemy’

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) called for a muscular foreign policy during a speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention Monday morning in San Antonio.

“As the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 approaches, we must renew our commitment to taking the fight to the enemy, wherever they are, before they strike at home,” he said.

{mosads}Perry, an Air Force veteran, did not discuss foreign policy specifics during the speech. He took what could be seen as a subtle jab at both President Obama and former President George W. Bush when he said that he doesn’t “believe America should fall subject to a foreign policy of military adventurism,” adding that the United States should only get involved in foreign military matters when “our vital interests are threatened.”

But Perry sounded a hawkish note on multilateralism, saying that the United States should seek out allies when possible but that “we must be willing to act when it is time to act. We cannot concede the moral authority of our nation to multilateral debating societies.”

Perry also acknowledged the country’s — and the VFW’s — shifting demographics by focusing his appeal on Vietnam veterans rather than World War II veterans, and stirred up an old culture war by tweaking Vietnam War protesters.

“Often we speak in loving terms of the greatest generation … as we should … but I want to say a word to a younger generation of heroes,” Perry said. “They went to war in a time of strife at home. They did incredibly tough duty not knowing at times when the enemy lurked amongst the civilian population.

“They were called to a war that our leaders were not prepared to win because they were not prepared to use the full force of U.S. military power once they sent their sons into battle.”

The governor has strong appeal to Tea Party voters, some of whom hold more isolationist views on foreign policy. He also called for more spending on healthcare.