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July 19, 2005
Let's Match the Terrorists, Says our Elected Officials
Just imagine our outrage if an elected official in a Muslim country had said anything like this:
Talk show host Pat Campbell asked the Littleton Republican [Rep. Tom Tancredo] how the country should respond if terrorists struck several U.S. cities with nuclear weapons."Well, what if you said something like — if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites," Tancredo answered.
"You're talking about bombing Mecca," Campbell said.
"Yeah," Tancredo responded.
And, when questioned, Rep. Tancredo stands by his statement:
Muslim groups earlier Monday called on Tancredo to apologize and said they want to meet with the Colorado Republican."I'm not suggesting we do it. I have nothing to apologize for in that respect," Tancredo said. "I'm simply saying to have a good discussion on this issue, a thorough discussion on what is perhaps the most serious kind of possible situation we could face as a civilization, that you cannot simply take things off the table because they are uncomfortable to talk about."
...
Tancredo is a member of the House International Relations Committee.
A fervent opponent of illegal immigration, he has begun an insurgent bid for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination that he says is designed to force a more serious candidate to take a hard-line stance on immigration.
Remember this is our elected official talking about responding to terrorists, who are not elected representatives of anyone...
Posted by zeynep at July 19, 2005 09:56 PM