Tancredo: Bomb Muslim holy sites first

[sabra]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo’s campaign stood by his assertion that bombing holy Muslim sites would serve as a good “deterrent” to prevent Islamic fundamentalists from attacking the United States, his spokeswoman said Friday.

“This shows that we mean business,” said Bay Buchanan, a senior Tancredo adviser. “There’s no more effective deterrent than that. But he is open-minded and willing to embrace other options. This is just a means to deter them from attacking us.”

On Tuesday, Tancredo warned a group of Iowans that another terrorist attack would “cause a worldwide economic collapse.” He said that attacking Muslim holy sites first would be the only means to prevent terrorists from attacking America. IowaPolitics.com recorded his comments.

...

Tom Casey, a deputy spokesman for the State Department, told CNN’s Elise Labott that the congressman’s comments were “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.” Tancredo was widely criticized in 2005 for making a similar suggestion.

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/03/tancred... /

[bamacrat]

1. Because it is working fantastically in Iraq.

Not that he had any kind of chance getting the nomination, he's definitely out now. Oh well. How is angering the people who want to kill us a deterrent?

[nedbal]

70. CNN is wrong he did not say "FIRST" he did say "in retaliation"

CNN is only news agency that reported using the FIRST strike
n0w it can only be found on blogs that quickly copied cnn's first draft

the link now reads as follows;

politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/04/tancredo- bomb-muslim-holy-sites-first/
<><>
Tancredo: Threaten to bomb Muslim holy sites in retaliation
<>
On Tuesday, Tancredo warned a group of Iowans that another terrorist attack would “cause a worldwide economic collapse.” IowaPolitics.com recorded his comments.
<>



from the CNN Comments

I don’t think that he should say such things, because certainly that angers folks, but he did not suggest bombing them FIRST. He said we should say first that we WOULD FOLLOW any nuclear attack on the US with a nuclear attack on those cities and that the idea of dooming their own cities by attacking us would be a deterrent. I think his logic is faulty, but your alarmism and misconstruation of the statements he actually made is shameful, and not representative of his true intent. What he did was essentially “threaten the life of their mother’s” if they were to attack us, he didn’t say they would first “kill their mothers” so they wouldn’t. Big difference.

Posted By Dave Dolan, Pittsburgh, PA : August 3, 2007 12:54 pm

[OKIsItJustMe]

76. Straight from the horse's ...

http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=101389

IowaPolitics.com: Tancredo says threat of attack on holy sites would deter terrorism

7/31/2007

By Chris Dorsey
IowaPolitics.com

OSCEOLA -- Followers of radical Islam must be deterred from committing a nuclear attack on U.S. soil, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo said Tuesday morning, saying that as president he would take drastic measures to prevent such attacks.

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," the GOP presidential candidate said. "That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent or you will find an attack. There is no other way around it. There have to be negative consequences for the actions they take. That's the most negative I can think of."

• Listen to Tancredo discuss his plan

...

[ProgressiveMuslim]

85. Contact his office!!!!!!! I expect this level of thinking at Moe' bar...

but not from an elected representative of the USA.

I urge all Americans to call his offices and express their outrage.

(when I called the reception tried to whitewash this by saying he was discussing it as a deterrent.)

Can you imagine a world in which, say... Vatican City would be nuked to deter Christian Crazies?

This is simply beyond the pale.



Washington, DC Office
1131 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: http://tancredo.house.gov/contact_tom.html
Website: http://tancredo.house.gov/default.aspx

Main District Office
6099 S. Quebec St., Suite 200
Centennial, Colorado 80111
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[greyl]

2. Absolutely crazy is putting it mildly.

I wonder how much of the Bible Tancredo and Buchanan take literally...

[SunDrop23]

62. I'd go with "absolutely bat shit crazy," but that's just me,

No different than mAnn Coulter saying "we kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity."

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. These are Goldwater/LeMay wannabes.

[nancyr]

6. That's insane.

[last_texas_dem]

47. Speaking of Goldwater...

I'm now hoping that Tancredo gets the Repug nomination (yeah, I know there's no chance of that happening, but I can still hope!) so maybe I'll get to see a Democratic landslide similar to the LBJ/Goldwater election of '64 at least once in my lifetime!

[Gravel2008]

53. Goldwater was a saint compared to Tancredo

Amazing, isn't it...

[acmavm]

4. What the hell is wrong with this idiot? I mean, do republicans

have a policy that if you're not dumber than a box of rocks you can't be a republican politician?

[0007]

78. Republicans are the "Masters of War" --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWkWSLEW-Ds

[RaleighNCDUer]

5. Top of their list: The Dome of the Rock.

Turn that into rubble and build the third temple on Temple Mount, so that Jaysus can return and we can all be raptured.

That'll put them Muslims in their place.

Geez. Can you think of any better way to turn 1.2 BILLION Muslims against us?

[Speaker]

31. Can you think of any better way to turn 1.2 BILLION Muslims against us?

It would turn more than that against us. Every religion other than christianity would have to worry that we would bomb their holy lands if they did not submit to us. The rest of the world would have to band together and bomb Jerusalem.

[IndianaGreen]

49. If Tancredo were to adopt Hillary's nuke-as-a-first-option proposal

then we would be nuking the Dome of the Rock, and in doing so we will be solving the Israel/Palestine conflict for good. There will be no one left to fight over a pile of holy radioactive rubble.

The problem with Tancredo is that there are millions of testosterone-driven men and women that think that the solution of all of our problems lies at the point of a gun, or a nuke.

[MADem]

7. Yeah, drop a tac nuke on Mekkah, Medina ... oh, and Jerusalem, too!

That'll stop all that Sunni-Shi'a fighting over "control" of those Holy Places!!! Ya gotta take out Jerusalem, though, because if you unload those first two, they'll combine forces to go after that third one!!


Good grief, Tancredo is really fucking nuts.

Like, REALLY FUCKING nuts!!!!

Nuttier than squirrel shit, as they say!!!!

[razorman]

28. Since apparently EVERY city in Iraq is a "holy city",

where would it stop?

[MADem]

29. There are quite a few shrines in Iraq--and tons in Iran, too.

Mashad, Qom, Esfahan, Karbala...

But if you hit those top three, you'd do what no one has been able to do in centuries--unite the varying sects of Islaam!!

[theoldman]

8. During WWII the Germans bombed some of the Polish

churches. Pissed the Poles off so much that they fought back ferociously.

[zbdent]

9. Well, it makes sense when you consider that terrorists bombed Republicans'

holy site, Wall Street ...

[Virginia Dare]

10. Interesting, because Bay Buchanan's brother Fats was having a hysterical laugh..

this morning on Scabber's show about Obama's comments re. Pakistan. Tancredo is a dangerously insane man. He really should be in a padded room somewhere.

[redqueen]

11. This guy's still a serious contender for the nomination?

Bay Buchanan's working for his campaign?

WOW... the GOP is in a MESS!

[calimary]

77. Yeah, no kidding! The Whack-Job Express.

Just what we need, enflaming people who already have some pretty damned serious grievances against us. The next terrorist strike WILL be on HIS head. I just hope his remarks didn't carry all that far.

[Behind the Aegis]

12. This level of sheer idiocy is stunning, to say the least!

A "first" attack on anyone's holy sites would set off a chain of events that really would lead to WWIII. Then again, his adviser is Bay Buchanan and she is as about as batty as they come.

[Maat]

59. You are quite correct, Behind the Aegis.

See, what the People need to understand is that, in today's world, it's not one country's people against another's, or even one tribe against another.

We, the People, around the world have to insist on fair treatment for all. Our foe is the greed of an international cabal of corporatists, who are warmongers, and who couldn't care less about civilians and the poor getting killed (or the middle class).

Just makes me ill!

No more war! End the dependency on oil! No more bombing - particularly of holy or religious sites!

That's my two cents' worth.

[L. Coyote]

13. HELLO IDIOT!! Do you want to give JUST CAUSE for attacking the USA?

Tancredo brings new meaning to the term MORAN. It is this kind of thinking that gives urgency to



http://jqjacobs.net/politics/impeach/

[wadlee]

43. And you bring new spelling to the term : )

[silvermachine]

51. I see you have no clue...

...enjoy your brief stay.

[Gravel2008]

65. Hmmm

You'll have a "brief stay" if you won't spell moron improperly? Gee, I would've thought it was the other way around, as evidenced by that MORON in your picture.

On edit: Welcome to DU, wadlee!

[Maat]

60. Great photo!

Thanks!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

75. Hey...

Is that the Corvallis courthouse?

[Turbineguy]

14. Tancredo

should have his brain removed for examination.

[Joe Bacon]

16. He has a brain?

Damn, the way that fool acts, reminds me of the old Underdog cartoon where Simon BarSinister had people walking into Phoney Booths to become his zombies!

[closeupready]

15. This kind of talk fuels resolve to strengthen deterrents, I am absolutely certain of that.

What a fricking idiot he is.

[_testify_]

17. What a load of dung.

Tomfoolery (and his advisors, apparently) is obviously not bright enough to grasp the concept that Islamic holy sites are not exclusively 'holy' to fundamentalists.

If he were in charge we'd have bombed the Vatican in response to the Waco standoff.

[WatchWhatISay]

18. Just a joke of a campaign trying to make enough noise

and be sensationalist enough for the infotainment media to take notice.

[silvermachine]

52. Ding, Ding, Ding...

...we have a winner!!! He is using statements like this to boost his wingnut credentials so that when he is voted out of office, he'll have a job waiting for him on hate radio or Faux News and he can write for Regnery Press and ride the far right gravy train.

[Tempest]

19. Look what happened after the Askariya mosque was bombed in Iraq

The Shiites went crazy and started slaughtering Sunnis.

[Maeve]

20. We have a new #1 Conservative Idiot!

Hard to top this for sheer lunacy!

[sinkingfeeling]

21. Why doesn't he just send them an engraved invitation to bomb, oh, say St. Paul's in

London, the Vatican, and the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake? I can't think of a crazier means to start a real religious war.

Edited to correct.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

22. What is he advocating?

Isn't such a thing a War Crime?

[FreeStateDemocrat]

23. Cast a vote to bring on the Apocalypse, a fundie dream come true, who else would vote for this ass?

[SemperEadem]

24. I guess he forgot what happened when we 'accidentally'

shot that civilian air liner out of the sky back in the late 80's...

[iamahaingttta]

25. These people need to be removed from society...

...by ANY means necessary.

They are war criminals, and they need to be tried for their crimes, convicted and hung from the neck until dead.

I'm totally serious.

OK Bushie, come and try to take my property away from me now! I double dog dare ya, scumbag!

[0rganism]

26. promote Tom Casey! Give him Condi's job!

Finally, someone permitted to speak openly by the maladministration who "gets it":

> Tom Casey, a deputy spokesman for the State Department, told CNN’s Elise Labott that the congressman’s comments were “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.”

I don't know if he's a career State Dept. guy or a bush-appointed noob, but either way that's the most sensible assessment I've heard or read from the executive branch in six years.

[CBHagman]

50. Casey's a career member of the Foreign Service.

Note the dates in his official biography at the State Department.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/70066.htm


Tom Casey is the State Department’s Deputy Spokesman and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. Immediately prior to this assignment, he served as Director of the Office of Press Relations.


Mr. Casey joined the Foreign Service in 1988 and was first posted to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. He has served overseas in public affairs positions at the U.S. embassies in Lagos, Nigeria and Lima, Peru, as well as at the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels.


In Washington, Mr. Casey has worked as a public affairs advisor for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and in a number of positions dealing with NATO and European Union issues in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.



I should add that he's much more adept at giving the daily briefing than is Sean McCormack, the usual spokesman.

[tabasco]

27. Let me guess - - no military service for Tancredo?

That's right. Chickenhawks don't care how much danger they create for our troops.

Let's just leave them to occupy and try to pacify a bloody quagmire after we bomb their mosques.

Typical coward chickenshit republican.

[sakabatou]

30. Because Anger is Love...

O.o?

[Zhade]

32. Reverse the situation - would "Islamists" bombing the Vatican make people NOT want to fight back?

Tancredo is a motherfucking IDIOT.

[enki23]

33. Jesus Effing Christ, the man's inane.

1) We already *have* attacked, occupied, and otherwise damaged a number of Muslim holy sites. Long before 9/11, in fact.
2) Sunni and Shia in Iraq have been blowing up each other's holy sites. That's working fucking marvelously well for both sides, as we all can see.
3) What the FUCK is this asshole smoking, and how can we make sure it stays very, very illegal?

[Mika]

34. Here's audio of Tom's first threat.

He starts in at about 49 seconds into this..

http://www.mypodcast.com/cached/thisisit_20070803_1532-...

[sarcasmo]

35. Tancredo must have been in those secret meetings that where Democrats were not allowed access.

Makes me wonder if this is the Bible fanatics Armageddon fantasy and how they plan to make it happen.

[DutchLiberal]

36. ...., ehm... ..., uhm.... ,.... No, I really AM speechless. It's just... it's... ...

It's just SO stupid, I don't know where to start... The ignorance, the dumbness, the stupidness, the lack of knowledge, the lack of understanding... This guy is NUTS!

[DutchLiberal]

37. I know who will be no. 1 in next week's Top 10 Conservative Idiots. ^_^

[DrDan]

38. these bastards . . . . . n/t

[Make7]

39. That's a pretty important paragraph that you left out.

In your opening post where there is only "...", the blog entry has this:

“If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina,” Tancredo said. “That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong, fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent, or you will find an attack.”

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/03/tancredo-bomb-muslim-holy-sites-first/

I also see that the headline over there is now:

   Tancredo: Threaten to bomb Muslim holy sites in retaliation

Although no one will argue that was an idiotic statement to make, it is quite a bit different than if he had said to 'bomb Muslim holy sites first'.

Here is the story as reported by IowaPolitics.com:

Followers of radical Islam must be deterred from committing a nuclear attack on U.S. soil, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo said Tuesday morning, saying that as president he would take drastic measures to prevent such attacks.

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," the GOP presidential candidate said. "That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent or you will find an attack. There is no other way around it. There have to be negative consequences for the actions they take. That's the most negative I can think of."

     · Listen to Tancredo discuss his plan

The harsh approach is vital in order to prevent a worldwide collapse, Tancredo told nearly 30 people Tuesday morning at the Family Table restaurant.

"Beyond the loss of human life and devastation, it would cause a worldwide economic collapse," Tancredo said of a nuclear attack on U.S soil. "If all of a sudden we are not a consuming engine of the world, the producing nations will collapse also. That is what they want, that is what they are looking for, to end Western civilization as we know it."

Tancredo said there was no such deterrent in place right now.

http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=101389

His statements are dumb enough already - it doesn't need to be embellished.

- Make7

[LeftishBrit]

58. True - but even his just bringing it up as a possibility is disgusting and dangerous!

But then Tancredo has always seemed pretty revolting.

[Make7]

61. I couldn't agree more. ( n/t )

[ProudDad]

64. And that makes it RIGHT????

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," the GOP presidential candidate said. "That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong fine, tell me"

Uh, you are SO fucking wrong... Idiot...

Even saying stupid shit like this creates more "terrorists"...

This dickwad has just earned a spot in the top 10, I'm sure!!! EarlG???

------

If anyone's interested in something that actually WOULD work...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[Make7]

67. Did I say that? Perhaps you should read the post that you replied to. ( n/t )

[Hatalles]

40. Tancredo SHOULD NOT be allowed to attend another GOP debate. Period. nt

[killbotfactory]

41. There is a simple explanation for this:

Tancredo is fucking crazy.

[wadlee]

42. I'm not a Tancredo fan, but

I believe there is a small error in this little snippet. He didn't say he'd bomb these sites "first". He did, though, say as a deterrent. As president, he would say, "Hey, if you guys attack us, we'll destroy your Holy places."

This is totally different from saying he'd blow them up FIRST.

The largest flaw in this plan, in my opinion, is that these terrorists are not true Muslims. For example, Al Zarqawi was never a devout Muslim. He only became "devout" when, while in prison, he was shown by another inmate how to use religion to hate.
If the terrorists were devout Muslims, Tancredos plan would probably make them reconsider. Kind of like the MAD policy during the Cold War. And, yes, it would be hell after the sites were bombed. Just like MAD. But he probably wouldn't go through with it. Just like MAD.

So, the problem is not that he is crazy or illogical, it's just that he's misinformed.


I hope this makes sense for everyone now.

[rooboy]

45. Sorry, it's still crazy and illogical.

You don't bomb sites that are sacred to hundreds of millions of people in the EXTREMELY unlikely event that it will deter a hundred fundamentalists from attacking you. It's akin to thinking you'll stop the US from attacking you by destroying the World Trade Center or the Statue of Liberty - and we already have the test results of that theory.

[eagler]

56. He'll probably have alot of support if there's another 911.

I fear another LIHOP

[pschoeb]

44. I guess this explains the crazed violence of the Columbine massacre

I mean, this area of Colorado elected this bat shit crazy fool, they have to be fucking insane as well.

[Buns_of_Fire]

46. Hey, why pour water on a fire when you can use gas?

Whether or not saner minds would prevail in the end, makes no difference. Just the THREAT of it is enough to light a very hot fuse.

[IndianaGreen]

48. Bomb Muslim holy sites? Heck, let's just nuke them, like Hillary says!

Hillary said that first use of nuclear weapons is a valid option against any place where there are terrorists. To Tancredo's insane proposal, we can add Hillary's reckless proposal, and voila! We got millions of dead in less than a second!

Some people have the mistaken notion that strength is measured by military bluster. They are wrong!

[Endangered Specie]

54. I'm sure that would make the Saudis happy

[CJCRANE]

55. Stupid f***er has taken the Repub propaganda at face value.

He doesn't realise that the Saudis bankroll the Bushco and that you only ever attack a country that won't do business with Bushco.

Not to mention that the whole industrial world would grind to a halt if the oil stops and a billion muslims would be somewhat...angry.

[LeftishBrit]

57. He's INSANE!

The best outcome of such a policy would be a massive increase in world terrorism. The worst outcome would be a third world war.

PLEASE tell me this man isn't going to be elected!!!

[gulliver]

63. In the context of a "President Bush", Tancredo's comments...

...aren't all that crazy. Bush, Rove, and Cheney dragged us into the gutter. That put us closer to Tancredo's sewer. We wouldn't even have to think such crazy thoughts if terrorism were being dealt with effectively. If Gore had been president, we would be a lot safer right now. North Korea wouldn't have a bunch of bombs worth of plutonium, Saddam Hussein would still be contained and toothless (and a lot of Iraqis who are dead now would still be alive watching their kids grow up). Osama bin Laden would be dead or behind bars. The whole world would have engaged the problem of terrorism rationally.

But because we have Bush in the White House, and Rove and Cheney running Bush, every gutter thing that can happen to America, every gutter thing we might do in response finds expression. Bush created a world of shit, and Tancredo is shitty. America herself is sullied. We've been lowered to Bush's level.

[Hieronymus]

66. Bay is one crazy bitch. Tancredo is just a joke.

[TankLV]

68. And you know what - that fucker will probably get his wet dream...

I am not in a hopeful mood for the foreseeable future...

God please help us...

[nedbal]

69. CNN is wrong he did not say "FIRST" he did say "in retaliation"

CNN is only news agency that reported using the FIRST strike
n0w it can only be found on blogs that quickly copied cnn's first draft

the link now reads as follows;

politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/04/tancredo- bomb-muslim-holy-sites-first/
<>
Tancredo: Threaten to bomb Muslim holy sites in retaliation
<>
On Tuesday, Tancredo warned a group of Iowans that another terrorist attack would “cause a worldwide economic collapse.” IowaPolitics.com recorded his comments.
<>



from the CNN Comments

I don’t think that he should say such things, because certainly that angers folks, but he did not suggest bombing them FIRST. He said we should say first that we WOULD FOLLOW any nuclear attack on the US with a nuclear attack on those cities and that the idea of dooming their own cities by attacking us would be a deterrent. I think his logic is faulty, but your alarmism and misconstruation of the statements he actually made is shameful, and not representative of his true intent. What he did was essentially “threaten the life of their mother’s” if they were to attack us, he didn’t say they would first “kill their mothers” so they wouldn’t. Big difference.

Posted By Dave Dolan, Pittsburgh, PA : August 3, 2007 12:54 pm

[TankLV]

88. Like that makes a DIFFERENCE?!

jeebussfuckingHkeeristonacracker...

[mountainvue]

71. On behalf of all sane Coloradans, I would like

to apologize for the fucking loon that is Tancredo. Fortunately, he is not from my district. Unfotunately that means I can't vote against him.

[treestar]

81. What is that district like?

I mean, I have some idea since they sent this moran to Congress, but do you know any more details other than that they must be generally effing loons?

[0007]

72. This guy is one sick moran mustache.....bar none! nt

[Timex]

73. Oh and if that happens

Does he expect Muslims to just stand there? If Mecca gets attacked, don't expect to see thousands of people retaliating, expect millions, what an insane guy!

[Tesha]

74. Could he maybe do Jerusalem, Salt Lake City, and a Baptist city to be named later...

If he's really on a roll against fundamentalist nutcases,
could he maybe do Jerusalem, Salt Lake City, and some
Southern Baptist city (to be named later, maybe Colorado
Springs?) at the same time?

The problem isn't limited to Islamic nutjobs.

Tesha

[treestar]

79. Why do they think it's a deterrent?

They don't think, that's why.

Like 911 was a deterrent to the U.S., does he mean?

What a moran. He may be Moran of the Year.

[Maestro]

80. I've been following Tancredo for years

He first came to my attention for making completely insane accusations about the public education system, then immigrants and now this. He is a complete and utter racist who is even ashamed of his own heritage. He's disgusting.

[KamaAina]

82. I say "Bring it on!", just as long as...

...Tancredo himself rides down on the bomb, like Slim Pickens at the end of "Dr. Strangelove".

[Tesha]

83. But what if it "harelips every gol-durned soul in Bear Creek?" (NT)

[dogfacedboy]

84. Tancredo is a fucking madman.

What kind of moron would take this guy seriously?
Unfortunately, there are many such morons.

[Taverner]

86. Now I'm all for turning stupid religious bullshit to rubble, but isn't this a bit like

Throwing rocks at a Wasp's nest?

You want global jihad - there's your ticket right there.

Welcome WWIII

However, If they're going to bomb Mecca, they should also hit the Vatican, the Mormon Temple in SLC and all of the bible belt. Especially Pat Robertson's home. Oh and bomb old Jerusalem while you're at it.

[theredpen]

87. Bombing for sanity

We can make the world a perfect place if we just bomb the right people out of existence.

Aren't the Freepers getting lonely without you?

[Doctor_J]

89. Tancredo is a chickenhawk who dodged Viet Nam on a section 8

He actually skipped service because of psych problems. Come to think of it, he'd be a perfect heir-apparent to Smirk.