Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo
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." IowaPolitics.com recorded his comments.
"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."
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.
–CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich
From CNN Politics
© 2011 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Contact us | Work for us | Help
Um, aren't Mecca and Medina cities within a country that's our ally. Whether or not the Saudis always act like an ally is one thing, but
As a Christian, Mr. Tancredo's comments are absurd and disgraceful. Moreover, I feel as if the 2008 election has boiled down to which candidate is more willing to "nuke" a Muslim country. How have our election politics come to stoop so low?
but to go from naming them as an ally to a bombing target is pretty crazy. I wasn't completely on board with Obama's "I'll bomb Pakistan if need be" comments, but at least in that case, we'd be going after a legitimate target, rather than causing destruction just for the sake of retaliation against a religion.
I guess bombing Mecca & Medina would be one way for us to turn all the Muslims in the world against us and turn this into a full fledged Crusade, though.
Oh well, fortunately this nutjob won't be elected.
Okay, so maybe there are some cases when people are second-tier candidates for a reason. Seems the good congressman has been watching Swordfish again...
how is this guy representing people in his district?
It's official. He's insane.
Wow.
How was this man ever elected to Congress?
Only in the GOP...
Wow. It's scary that this guy is actually a U.S. Representative. It's amazing that he would make such an irresponsible suggestion.
what an IDIOT. Tancredo just proved he's not qualified to be a policymaker at any level. he just got a new generation of Muslims teed off at the US and the west with what can only be considered a call for another crusade.
BRAVO! FINALLY, SOMEONE WITH GUTS!
That is absolutely crazy. Thank god it's 'not' up to him.
Ding...ding...ding.
We have finally found someone who would be a worse President than Bush.
Yeah you moron, lets bomb their holy sites and we can look forward to daily bombings of our schools, churches, hospitals and malls.
What an idiot.
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.
Please erase the name, Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, from your ballot. We regret to inform you, he committed political suicide today.
P.S.
What was this nonsense he was spouting about disregarding the international laws of war?
Mecca is in Saudi Arabia who is allegedly an ally.
They are bombing thier own mosques in Iraq, and DUHHHHHH, what is the result?
Thank you Tancredo for the worst idea to determent every suggested. Not only would you make things worse with that policy, you would set the stage for the collapse you are fearful of.
You might have just sealed your presidential bid doom with that statement.
what a bigot.
How do we elect someone with an idea like this? He is wrong on immigration (he was a one trick pony up 'til now)and he is wrong on this. I hope his ill-advised presidential bid comes to a quick halt and the people in his state figure out they can do better.
Don't vote for Trancredo. This guy is dangerous
Honestly I can not think of another deterrant that would hold such power over the Islamo-Fascist terrorists. Im like him, If theres a better way Im all ears but until then hit them where it hurts the most. It took an atom bomb to bring the Japanese into submission during WWII. They were fighting for their "religion" and were fanatics as well. What is going to be todays "atom bomb" for the Islamic terrorists?
Are you KIDDING me?!? I hope no one is taking this candidate seriously. Why can't we look into the reasons why people would even consider an attack and what we can do as a society to prevent it from happening, rather than making bullying, negative threats?
Isn't Tancredo the guy who foams at the mouth over illegal immigrants too?
Bombing Mecca though, which any sane person would understand would ignite a worldwide holy war much worse than any single terrorist attack, and lead to the deaths of many, many more Americans, is absolutely the most insane thing I have heard any politician say in a long, long time.
Tancredo will never, ever be President. Thank Allah for that.
The stupidity involved in statements like this is unbelievable. That's like someone saying that they should bomb the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. Of course if it were some terrorist group advocating this, we wouldn't be surprised. But if a foreign government did, what would be the reaction? And to think guy is an "elected" official in this country.
"Crazy",,"Reprehensible"????
I'm not so sure. These so called "people" seem to understand only violence and fear. Perhaps this is one method we should try before we succumb to the ol' polical corrdctness which is already ruining this country!
did this guy go to college?
Is this guy for real... I am all against terrorists but you can't just go blow up places like Mecca and Medine. USA has enough problems in it's hands as is with these fanatics. Does he want the remaining middle easters to turn against USA also.
Just another biggot...
Sounds right by me. Just start with the most militant mosques/clerics and work your way out from there.
Does this mean that there ARE people in Washington that still have the ability to THINK?
How can this guy have money to keep funding a presidential campaign? Where does he get his donations from–the KKK and other hate groups? A plan like that wouldn't show "that we mean business," it would make us infinitely more disliked in the Middle East and, frankly, all over the world. Not only that, but it would give terrorists more license to come after the United States.
It sickens me to see that this man is in my party. Hopefully his campaign runs into the ground soon.
I totally agree with you.
Are you kidding me? This is EXACTLY what is wrong with U.S. politicians, and Republicans in general. How does it serves America's best interests to destroy the religious sites of Muslims? Sounds like an amazing solution to me..Let's punish the WHOLE Muslim world because of a few bad apples. Great idea Tom..but hey, then again, this is coming from the same guy who called Miami a "third world country". Good luck in the next election Tom.
This guy is pathetic! How can anybody say something like that and stay in the race to be President of the US? It's a real shame for this country that this gentleman made it to Congress. Colorado residents should remember this and other of his "brilliant" ideas come November '08, and take him out of the House of Representatives for good!!
Fight extremism with ignorance is the way to go – I think not! Presedential hopeful should realize that doing so would only trigger more extremism and moderate Muslims that are already living in US peacefully might join these extremist networks and cause more damage to US security than one can never imagine. I am sure that by making such statements Mr. Tancredo has lost all Muslim support (if he had any).
I support the idea of publicly stating that if another terrorist act takes place in the US, some facilities considered sacred in Islam, will be destroyed.
I'm sorry but did I read that correctly? I would think that attacking a Muslim holy site would only produce more anger towards America and hence more probability of an attack. Not to mention, not all Muslims out there are fundamentalists–this would just create anger within them as well and then instead of just a few people holding grudges against the US, we'd have a significant world population condemning any such attack. Not only is this "idea" unrealistic, ignorant, and utterly absurd, but it is NOT going to help ANY political situation. I hope this is NOT what we have to look forward to for our upcoming election.
Since Tom Tancredo is the only one with any guts on this issue, which is the primary issue of our times, he gets my vote for president.
Of course it's "absolutely crazy." However, so is the erosion of our own rights here at home. Those people strapping bombs to their bodies hold very little as being valuable, certainly not human life. Perhaps a "nuclear option" of removing their religious symbols from the planet would be a reasonable deterrent. If it would save one life, think of the children, et cetera. I like the plan of withdrawing from the region completely and retargeting our missiles to that area. Every attack of theirs gets 10 from us. Eventually their vaunted mathematical minds do the graph and will figure it out.
I am personally embarrassed to hail from the very state that this lunatic represents. How he keeps getting elected is a mystery to me, but in the meantime, I would like to offer a question to those who support this nutcase. How would you like it if Islanmic fundamentalists targeted your church or place of worship?
I'm sick to death of these irresponsible politicians, mostly Republicans, who think the only way to deal with such an enormous problem is to throw more gas on the fire. It's only making things worse. So, Tom, do the world and your country a favor and shut up.
The lack of logic in his statements is unbelievable and solidifies Tom Tancredo's position as the most dangerous presidential candidate.
Are you kidding me? That is like saying that the strike on the Twin Towers would 'deter' the US from further activity in the Middle East. If anything, it will incite further violence as well as increased hatred for the US by the general population of Middle East and Muslim countries.
If we continue on this path, we will most certainly remain on our downward spiral.
I wish these politicians would wake up and stop getting the American people into situations that we don't want to be in, let alone be responsible for.
He's correct, if we keep backing off, they will keep advancing, time to take a stand and say no more, you attack us, we will attack what you love. More power to him!!!!
Insane. Vile. Mad.
A lot of people agree but it is not "politically correct" to say things like that. In the middle east they bomb our troops, hide in the mosque after they bomb the troops, and then we sit by and say,thats a holy site we can't go after them there, what would the world think. We are now approaching 3700 deaths in Iraq. Good idea Mr. Tancredo!!
Thank You CNN for providing an outlet for the most inflammatory, bigoted, ethnocentric, and irresponsible utterings of a person who should know better. I'm sure that you have enhanced the credibility if not legitimized all the other blue-blooded 'mericans who feel the same way-but don't dare say it. Thanks again, we feel safer now.
This is outrageous! It is our presence there that is drawing the attacks. Republicans fail to see the obvious: there was no terrorist activity in Iraq before the US invasion. Attacking holy sites will acomplish nothing short of causing worldwide outrage at the US by not only the terrorist themselves, but also the international community and partners such as Qatar and Kuwait.
This is truly pathetic and stupid. First, it is no deterrent to extremists that already bomb their own sites, and kill fellow countryman. Second, it is inflammatory and encourages hatred in ways that can only hurt those defending freedom over there. Got to hope he is misquoted.
This man is absolutely crazy. Numerous holy sites have been bombed already in the Iraqi civil war. That hasn't deterred anything. Bombing these sites would have the opposite effect: it would provide Muslim extremists evidence that the United States is waging a war against Islam and would radicalize even more Muslims and create more terrorists.
I 100% agree. If these nut case islamic fundamentalist want to even think of attacking us we should make it perfectly clear to them that if you even attemp to attack us and suceed, we will turn all your holy sites into a super sized craters.
I suggest we wait until they are all at Mecca then bomb it. They showed no mercy for us on 9/11, so we are just returning the favor.
An irresponsible statement indeed of someone obviously not having a vision to lead America.
Ideas cannot be fought with bombs, but ideas. Bombs can escalate the situation.
What would their response to this be?
Would this be done in haste, the way we went to war in Iraq (because of the alleged WMD)?
It would come back to haunt us – what would happen to the oil price?
I don't think this makes sense as a deterrent at this point. It would probably embolden the existing zealots. However, as a retaliatory measure, I would agree, wholeheartedly, that this be done. And it should be done in devastating fashion. Anything that will might sap their will.
Obviously Tancredo hasn't learned anything from the ongoing civil war in Iraq. What happened a few months ago... a mosque was bombed by some insurgents. What was the response... folks who had been relatively peaceful retaliated and bombed those that bombed their mosque. If we were to attack the Muslim Holy Sites we would not deter further attacks on the homeland, we would actually insite them to attack us.
Mr. Tancredo please learn from history or you are doomed to repeat it.
Though this is reprehensible and borderline immoral, please remember that one nail drives another. Look where being in bed with Pakistan has taken this country.
Right on! If they know Mecca will be wiped of the earth and still attack they have only themselves to blame. George Bush is the only reprehensible and crazy one in the issue.
It is what these jihadists do in the name of Allah that is reprehensible. When are we going to wake up and realize that you cannot fight a "Holy War" on a political basis? Israel also should take Tancredo's advice and launch a rocket into the Dome of the Rock for every rocket that lands on their soil. This is the language that these hate and fear mongers understand.
Hey Dave Dolan from Pittsburgh. The quote states any attack of American property would result in us blowing Mecca and Medina to Nevereverland. He also said in the same speech "attacking Muslim holy sites first would be the only means to prevent terrorists from attacking America."
Get off of Bush's tip and read-up on international treaties and laws. You can not bomb religious sites for any reason. Heck, if we are going to go about blowing up radical fundamentalist holy sites, why stop with the Muslim sites? Let's hit Buddha's temple and the Vatican, too. Then we can move on to some lesser known religions when we get bored.
Anyone who thinks this guy would make a good president, probably voted for Bush. The two combined actions make you a blithering idiot.
I've never been embarrassed to be from Colorado before, but the way this guy represents the state makes me wonder...
These comments are not surprising coming from a racist bigot like Tancredo. Everyone knows, but may not want to accept, that the reason we were attacked on 9/11 is because of our presence in and foreign policy with regard to the middle east. "Bombing" holy sites in a country that is an ally of the U.S. would probably cause more attacks in the future.
Is this guy out of his mind? Has he been hanging out with Bush too much? This is exactly what this country needs. Another saber-rattling, chest-pounding numbskull Republican that thinks bombing people off the face of this earth is a magic cure-all for all that ails us in international relations. These people are too ignorant to realize that this is more often than not counterproductive.
Does Tancredo have a plan to get us off oil dependency this very second? Because if he doesn't, and he bombs Mecca and Medina, the Saudi's will. It is called "we don't want your business."
Mr. Tancredo,
Sir, you're kidding, right? You don't belong in the presidential race. Please, go home and think some more about your ideas.
It really seems ashamed that Mutually Assured Destruction would prevent an attack, but perhaps he is on to something here. I cannot claim to be an expert on all the world's ills and motivations but perhaps a big threat may go a long way.
I've got to admit that my first thought when this war started was exactly that...bomb their mosques!! I don't care if they think it's sacred ground, our twin towers was sacred ground too!! I don't condone bombing their believers but if thir in the mosques at the time of bombing then not to worry, they'll be in paradise soon enough.
This is obsurd! First and foremost military personnel adhere to The Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC) in combat sitauations. Under the LOAC religious buildings are granted immunity from attack UNLESS they are being used in a military capacity! To bomb a religious building just to send a message is ridiculous and Congressmean Tancredo should be ashamed of making the implied negative correlation between the Muslim religion and terrorist behavior.
Tom – you are a maniac and a danger to humanity.
So we should declare official holy war against 1.4 billion Muslims, the 2nd largest religion in the world.
Oh and declare war on ally that supplies us with permanent military facilities and billions of gallons of oil?
You're a nutcase!
Can someone in Colorado please explain to me why you would elect Tom Tancredo to represent you in Congress?
Honestly, of all the ideas you could come up with deter terrorism, this is by far the worst I have ever heard.
Tancredo is simply mad. However, more importantly this where the Republican party is. The country's choices in 2008 are clear.
So easy to criticize. What deterrent do you have against those whom solely care about their faith and not life? The congressman asked for other options as a deterrent and I have seen nothing posted here about alternative options, just knee jerk reactions about how stupid he is. Do any of his critics have 2 or 3 other ideas to use as a deterrent? Or has CNN's blogs just diminished into gradechool name calling
This has to be the most outrageous thing I have ever heard. I'm appalled that a man who was elected into office has no respect for other people's religions.
I, myself as a Muslim do not believe in the Jihad and the slaughtering of innocent lives. I have no respect for Tom Tancredo and his outright racism towards Muslims. Why not just bomb a mosque in his home state and ask them to leave?
This idea could be the worst idea but I agree with the concept. If we do not come to terms how to deal with islamic fundametalists (lets not be naive we cannot be rational with them) and have a strong deterrant there will be nobody to stop them. I do agree with the concept of having a strong deterrant that matters most to islamic terrorists – though not quite this plan.
Anyone suggesting this is a good idea clearly does not understand the region or the implications. Tancredo is out of his head to suggest this. The mere implication that we should do this will probably lead to more American lives being lost.
Let's see, they hate us for allegedly interferring in everything and defending Israel. They attack us so we blow up the most holy sites to their religion, which isn't like many Americans view religion, but is actually a way of life. See, we don't understand that because even though we may be Christian, many of us do not live our religion to the level they live in the middle east.
How would you feel if they blew up the Vatican? Your local church?
This type of speech is absolutely dangerous. Of all the comments, this is my favorite though:
BRAVO! FINALLY, SOMEONE WITH GUTS!
Posted By Anonymous : August 3, 2007 12:52 pm
This poster says finally someone with some guts yet posts as Anonymous and doesn't have the courage to reveal who they are themselves to back Tancredo. Brilliant.
Here we go with another "thoughtful" response to terrorism. HELLO!? EARTH TO TANCREDO!? If you bomb Mecca, that WILL NOT deter terrorists, you'll cause millions more muslims to join the fight against the US. This has to be one of the most absurd things I've ever heard. It'll make 9/11 look like a birthday party. How closed minded, thoughtless and ignorant can you be to make a comment like that? It totally shows that Tancredo has no clue whatsoever. USE YOUR BRAIN.
This guy is Hitler!!!!! If we do that we better be prepeared to fight to dead 3 billion muslims world wide, and the reprobation of all civilized nations
That this guy is a candidate to the president show us in what sorry shape is the Republican party
I agree and we should also atteack their women and children as they are part of the problem too, the children will turn to terrorists and if you think the women are not as crazy and dangerous as their terrorist husbands and sons, then this country is in more trouble than i thought.
Tancredo is absolutely right. We need to fight them in terms they understand. When we do't attack civilians, they hide among civilians. When we don't attack schools and hospitals, they store there ammunution in schools and hospitals. You cannot fight a war and allow the enemy to fight without consequence. If they understand that an attack on the american homeland will eqaul the destruction of mecca, they will not dare attack. And we don't even have to bomb it to pieces. All we have to do is spray it with pigs blood and it will have eqaul effect.
Better solution.... STOP BUYING OIL FROM OVERSEAS!!! Without our money, they can't fund terrorist activities easily. Makes you wonder, everytime I fill my car with gas, I feel like I am supporting terrorism. Lets go with Hydrogen. No wait that's right, big oil companies run this nation.
Um, not all Muslims are terrorists, but moves like this one, and even him saying them creates more terrorists. What a moron.
As a long-time resident in Tancredo's Colorado district, I can tell you that he is a total embarrasment to those of us who watch our neighbors mindlessly voting for this idiot election after election. Depth? Leadership? Naw, he's simply a garden-variety bigot who has mined a rich vein of fear with like-minded people. It's a sad sad commentary on the state of our country.
CNN – Please change the word "first" to the phrase "if we are attacked again" in the headline of this article. I would expect crap like this from Faux News, but now I see why you guys can't shake the "liberal media bias" allegations.
Comments like Tancredo's make me think that certain members of the GOP really want a world war. Do they even entertain the repercussions of such an act? Perhaps they do...perhaps they know exactly what would happen if they were to bomb Mecca. Because, after all, Jesus is supposed to come down and save the believers, right Colorado Springs? We're already guaranteed victory...it's in the Bible!!
Good job, Colorado! Way to nominate yourselves for the 2007 Bastion of Ignorance award.
While bombing the Muslim holy sites might make some Republicans feel good for a few minutes, I can't think of a faster way to guarantee a lifetime of terrorism directed at the United States. How, exactly, would that deter SUICIDE bombers?
I love how people with a certain political agenda can read something and get a totally different meaning than what was actually stated. FACT: The man didnot say he was going to pre-emptively attack their Holy sites. He simply stated that if you attack something precious of ours, expect like-wise. One commenter said he could not believe we would attack something so precious to these people. I guess we have short memories, but New York was and is pretty precious to me. The terrorists are said to have seven cities in the United States targeted for mass destruction. I think if we let them know up front what the consequences of their actions would be, they would be less likely to mount an attack on us. I also believe by letting the muslim community know the consequences of these type terrorist actions, then the majority of muslims would not be as mad at the U.S. for retaliation as much as they would be the radicals for initiating the conflict. I am neither Republican or Democrat I am an American that has more common sense than I have political correctness, and I want to leave a Great Country for my children like my dad left for me. Oh but wait, If I am wrong and the moderate muslims around the world were to not hold the terrorists initiating the attack to blame, then we must ask ourselves, Is there any such thing as a moderate muslim.
This is a totally irresponsible statement from a presidential candidate who is the least deserving to be president. VOTE RON PAUL IN 2008!!!
Lock the bum up !!
Tancredo's plan should be "Plan B." Plan A, if we should get attacked again, is to take out Tehran, Damascus, the Sunni Triangle, and Gaza. If that doesn't work, then yes, Mecca and Medina. However, Muslims can institute their own solution. How about the "Worldwide Muslim Counter Terrorism Initiative." Show the world they are going after these extremist cretins on their own. Of course, that won't happen. I think many know that when something happens, the majority of Muslims say "Oh, that's bad, against Allah" and then "silently snicker for their victory." When the next attack occurs, I hope the US Government declares Islam "a political system, not a religion" and destroys every last remnant of their existence in the US. If they want war, let's give it to them, and let's win. Remember, no one mentioned "collateral damage" when we were firebombing Dresden. It's time to do the same to these Muslim extremist scum.
This is absolute stupidity and stupidity at its best. I believe a representative in congress would be more brainy than this one for sure. I believe, an ordinary man, before taking any action would think of two things: Objectives and Consequences. But here in this case, looks like Tancredo is just day dreaming.
What is the objective – to end terrorism or to end Muslims? To protect US and World from terrorist or to fuel terrorism? And what do you achieve by demolishing mosques? ZERO! What do you think, these terrorist who live with a bomb in their pocket are religious. May be some are, but a person who can kill others and himself in the name of TERROR, you think s/he would fear for God or would give it up for you are destroying their mosques.
Wanna talk about consequences? You fool, not just US, the entire world would suffer the burn. Not that I am scared. But you do not combat a tiger or even rabbit blindfolded. You need to see what you need to and take right actions.
So you better keep quite and see what wise people has to say and do. And yea, tell your friend Bush (looks like you both studied in same school) to join you in keeping quite.
Tom Tom Tommmmm,
I really LIKED your wanting to uphold our immigration laws and protect our borders. And I loved that you actually showed up at the NAACP debate – even though no one else came...
But nuking holy sites?? I feel your frustration and empathize with finding ways to strike-back at terrorists. But the holy sites are holy to terrorists and non-terrorists, even to some of your muslim constituents in Colorado.
I'm afraid you and Obama may have nuked your own campaigns this week.
Collective Guilt and Collective Punishment. Nice values, Mr. Tancredo.
This is one of the most crazy thing i have ever heard in my life. But some of the people comments support him. I am amazed there are some sick people also who think like this crazy man. God help us all.
I am stunned and sickened by Tancredo's opinion in this matter. One would hope that his constituency sees what a monster he is and replaces him at their earliest opportunity.
He should be arrested and charge for attempt to commit murder
G A
Killing innocent people in response to the killing of innocent people? Brilliant! With strategies like these, it's a mystery why the world hates us.
Lock this guy up!
What a nutjob. He should be voted out ASAP, the LAST thing this country needs is people like him.
How can the people of Colorado have this person as an elected representative?
I guess people like C Glenn, Art, Mobile, AL, NP Redwood CIty, CA and Danny in Houston, TX must have some close relatives in Colorado.
This statement by this elected moron would be the same as saying that if a Catholic perpetrates an attack in Northern Ireland, the English should bomb the Vatican.
I am glad that we have the choice of not electing this man. Good luck Colorado..you can keep him.
Is this guy a moron? I am a muslim who was born here in the United States and I am appalled by this man's comments to " bomb Islamic Holy sites". This comment alone serves as fuel for the extremist Muslim beliefs that the United States in the devil. I am a Sunni who supports my country 100% but this man is crazy to say what he said and should apologize publicly. He is being a racist with that comment, lumping all muslims into that 5% of extremists who are wrong in their interpretations of the Koran. So you bomb a holy sight and you know what happens? Muslims will start to side witht he extremists out of anger for the desecration of a holy site. Just look at teh uproar that comic started and the torture of the prisoners at that camp. Tancredo is a man without a brain and he makes me feel bad for being a republican...
If our homeland were attacked again, with a "dirty bomb" or something equally as horrific, then I think the first step toward protection is to strike back at what our enemy holds closest to their hearts. It'd be a shame if it came to that. But it's nice to know that there's someone out there not affraid to voice that opinion. Even if he is... crazy.
Proof that you can't fix stupid.
I absolutely agree with everything he said. We've got to do something. As bad as Hiroshima and Nogasaki were, maybe we need to repeat some history. People in the middle east are obviously crazy, and haven't been pursuaded thus far. We've tried to help them and it hasn't worked. And if they're going to keep killing themselves and attacking our country then we might as well send them a message they can understand.
Would Osama Bin Laden have launched 9/11 if he knew Islam's holy sites would be blasted into oblivion ??
I think not.
Tancredo has a valid point, and remember he is talking about DETERRENCE, exactly as prevailed during the Cold War with Communism.
I can understand why some people feel like this. Feeling powerless against an invisible enemy is very frustrating. As others have mentioned it wouldn't work because the terrorists would just look for more reprehensible forms of revenge.
Becoming completely energy independent would be a better approach because then we could safely withdraw from the Middle East. What is it really that the terrorists want?
1) Infidels off of all Muslim lands. We are only there to insure the flow of oil.
2) To have their chosen way of life respected and not interfered with; be it the strict interpretation of the Taliban or that of more moderate muslims.
If we could make peace with Iran that would go a long ways towards stabilizing the Middle East. I think the West should let Iran develop Nuclear Weapons, they are going to eventually anyway. We should also approach the Iranians with strategies to help them transition from an Oil- based economy to a more sustainable diverse economic base (they must be worried about what there fate will be when the oil run out).
Lets try to be nice and friendly and maybe, possible are enemies will become our friends.
On second thought, why not just nuke the whole Middle East, execute every Muslim in the US first, then the spread the death squads to the rest of the world and we'll be clear of the problem of Islamo-fascism? What a brilliant idea. It could be like the Holocaust of the 21st century. Hitler had a whole slew of things that he blamed the Jews for, now we can do the same with the Muslims.
I realize that these people aren't the majority, but seriously, how is anyone with the logical capacity of a 3rd grader able to come up with such idiotic ideas, let alone be elected to an office where you have the opportunity to spread them?
Um....not taking into account the political, moral or social ramifications of his idea, how about the fact that he would be destroying sites of unmeasurable historical value? Places, for example, like the Sistine Chapel represent religious centers but also represent artistic and social climates at the time of it’s creation.
Actually, this is such an absurd idea I don’t even know why I’m posting a comment. It doesn’t really even warrant a response. I think I’m posting it because I’m so shocked that someone in an elected office can be so embarrassingly stupid.
I'm going back and forth with this. He's either got his head up his – well, you know – or he's a bonafide attention whore. I'm leaning more toward the latter, but am inclined to believe it's a great deal of both.
So, let me get this straight, we're going to deter people who have already decided that their cause is worth dying for and that they're willing to die for it by threatening to ramp-up the violence level to a point they can't handle? Isn't that sort of like trying to deter Mike Tyson from doing something by threatening to punch him in the face? Really, he's used to it.
Moreover, the idea that if we confirm their suspicions and fears about Western intervention they're going to simply say "ok, well we give up, you were right" is absolutely absurd. Did our capitalist economy collapse, tuck-tail and run when they bombed the WTC? By destroying their holiest of sites we will only convince the entire Muslim community that the time has come for the most desperate measures and we will see the beginning of a world-wide religious war. "A man with even the humblest of means will cling to life like a leech on a pig's ass, but a man who has nothing can know no fear of death."
This guy doesn't understand Al Queada's goal, which is a war between Islam and "the infedels". That response would only help them achieve such a goal.
Here is one Hell of a Straight Shooter
Who doesn't Mince Words .Yeah Tom Nuke Them for christ sake . They would If You don't . It is Either Us or them and they are breeding fast . Next twenty Tears there'll be No Democracy . But the Mandate will be Islamcrazy . Thank You Tom , Having a bold Idea and the Heart muscle You have, Makes Boosh look like a silly Puppy to the Saudis .There is No Moral High Ground Higher than Shoot First Before being Shot At .
This is the most "out of control" statement I've ever heard. His statement deserves an apology as the Pope had to make an apology.
That sounds like a good idea to create more terrorists and people who hate us. Is that what we want? What an idiot! Colorado and the Republicans should be embarrassed for electing someone of his stupidity!
Those of you who think Saudi Arabia is our legitimate ally are naive at best.
Way to go Tancredo! Bomb the "heck" out of those "holey" sites. Tom, you say it like it is, unlike our other spineless politicians caught up in this politically correct quagmire. Afraid to say what everyone knows to be true. If it was up to me I would nuke the entire middle east (sans Israel) and incinerate every current and future terrorist. Tom, you are a testamnet to everything that is right about America.
YES!!!!Thank God for Tom Tancredo. Bombs Away! This is a Christian-Muslim conflict, whether you like it or not, andamerica is a Christian country, whether you like it or not
I'm an extemeist against extremism...let's bomb his house with an arsenal of total silence. Don't show up to see him, don't interview him, walk away if he walks up and asks you for directions. We only feed him by even printing this non sense.
This guy needs to be drug tested. Somehow, destroying the two most important cities to Muslims in the world will lead to peace? God bless the nutiness of the GOP!
Threats preceded by an "if", are completely fair. What could be more fair than giving someone advanced warning that their actions will lead to an unsatisfactory outcome for everyone, not just us. Great idea.
So, if some home grown wack job like Timothy McVeigh were to blow up a train in Pakistan then it would be okay for Pakistan to bomb churches in the United States?
Islamic fascists do not represent the entire muslim population. I have muslim friends in Pakistan and in the United States who do not condone the acts of fanatics. Attacking the muslim holy sites will not keep the children of the United States safe. It will do the exact opposite. Those muslims who were not fascists before would immediately become them if they are provoked, which is exactly what the existing fascists want.
Making threats that we would blow up cities if we are attacked by terrorists won't keep our children safe either. This is exactly what fascists want to hear. What better way to mobilize mass groups of people to join the side of the fascists than to get the United States to bomb holy site?
Mecca and Medina are in Saudia Arabia, which is our ally. Making statements that the United States would destroy cities inside an allied country if fascists attack us only goads the terrorists on. Terrorists do not represent a nation. They represent an organization.
I don't know who to feel more sorry for, the good folks of Colorado who elected a wack job to represent them or the wack job himself.
what is with the wussification of america? seriously-to many time outs and not enough spankings? thats what happens when you take dodgeball and compietive sports out of school. it seems like our country turned into a bunch of sissy pansy crybabies. real simple-if you attack america in the name of your religion, we will blow up your holy sites. lets see–the japs were more crazy in ww2 then the muslims of today, and 2 big bombs changed their attitude. maybe most of you doves that do not care about another attack shoulod move to canada-please do us that favor.
Mr. Tancredo shows a complete lack of understanding of the terrorist threat. The terrorists have hijacked a religion, Islam, and twisted it as a way to justify and perpetuate their barbaric and violent agenda. The terrorist masterminds could care less about Islam. To them it is a means to an end. Terrorism is a plague much the same as Nazism was in the last century. All people in the civilized world must act to rid the world of this plague.
Mr. Tancredo suggestion that we kill part of Islam, one of the terrorists innocent victims is one of the most ridiculous ideas I have heard from any politician.
Based on this logic, the British government should threaten to blow up the Vatican if the IRA ever plants a bomb in London again. That would teach all of the Catholics in the world a lesson. Brilliant, Tom.
Sounds good to me. The muslims themselves
have shown that they don't honor their own holy sites.
Saudi Arabia appears as an ally but they are also the Home of the worldwide Jihad Islamic movement. They sponsor and promote Jihad all around the world. Saudi Arabia is the home of all but one 9-11 attacker and their mastermind Osama. Saudi Arabia is the only country that has any benefit from the Iraq War—we go rid of Saddam who they hated and for every dollar we spent on the Iraq War was a dollar or more of profit for Saudi Arabia in oil sales and profits. What a great partner, they spread Jihad and grow rich off of Jihad, what do we get other than an oil to burn? Bush is looking more and more like NERO except instead of fiddling while Rome burns; he fiddles while we burn out on oil.
We shouldn’t indiscriminately attack holy places but mosques that harbor terrorists and promote Jihad, are they holy places or places of war crimes directed against civilian targets? Islamic terrorists commonly both attack mosques and religious ceremonies as a primary target and plan and promote terror attacks from mosques. The only thing holy about the red mosque in Pak are the bullet and bomb holes not the “A” holes that learn terrorism and war crimes!
Are you kidding me?
Clearly he wont get elected as the President of the US but what shocks me the most is how did he come this far with such extremists views?
And since when did "an eye for an eye" become solution to terrorism?
And did he imply terrorism has a religion?
I truly punch him if I ever see him.
Don't worry, Jack Bauer will stop the bombs before they reach the holy sites.
Read "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam" by Yahiya Emerick and you'll agree with Tancredo. Islam calls its followers to "fight the unbeliever wherever they are." And I'm a peace-loving Democrat. The USA needs to treat terrorists the same way that Isreal does. Level them within 24 hours.
Finally someone has some sense! We have to face the fact that we are stuck in a religious war that we didn't choose. This is the only thing these terrorists understand. They even blow up eachothers "holy sites" when it suites their need just look at Iraq.
On 9/12/2001, I thought we should nuke the capitals of all Islamic countries and also the holy sites in Saudi.
By 9/13/2001, I was over it.
But, if they reenact 9/11 or do a 9/11 times 10,000, wipe the "religion of peace" off the map.
That would be like killing a Republican every time a Democrat makes you mad. Get it, Tanc? Are you off your meds again, boy?
What the silly Congressman and his ill advisor Bay Buchanan don't explain is that what will you do after you bomb Mecca and Medina? Do you think that stops anyone?! Don't you think Muslims will get even more enraged and try another attack? What happened when we invaded Iraq to stop terrorists? Iraq became a terrorist haven. Hasn't the Congressman learned anything? I think the more these kind of comments, the more proof the person who says it knows nothing about the world and its various cultures and people. This congressman would be the type thinking that you nuke the whole world if it means "saving" the US. A nuked world is no place to live anywhere on earth. You can live in US thinking the nuclear dust doesn't reach you!
He has the guts to stand up, and call a spade a spade. It is this "political correctness" which has landed us in this "war on terrorism".
This guy is an embarassment to politics in Colorado, in the US and to the Republican party in general. I think there is no more certain way to bring about more attacks from Islamic extremists than to bomb their holy sites. Does he really think they'll give up if we do that? Would we give up if they bombed our holy sites? No.
Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' "
Exodus 32:27
Can we say, "WORST THAN BUSH!" When will the bigot good ole boys realize that you can’t defeat a thought, idea, belief, or faith system with John Wayne tactics? If you thought we had it bad on 9/11/01, think about the world if this FREAK has his way! Do us all a favor and SHUT UP!
Brilliant strategy, as we can see it's working really well for the Iraqis right now and for the Japanese when they decided to bomb Pearl Harbor in WWII. Speaking of which, Kyle Massey et al who support this joke of a Congressman, please do us all a favor & take a History class. Japan was fighting China, we (USA) were supplying Japan with scrap metal & oil. We put trade restrictions on Japan, Japan couldn't fight China with diminishing resources, so Japan "retaliated" to US actions, attacked PH & we blew them to smithereens. Ignorance is dangerous, read a book or two, for your own sake.
This man should be removed from office ASAP. I would not be the least bit surprised if these statements alone incite violence against America.
People such as this who clearly do not have the common sense to keep their radical impulses to themselves are the reason for the state of the union at this time.
I feel that Mr Tom Tancredo's idea of bombing the holy Muslim sites in Mecca and Medina is absolutely crazy. How did such a man like himself, come up with such a thought?
Impeach Tancredo. PS. I did NOT vote for him.
Good for Tancredo! This is a great idea, however, the politically correct elite will feel this is too "extreme" to deal with attacks on N.A.
Haven't we been bending over backwards to keep moderate Muslims relevant in the Middle East? And do you think that this guy's comments are not being played over and over by Al Jazeera? Bombing Muslim holy sites would be the best way to make the current problems we're having with Muslim terrorists as bad as possible. It would deter terrorism like a splash of gasoline deters a fire from spreading.
NOW WERE TALKING!!!!!!
I agree, bomb their holiest cities.
So we should counter terrorism with...terrorism? Only a Republican...
Wow, what a foolish idea. All of Islam is not a terrorist group, only extreme factions. This approach would only serve to rile the Muslims around the world who are not pro-terrorism. Makes for great headlines, but not great strategy.
READ the article. it does not say pre-emptive, it says. . . . if they think this is how we would retalliate, it would deter them from attacking us. Get real, life means nothing to the radicals.
Actually Kyle, the Japanese were still determined to fight til the last man even after two nuclear bombs were dropped on the nation. It wasn't until Russia secured the Manchuoko(Manchuria) region that the Japanese knew they were done in on both sides.
So no...two nukes did not stop Japan. Secondly, they were fanatics in worship to the Emperor, which is exactly why we did not try him for war crimes and as part of the surrender agreement we sent to them before landing troops on the island nation we included a clause that we would not harm the Emperor in any way shape or form. Read up on any documentation by our leaders at that time and most of them stated something along the lines of, "We knew if we killed the Emperor, Japan would fight to the last man."
Considering Japan's strong millenarianism at the time, that would have undoubtedly been true. Bombing Islamic holy sites? That would be Emperor murder times 100 and would incite the rage of every Muslim that until now was compassionate to the United States. It would be murder and chaos on the highest level.
I love the Senators boldness. He has put himself in "harms way" by speaking out.
Lets quit playing PC games and really go after them.
Obviously, no one commenting on this story has ever heard of Mutual Assured Destruction. This was the strategy that kept us and the Russians from nuclear war for 50 years. It worked like this, you attack us, we'll kill you all. Tancredo is being honest here. He's looking for a MAD strategy to prevent Muslim terrorists from nuking U.S. cities. Since said Muslims don't fear death. Indeed, they would be willing to martyr everyone they love for a free trip to heaven, the only thing we can threaten is their religion. This message needs to be yelled in the ear of every Osama acolyte: You nuke us, and we will turn our entire arsenal on every Muslim holy site. We will destroy the religion. It's the only thing they care about, and the only thing that will protect us from nuclear terrorism is if they believe that we would do this. Of course, they know we won't. We've all become a bunch of cowards and fools, and that puts us in greater danger of nuclear attack than we ever were during the Cold War.
Since bombing American landmarks is "okay". Finally someone with the guts to mean business and make the terrorist think twice.
just a charming idea. remind me not to visit the vatican, westminster cathedral, the mormon tabernacle and any other sites which are sacred to christians. they would be targets as sure as the sun will rise. maybe mr tancredo would do better to spend some time with his bible and his conscience
This is absolute insanity! This is the exact kind of thought process that got the US into the mess we are in today. The Bush administration has, in less than 8 years, managed to enrage the better part of the world through this type of thought process. 8 years ago, we enjoyed a secure position of economic, ethical, moral and military superiority. Today, due to comments and policies such as Rep. Tancredo's, we are considered the enemy of much of the world and are dispised in many regions where we were once respected and admired. Anyone voting for the republican party after the past 8 years of this, just imagine where we will be 8 years from now.
SHAME ON HIM MR. PRESIDENTAL HOPEFUL !
AND SHAME ON HIS IRRESPONSIBLE WORDS.
NO ONE EVER WILL GIVE HIM HIS VOTE AND NOT ME FOR SURE.
Sounds reasonable to me. Be aware, those of you who would seek to twist his words, that he didn't say to go out and bomb them first, thus making us as bad as the terrorists, he advocated a very focused and harsh response on the crap they care about most – their false religion of death and destruction.
Nothing 'reprehensible' or 'crazy' about it. What's 'crazy' is the thought that if we just mind our own business and leave everyone alone, that we'll be left alone in kind. Never gonna happen. Just like that bully at school, simply avoiding him or acting like he doesn't exist isn't going to keep him from hammering on you. However, quite frequently one good beatdown will stop these guys from harassing you forever. Not always, but most of the time.
Vote Republican and get World War 3. Hooray!
If I weren't voting for Guiliani this guy would get my vote. Sounds like a great idea to me.
If one considers that the mindset that is representative of the islamofascists emanates from the most reactionary quarters of Islam–wahhabism, sufism, etc., one also finds that these points of view originated, and continue to be financially supported by, Saudi Arabia. This is not to suggest that as our ally the Saudi government fosters these elements, but these movements continue to be funded and supported in large part by Saudi citizens through private financing. It is horrific to consider that we could be brought to such barbarity, but an attack using WMD's upon our citizens by zealots whose movements and financial support could be traced back to Saudi Arabia would have Americans calling for this sort of retribution anyway, would it not?
First off do not take my comments to indicate that I agree with Tancredo.
CNNs article here is disgracefully ambiguous as to what he actually intended.
Whereas the article’s title and first paragraph make it seem as if Tancredo suggests “attacking holy sites first,” as in BEFORE any large attack on the US, his quoted statements seem to indicate that he means ‘merely’ to make it clear that holy sites would be a first target of RETALIATION after an attack. I do not know which Tancredo actually intends, but if it is the second connotation, it is absolutely pathetic reporting by CNN for them to lead with a title that gives such an opposite impression by employing such an ambiguous use of the word “first.” For those who disagree with this second interpretation, how would this policy be any different than the US or Soviet policy of mutually assured destruction? For those who agree with it, how does announcing to radical fanatics intent on the destruction of the US, that any action of theirs will be met by a response that would surely alienate or enrage the entirety of Islam and very likely precipitate INCREASED attacks against the US serve as a reasonable deterrent? What the policy provides for is that any insane fanatic can then determine the nature of the relationship between the west and Islam.
Now that's just stupid and won't, in fact, serve as a deterrent. All of you who want to fight in Christiany vs. Islam: The Final Conflict, please move to a neutral location (I suggest the Siberian permafrost), arm yourselves and butcher each other to your hearts content. The rest of us reasonable humans will move on, and eventually pave over your bones to build Disney Siberia.
Is he on dope or extremely desperate? what a dangeorus moron!
How totally stupid. The terrorists whom Tancredo is worried about are exactly the same fanatics that have already demonstrated they are totally willing to create an incident simply to turn all Muslims into extremists. How does a fool like that ever get elected? I thought Arizona was the only state that could grow that kind of politician.
This man is out of his mind. Does he know how many innocent women and children would die.
Hey Tom, you know what else would cause an economic collapse? China calling in a tiny fraction of the loans given to the U.S. war machine. Is there a single politician in D.C. who has an educated mind that doesn't just spew talking points and vile rhetoric? Is there a politician who realizes or even cares that we have poisoned those countries for the next several thousand years AND our own troops with Depleted Uranium?
Far more terrifying than Tancredo's comment–which is terrifying–is the number of people on this board and around the nation who agree with it. There is a disturbingly widespread belief in this country that all Muslims are terrorists, that all Muslims–"they" as folks generally phrase it–supported 9/11. Of course this is ridiculous, and bombing Mecca would kill thousands of innocents, including Muslims from all over the world, and even from the United States. Some of the people killed could easily be someone you work with, or someone from whom you buy your coffee in the morning–folks who are patriotic Americans but, nonetheless, Muslims. Oh and, incidentally, bombing Mecca and Medina would almost certainly result in a collapse in the global economy and the end of life on earth as we know it now, if you care.
I agree with Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo’s assertion that the U.S. must be able to attack holy sites and/or any other target that matters most to terrorists as a way of life. They attack our way of life. They attacked the American people. The United States must be able to make Muslims, or any other group, think twice about attacking U.S. interests. Having been deployed in Iraq for 30 months straight, the U.S. military is fighting with one arm tied behind their backs, because of bad foreign policy and politics. The current foreign policy and tactics of the U.S. is a failure in Iraq and against terrorism in general, period. Enough politicking. More action is needed that not only protects the integrity of our Constitution and way of life, but the future of our children and the rest of the world. As long as the American government is seen as weak in responses to catastrophes against the U.S., the more attacks will be given birth.
ABSOLUTELY!!!!
I assume this means the next time some nut case kills an abortion doctor that the good representative will support blowing up churches. Got to get rid of those "bad apples".
Tancredo's policy would also ensure that planning any such attack is almost impossible, as fellow Muslims would give up their compatriots to prevent such retribution
News flash: If the US were to attack Muslim holy sites, any and all Muslim support for the US would collapse (and therefore deny it basing rights across the world, crippling our military) and Al Qaeda propaganda about the US declaring a War on Islam would gain enormous credibilty. Tancredo is calling for exactly the kind of holy war Al Qaeda is... the US should be focused on preventing terror and saving lives, not declaring war on an entire religion.
What an inept and hideous man- what's next, threatening to bomb orphanages of hostile countries as a "deterrence measure"?
There are many innocent and pious Muslims that pray in Mosques...people who know that terrorism is wrong. People who call themselves Muslims and go out terrorizing the world are not Muslims at all. Why would anyone ever want to bomb a place for worshipping God? Regardless of whether or not it's FIRST or in RETALIATION? True, there may be bad people inside, but what about the good ones? If we bomb a house of God to show the small but highly publicized section of militant Islam that 'we mean business', that does not make sense – it will only increase negative feelings about the west among NORMAL Muslims (including American Muslims). U.S. should be showing NORMAL Muslims that we are not against them, we are just against terrorism. It is an ignorant form of retaliation. Hate breeds hate...we should give chance to the new generation to get along rather than to set up a breeding ground for war. People learn hate from others, they are not born with it.
I applaud Tancredo for blazing a trail in the new area of "special needs politics", although I am surprised that this seems to be a cause championed mostly by Republicans who are not generally known for inclusiveness.
I think it's great that the mentally retarded can now find good jobs such as Respresentative of the US Congress and even President.
However, I'm a little concerned that this comment may be taken completely out of context by an already enraged Muslim world, as a threat of basically what amounts to retaliatory terrorism. I thought most people agreed that terrorism was NOT a legitimate way to acheive any end?
I also think that, as progressive as it is to be giving mentally retarded people jobs, they should be made to wear a coloured badge, or a bright yellow helmet or something that would allow them to be easily identified as mentally deficient by onlookers both here and abroad.
Alternatively we could give them jobs upon which everybody else's security, liberty and prosperity do not depend.
The fact that these idiots are bombing their own mosques already proves that this war on terror is not about religion. These are criminals, pure ans imple, and must be dealt with as such. They are prostituting religion to create a false front in order to justify their crimes.
This guy is trying to be the next president of our country? Every Muslim is not a terrorist. Why would you punish an entire group of people for the radical ideals of a few? He needs to educate himself properly instead of resorting to bombing right away. This is what breeds prejudices, hate and racism.
Outstanding; it is about time somebody had the courage to stand up and suggest something that the silent majority would support! Before Vietnam, wars were fought by the military; not by the media and ignorant government officials. What are those currently opposed to this war going to say when it truly reaches our shores and endangers THEIR lives?
i love his logic. its the same one used by the terrorists themselves – threaten and/or kill the innocent for the crimes of the few, who of course wont pay and usually never do. but that doesnt matter because the cause is "just". and if you cant beat 'em, join 'em because lowering ourselves to the terrorists level has worked great so far.
also glad to see ol' tom is doing his best to provide new recruiting material for al qaeda, as if bushco's invasion of iraq hasnt done enough already. nice job genius!
Why isn't this guy running for President? Maybe he just wants to be the headline on the "Daily Show."
Im highly disappointed that his comments were even aired on this outlet, people like him have to understand that there are many muslims that dont condone terrorism, and an act like that would affect them also. Its illogical to make innocent people pay for others crimes.
Tancredo's comments are spot on! The best time to hit these sites would be when they are full of "worshippers."
Tancredo will get my vote!
Tancredo can now take credit for
the next several tragedies and murders of American citizens
in response to his unspeakably irresponsible and vile, fatal rhetoric.
Another REPUBLICAN taunting for terror, the tease for and ticket to perpetual insanity.
Is this the human capital we're producing lately to lead the nation and the world???!!! Seems to me we're bankrupt then...
This comment is for news article:
Tancredo: Threaten to bomb Muslim holy sites in retaliation
Is this guy really that incompetent? Yeah let's become the barbarians and bomb innocent women and children in their churches, better yet let's bring back the inquisition and start burning people at the stake if your not a christian. Why stop there, shoot were a nuclear nation, just nuke the entire country (or countries) that we have a problem with and commit genocide. (In case you didn't realize, especially that congressman, I'm being sarcastic) This guy has no business being a congressman, and I'll bet come election time, he won't be. The United States stands for freedom, and that includes freedom of religion congressman. We don't go around murdering people because we don't agree with their religion. Oh wait, is that not what we are fighting against? Fanatics that go around murdering people because they don't worship the samething they do? Are you congressman really suggesting we ourselves become terrorist in order to fight terrorist? Surely you're not that incompetent. I'm a southern baptist myself born and raised. I'm not about to hold an entire race of people responsible for the actions of a few fanatics, nor am I going to kill someone because they don't worship the same way I do. And I'm certainly not going to condone the actions you are suggesting to take, nor will the rest of the world. Some people just don't get it. The only way to get to the future is together.
OK, this is probably the dumbest thing I've ever read.
Bombing Muslim's holiest sites will surely win us the war against terror!!
Seriously, this would probably make bin Laden even more determined to attack, as this kind of response would get half the world to support him.
Typical Republican idiot. Man are Republicans stupid.
This shows the mind(less?)set of our leadership... A state representative with such venom and ignorance is beyond comprehension. But then the subject here is beyond reason... Why reason!
I thought I had seen them all.
hahahahaha, just like how when they bombed the Twin Towers, we were deterred from attacking any more muslim countries, right?
I can say I am not the most political person in the world but I do know that if this moron can consider bombing the holy cities of Islam, it's only going to make things worse. Muslims in the U.S do not condone the acts of terrorism that is happening in Iraq, and elsewhere, but one thing that all muslims have in common are the holy cities.It's only going to outrage muslims all over the world and make things worse than they already are.Who voted this guy in?
What exactly is crazy about Tancredo's comments? It's obvious that the liberal philosophy of appeasement doesn't work. I can guarantee you the Islamists wouldn't find attacking our cities as "reprehensible".
So liberals and elitists Republicans, explain how you deter Islamists from attacking our country?
Treat the Islamic fundamentalists like Japan of the 1940's. Blunt force trauma is the only thing that they will respect and understand. Good call Tom.
So...if the logic behind his idea holds true, Tancredo would stop being a Christian fundamentalist/extremist if al Qaeda bombed his house? Huh.
Tancredo lost it.
1. Islam's holy cities are in Saudi soil, a US ally.
2. The are more Muslims than any other religious followers in the world.
3. Violence leads to violence. An act like the one he mentions would stir MORE US hatred and violence in other countries where things are "calm"... all Middle-Eastern states, many Asian-Pacific states, and many many more Muslims in other countries.
4. In WWII, not only did we have to bomb Japan TWICE (they were NOT fighting for their religion but for their honor), but this action only stopped this one axis country... the others surrendered after years of war in their soil.
5. You can not blame a religion for what some Islamic extremists are doing. Or are the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, Ku Klux Klan, the Army of God or other Christian terrorist organizations an accurate representation of all Christians and God believing persons?
This man is an idiot. Enough said.
Finally! Yes! The perfect deterrent. Absolutely! I am behind this idea 110%. Since they hold no value on human life, but only on "holy" places, I can't think of anything that would be a better deterrent than this.
Holy nutjobs, Batman! How soon can we get this guy into a rubber room? Does he want to go to war with the entire planet?
What a bunch of weak people we have here. WAKE UP WE ARE AT WAR!!!!! You have to make it clear you will hit targets important to your enemy. This sends a clear message...you nuke us you loose something of value to you.
Are they in places considered "allied"..sadly yes but it also sends a clear message to those allies that they need to step up to the plate and help protect us, themselves and their holy sites.
You whimp people need to OPEN your eyes and realize that MAD (mutual assured destruction) is a viable deterent. It worked 100% against the Soviet Union. It ALWAYS works.
Get a spine people.
I hear alot of complaining about Rep. T but I don't seem to see any new ideas. I guess you guys plan to ask them to stop and send them food and money when the bomb our country. I don't think they will choose not to bomb our churches, schools, dams, powerplants, water treatment facilities, as we did theirs.
finally someone who wants to stick up for the USA- we should of done this sooner, like right after 9/11, vote for this guy if you wanna save our country!
TANCREDO HAS NOTHING ELSE TO OFFER TO THE UNITED STATES AND TO THE CIVILIZED SOCIETIES OF THE WORLD ? IT SEEMS TANCREDO IS A STUDEN AND A DELIGENT FOLLOWER OF DISASTER GEORGE BUSH. WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP, HEY ?
I don't think that most people who would suggest a similar plan of action have ever even studied militant Islamic fundamentalists at all. This man's proposed the most asinine solution to such a complex problem.
First of all, he assumes that "them" is everyone who is a Muslim. That notion is ridiculous and shows bigotry as the majority of Muslims are peaceful people like you and I who would only be motivated into war-like action by the bombing, therefore creating more enemies that we already have. Secondly, many militant Islamic fundamentalists primarily hate the U.S. because we have put our (secular) troops onto their holy land, which is quite offensive to Islamic tradition. Third, to even assume that all terrorist organizations (and there are dozens more than Al-Qaeda) would be "deterred" by such an action is also uneducated. These groups suffer from in-fighting due to separate idealisms, we would only unite them in their common hatred of us if we bombed their most holy sites. Granted there's much more to consider than what I've just stated, but it shows what a little education can tell you.
It should now be clear to the citizens of the United States that our politicians, in search of a solution to terrorism, have been making decisions based on no knowledge whatsoever of militant Islamic fundamentalism. We cannot afford to lump terrorists with peaceful people of the same religion...it would be just like saying that any two groups of Christians are just alike in their beliefs and practices. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence would know better.
Are we forgetting that Saudi Arabia, an ally, is where Mecca and Medina are located? Hey, since we are bombing allies... let's blow up holy sites in Jerusalem, too. That way we can anger the people of the three main religions at the same time.
I guess we have all forgotten how important it is NOT to blow up your allies. The legacy of Bush... kick your pals in the goodies.
Muslim extremists are likely to take this threat as a challenge to try to start what they perceive, doctrinally, to be the Muslim version Armageddon, when their Allah will defeat the "infidels" once and for all. Moreover, the threat is likely to alienate the Saudis and moderate Muslims everywhere, and will do nothing to help stabilize the Middle East.
Tancredo is not merely being irresponsible: he is dangerously unbalanced. If a man made such a threat upon an American city instead of a foreign one, he would be arrested as a potential terrorist and evaluated by mental health professionals. Might not be such a bad idea here either.
Scientists will one day mark Tancredo's plan as the worst idea in the history of the world. What would follow an attack on Mecca can only be described as the end of the world: millions of Muslims, enraged by the images of Mecca and Medina being bombed shown over and over on Al-Jazeera, would flood Al-Qaida's recruiting centers, and the United States would topple in a welter of suicide bombings. Every candidate that hopes to win the presidency should denounce Tancredo unequivicably, and Tancredo himself should go into political exile for a probationary period of forever.
Does Tancredo want to behave the same way extremist do? This is not a good example of moral and ethics from a presidential candidate.
You gonna threaten their kids next?
I'm actually glad that CNN aired his comments here because now I know for certain that this lunatic isn't getting my vote.
ANOTHER MORON....
the way to really retalliate would be to stop using their oil, the source of terrorists power and financing. oh, but that will take maturity, sacrifice, vision, and genuine courage. sadly all those commodities are completely lacking in todays united states as demonstrated by the childish tancredo and his supporters that are found in this comment thread.
I think this is a disgusting show of hypocrisy.
To read more about the 2008 Presidential Candidates and their stances on religion, read the "Presidential Faith Watch" at The Great Realization dot com. http://theGreatRealization.com
Finally....someone who understands the mentality and the true nature of the threat we face as Americans. This, along with other drastic measures, should be implemented in order to make these people understand that we mean business!
Isn't it about time we stop ruining our economy by spending untold billions in trying to stop terrorists the politically correct way? Isn't it about time that we stop living in fear of terrorists?
Nothing the so-called "Islam experts" have ever professed or suggested has worked during this age of terrorist activity. Why not hold ALL Muslim people responsible for not "cleaning up their own house"? Why not "threaten" to retaliate against the religion if the terrorists strike us again?
I for one like Tancredos moxie.
I'm officially moving, I can't believe a representative from my state would say such things. Just goes to show how much of an "ugly american" someone can be. It's just sad that such a person would be representing the US.
Is this idiot for real or is this his idea of a sad joke? Apparently the precedent for this type of incredible ignorance has already been established by the Bush administration's penchant for achieving new lows on an almost daily basis so this clown probably feels justified. The Republican party has sank to depths so low it would have been unthinable just a decade ago. Are there any persons capable of intelligent leadership anywhere in this country? Apparently not – and this goes for the Democrats as well.
Tancredo's comments are irresponsible and illogical. Blowing up sites sacred to the Muslim world would be akin to destroying the Vatican or the Wailing Wall, and would be the opposite of a deterrent to terrorism. Such faulty judgment shows that Tancredo does not deserve to be recognized or funded as a candidate for the Presidency.
That will only turn ALL Muslims against us! You have to go after the people doing the terrorizing, not all of the believers in Allah. You insult a whole religion when you attack the holy sites.
Practically speaking–setting aside moral and political concerns–a threat of this sort might be an effective deterrent in the short-term. Strategically, though, what are your options if you do bomb Mecca and Medina? What deterrent would exist along that continuum? A handful of radicals could get their hands on a Russian nuke, set it off in DC, we would retaliate against Mecca and Medina and unite the Muslim world against the West in a multi-generational conflict. Hmm...let's not do that.
Whoopty doo! What does it all mean Basil?
Tom Tancredo understands that the only thing important and worth protecting in the eyes of jihais is the pair of Islamic Holy sites.
When facing a stateless, amoral network of sociopathic killers it's hard to find something that would make them vulnerable. Mecca is just that. It's a piece of real estate that doesn't shift, change or move. It's the one thing that all muslims need to perform two of the five pillars of Islam ( hajj and salat ) and no muslim would want to be responsible for its occupation by unclean infidels or its destruction. Nothing else is sacred to jihadis that we can use in way similar to the former 'mutual assurred destruction' policy because of sectarian divisions in the Islamic world. Mecca is.
Tancredo's statements indicate a lucidity and understanding of the nature of our enemy and his beliefs. It's actually the opposite of 'insanity' as some commenters write. Holding Mecca hostage is the one thing that may force believers in the worldwide jihadi movement to stop and think for a moment instead of killing more women, children and civilian men.
Finally, an honest answer. As barbaric as this response would be, it is time that the extremists understand that we are not going to fight them with rules of engagement nor political boundaries.
WWII was not won because we fought a politically correct war. We incinerated civilians along with military targets.
They want jihad, so I give them their wish, on our terms, no less. We must be ruthless. All religious fanatics must stopped. Jew, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu.
No American citizen or warrior should die by an act of cowardice, which is what these muslim extremists are doing.
Congratulations Tom Tancredo for being honest and having courage. I cannot say this about many politicians today.
pat
What a lunatic. Would we bomb Jerusalem or The Vatican if some nutjob killed an abortion provider in the name of Jesus? OK, then. Hopefully most Americans see Tancredo as the crazy fool he is.
We are all subject to the consequences of our actions. They've been given fair warning.
Sounds good to me, I have no problem with it, he's actually right, if they do another attack on us like 9/11 again, hit them twice as hard.
I concur. The only effective deterrent to another attack is to guarantee that it will result in the destruction of something the loss of which the enemy will not risk.
This in no way represents the beliefs of Coloradoans. This man is promoting a seriously flawed argument that is both highly inappropriate and counter-American.
Quite possibly one of the most offensive statements he has ever made.
What is wrong with keeping this option on the table? The sure-fire way to relegate the Islamic faith to its rightful second-class position is to threaten sacred sites and populations sympathetic to terrorist thinking. It's really sorry to see the recent sway of public opinion go in the direction of one-world, peace be with you, internationalist mentality. These are people who cannot be reasoned with. These are people who are in the midst of an attempt to set the world back 3000 years. When pubs in the UK are forced to ban booze in 30 years because of a Muslim immigrant influx, you all will take a serious look back on the years after 9/11 and wonder why you didn't take a harder line.
This guy is actually seeing the world the way it is. When is everyone going to wake up and realize that the world is not a happy little place where these terrorists are really "just friends that we haven't met yet".
They are out to kill us, all of us, and we need to stop trying to play by the rules, because they are not.
I think this sort of thinking (if not this exact action) is what we need to put an end to this fight. We need to take the war to them and hit them where it really hurts. If that means toppling the foundations of their crazy religion then so be it.
Tancredo – What a jerk! because a lunatic fringe is using the guise of religion to attack the west we target every muslim by bombing their holy sites. Islam, like Christianity, Judaism, Buddism is one of the conerstone religions on which civilization is founded and we should treat all with the utmost respect. With politicians like these there's no wonder the US is seeen as out of touch and misguided. For heaven's saje don't elect this guy.
You go Tom,
Sometimes you have to speak to your enemies in a language they understand. Your "Everyman" point of view has more support than most people think.
While such a statement may be a little crazy, no one here seems to have a valid idea as to what should be done. Talking doesn't seem to work, war doesn't work. What's left?
Get out of the middle east, become self sufficient in oil use, and spend no money in any middle east country. If the countries in the middle east realize the democratic countries in the world will not trade with them, then maybe they will clear it up themselves, but we all know that won't happen as it would mean businesses wouldn't make as much profit, prices would go up and the consumers who say Tancredo is nuts will be the first to complain prices are too high and demand we trade with the middle east.
I think he's been watching too many episodes of "24".
Politicians like Tancredo dont think logically and dont deserve to serve the people. They forget that Mecca is a place of worship where people come to worship. Innocent people should not be attacked for what extremists do.
i can go along with that. but only if we tell the children we call Palestinians and Jews that Jerusalem is next if they don't stop it.
Why not? An eye for an eye. They thrive on violence so let's give it to them! I think Tancredo has a good idea.
ALTERNATIVE HERE (G.H. this is for you)
You asked for an alternative. Okay, here is one. How about we withdrawal the troops already over there. Then in it's place, we put a real peacekeeping force. This force is designed to protect the humanitarian targets. No door-to-door witch hunts, no gang-bangs of underage girls in the neighboiring village, no midnight assassinations of 58-year-old businessmen out of revenge.
Then we ship all of the people that the Republicans call bleeding hearts over there. Enter Green Peace, enter the Church of Saint Whoever, enter FEMA, whoever wants to go and rebuild teh country like.... get this... like we did in Germany and Japan...
It wasn't too long ago that Germany, Italy and Japan were the Axis of Evil. Yeah, we blew the snot out of them, but we have already blown the snot out of Iraq. Now, let's rebuild it the right way, the tried and true way... the marines only job to protect the humanitarian workers. And see what happens...
maybe the terrorists lose the support of the radical clerics and tribal leaders... maybe the Iranian population will rise up against the regime on their own... maybe people in the Middle East will go hmmm... I want to be an arrogant capitalist, too.
Who knows? It's worth a shot. Operation John Wayne is failing miserably.
Man this guy just hit the nail squarely on the head. This is my guy for President. We are tired of feeling threatened and we need to promise the ultimate payback. Fair game I say.
The Republican Presidential Candidate hit the nail on the head.
His statement on the deterrance issue is the only key to avoiding attacks in the future.
Accept it or not, YOU CAN NOT NEGOCIATE WITH MUSLIMS.
What ever you do to placate them, would fail to do just that.
Complete Global Islamisation is the only thing that can satisfy them,For now they'll front one lame excuse or another as the reasons for the actions(Terror Attacks, etc) they take.
That the US,All of North America and All of Europe is not in the hands of Muslims is enough reason for them to keep attacking.
For sure they'll keep attacking as they feel that Muslims have the sole right to violence in all forms.
I am only sorry that most of us are boldly ignorant of this simple fact of life.- Take a look at the pages of the Koran, then think again.
Yes because attacking their holy sites is going to solve our problems.Don't you think that bombing something so sacred to so many people would going to cause more problems than we currently already have? Congratulations on not thinking before you speak Rep. Tancredo. You'll doom us all.
Great idea....
If we're going to retaliate by nuking Mecca and Medina, why stop there? Why not nuke the entire mid-east and all muslim nations and let Allah sort out the innocent! Tom has a great idea worth considering. Not!!!
FYI-
Saudi Arabia is not MY ally.
America has a few thousand Muslims to worry about these days, if America carries out Mr. Airhead's threat, I'm afraid a sleeping beast will be awaken and the world as we know it will change even more drastically than it has since 9-11
This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. From a politcian ever.
i wonder what all you peaceniks have been smoking? what is our stockpile of nukes for? we should just erase that entire region off the face of the planet!
Well he most certainly has my vote. Shame he stands no chance in hell of winning.
The Islamic extremists goals haven't changed, attack America and kill Americans. While we sit and forget 9-11. I used to be tolerant and have visited many countries, some in the midde east. But I have changed my mind over time just as the world has changed.
While his ideas don't appeal to most at this moment in time, any more attacks on US soil will bring more people to this view. And eventually (hopefully not in my lifetime) it will come down to our survival or theirs. They hate us and everything we and the west stand for. Even the moderates who just don't say so openly or to your face.
I think Lewis Black had a saying that fits this guy perfectly."Absolutely stone F- nuts." is what Tom Tancredo is.
It's really scary that somebody this stupid can get elected to Congress.
What an idiot. I'm not speaking as an Arab-American but just as a person with a brain. Is there anything wrong with this statement "bombing holy Muslim sites would serve as a good “deterrent” to prevent Islamic fundamentalists from attacking the United States, his spokeswoman said Friday"? hint. mecca is also the holly land of the muslim non-fundamentalists. hmm....but something tells me Tancredo doesn't care about anybody who doesn't look, and think exactly like him.
The only things I find more unbelieveable than Tancredo's comments are his ability to get elected to any job, and the fact that there are morons who agree. We ARE NOT at war with the Muslim faith. We are at war with a small segment of that population. There are literally billions of muslims who are against Al Qaeda, no matter what is said by the Buchanan family. Did Tancredo advocate the destruction of Bethlehem after the Oklahoma City bombing? Those guys were Christians, you know, and cited their faith in their actions. Did he want to see Vatican City leveled after after the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta? He cited his Christian faith as his inspiration. Worse, Tancredo probably understands these things, but knows there are plenty of uneducated bigots out there who will vote for him because of statements like this.
I would vote for Tancredo.
The next President will have to deal with nuclear-armed terrorist groups.
He can stick his head in the sand (like most posters here) or he can face reality and consider what few options there are.
Tancredo pushes the envelope where it's needed the most!
Thank God the State Department is at least partially sane. I would have figured that the Bush administration might actually give some thought to Tancredo's uber-crazy idea. Can he be arrested as a threat to national security?
It is a sad thing how ignorance has become a common thing in the United States Government. Didn't his Mother teach him that two wrongs do NOT make a right? Suicide bombers could care less about what you do and threats like these will only make them want to attack us on a much larger scale.... the root of the problem is very deep... I suggest they start with why these terrorists hate us so much and go from there... killing innocent people in return for innocent people being killed is not the ANSWER DUMMY!!!! RESPECT LIFE
After having lived in the Middle East from 1994 to 2000 someone is finally telling the truth and telling it like it should be told...Muslims; we will bomb Mecca and Medina if you don't get your radicals under control.
This is a world war and the radicals will not stop...the West does not understand them and when we do act it will be too late!
Islam will not stop until everyone is Muslim; and radicals will not stop until they are killed.
A great man once said: Nothing is more dangerous than sincere Stupidity!
What I mostly find scary is how did this guy make it to congress?
The air Colorado is getting mighty thin.
Goodness Gracious, does Mr Tancredo's elevator stops at every floor?
First, anyone who think s saudi arabia is our ally is woefully uniformed. We've been way too hands off with these guys, the Muslim world – MANY of whom wouldn't think twice about nuking us – for way too long. It's time we really meant business. They do. I've lived in the middle east and believe me, this kind of thing is the only thing they'll pay attention to.
Nothing like insighting those within a country supposedly allied with the USA! Trancredo's a warmongering neo-con and the thought that he's even running for president is an insult to all Americans!
Let's also ask WHY there are these young men and women willing to blow themselves up in the name of their religion. Hypothetically, let's say that you are a young man, in a country with basically nothing but a long and glorious history, which was plundered for it's resources, leaving it's people with basically nothing. In life, you have almost nothing to call your own. A religious cleric tells you that you can have a way out, and offers you hope of a better future, in paradise. Would you not at least listen to what he has to say. There are a very few who are desperate enough, who have given up on this life, who will take that cleric at his word, and sacrifice themselves in the name of the only thing that they have, religion.
If they were to have something else in life, a purpose to live for, the resources in which to live it, do you think that as many people would listen to these radical clerics? Or, would these young men and women begin to write off these clerics as raving lunatics? I think so. Helping to set up education, and other resources for Muslims in these countries would go a long way into helping our cause. I believe this would help to moderate this area of the world.
Let them return to their glorious history, and continue in their great traditions. Baghdad was once a revered center of learning in the ancient world. When the Europeans were in the Dark Ages, the Muslim world was in a Golden Age.
Simply, the "white man" has plundered the riches of the Muslim world too long, and left it bit a shell of what it once was.
Let's help them rebuild.
Let's create this scenario:
You steal my car, so I kill your husband/wife. How would you react?
This guy is completely insane. There goes his hopes on becoming president.
So Bush isn't the biggest idiot after all.
It won't work. They don't really care about their mosques. Look at what they do to places of worship in Iraq.
BUT I HAVE A SOLUTION –
- Don't export alcohol to those Muslim countries (yes, they do drink a lot!)
- Block them from accessing our porn sites (and you thought Muslim men were pious ? Please !)
Those two should make them desperate and willing to pay attention to our demands.
Also,
- Force Muslims in this country speak up when their fellow Muslims commit atrocious crimes.
- Make the Imam in Detroit take out a Fatwa on the one-eyed Taliban mullah for killing innocent South Koreans.
AT least you will know where this man stands : like in old days always carry a big stick as it was said. Strength is what is needed not negotations.
C'mon now folks. We should be proud of 'lil Tommy. He's always been slower than all the other kids, but boy does he really try. Just look how far he's come. We have to give him some slack when he acts out. He just wants attention. He's just not as smart as all the other girls and boys who can gain recognition with their intelligence, thoughtfulness and rationality. Personally, I'm honored to have Big T representing me in our nation's capital.
This man has my vote already and i know of about 500 other people that feel the same way. he needs to be our next president. finaly a man with some back bone and good sense...you go man! ! come to indiana and give us a speech...we want to hear what you have to say...
The only way we can find out what the Muslims are up to is by making their own work against them. Many would be afraid of losing Mecca and Medina and would warn of any maasive attack against us in advance.
Just sitting back without any deterrent is suicidal.
I swear, I've been saying this for years. It's called a deterent, all of you crybabies. It's called, you "F" with me, I'll "F" with you ten times worse. I bet the Muslim world runs out of holy sites before we run out of bombs.
Make Mecca glow in the dark for the next 2,000 years and see who wants to play tough with us again.
And if we bomb Pakistan into the stone age, killing ever man, woman, child, goat, and blade of grass, who do you think is going to try anything? No, instead, you have your own elected officials trying to withdraw from battles because their political success is tied to us being defeated and they spend more time worrying about the rights of terrorists (you know, you call them "insurgents") and whether or not we should eavesdrop on them to protect this country.
Needs someone with a pair of stones to keep the whiney liberals' right to be whiney liberals' safe. And they just don't realize it's the right that fights the fights to help protect their freedom to be on the left. Go to the Middle East and see how well liberals fare, then moan about the U.S. government.
GOOD IDEA!!!!!!
This is someone representing the United States? Totally absurd and uncalled for. Terrorists don't represent all "Muslims", and isn't Saudi Arabia a US Ally? Completely IGNORANT!
Somehow I don't the the kingdom of Saud would mych appreciate that.
What frightens me the most is the feeling that most neo-cons feel the same way, they're just not as mentally challanged as Tancredo and won't say it.
Might I remind people that when Japan (a neutral country towards us) bombed Pearl Harbor, we declared war on them and nuked them. Not to say we should nuke Mecca or Medina, but a strong retaliation against these cities would be justified. It worked with Japan, follow history right?
Hit 'em where it hurts if they do it again, that's what they did to us.
Wow! This guy represents all that is wrong with the idea of "deterrence". Anybody who believes that bombing a Muslim holy site would deter the extremely small percentage of Muslims who are fundamentalists from carrying out another terrorist attach is living in a dream world. In fact what it probably would do is enrage the 99.9% of Muslims who do not support terrorist attacks, and perhaps push them toward the terrorist cause. Honestly, I can say without reservation that, in an era of poorly-conceived public discourse, this is the most inane thing to come out of a politician's mouth in a while. If, through some unimaginable electoral folly, this man was elected President, the world's confidence in America would be further shaken.
Goodness Gracious, my oh my, does his elevator stops at each floor?
Sad , very sad. It is unfortuante that a leader of our nation can stoop so low top say such a thing. Its that attitude that has tarnished our image all over the world whether it be in teh Muslim world or not.
Not Mr. Tancredo's fault....not enough oxygen to the brain in some parts of Colorado (certainly where he hangs).
I think that's a GREAT idea!!
I wonder if he wanted to bomb Michigan or northwestern US after the OK City bombing? Because some of those militia men don't believe in our way of life either. This is why people think he's a bigot. What about bombing Mexico City b/c they won't stop illegal immigration on their side of the border or China b/c of their dangerous products? Maybe we can deter all of them by bombing there sacred/ holy places?
This guy is a moron pretending to be an idiot!
This is wrong for a ton of reasons. But the bottom line is that bombing Mecca and Medina as a "deterrent" assumes that terrorists think rationally. The average, moderate Muslim holds these places to be sacred. The fanatic cares about nothing but death and destruction, whether or not it takes place in a holy site.
ANOTHER REPUBLICAN WITH RADICAL IDEAS ON HOW TO RE-SHAPE THE MIDDLE EAST... MY GOD DID WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE BUSH-CHENEY DOCTRINE... GET REAL!!! Like the moron in the Whitehouse thinking he could go there and teach them democracy… 5,000 years too late.
Tancedo, buy a gun put it in you mouth and pull the trigger.
What a moron. And I thought Gary Sheffield was an idiot!
Of course, because blowing up the Statue of Liberty would effectively chasten our own foreign policy...
As a life-long Republican, I am scared to death of my own party. Knowing that there are candidates who would even consider this type of action is terrifying. To suggest that destroying the cornerstone of someone's faith would prevent future violence reveals a stupefying level of ignorance.
Don't just threaten to bomb Mecca and Medina. Nuke them with high yield thermonuclear weapons. "City Killers" like the ones on the Titan missle. That would deter anyone from trying to rebuild them. Make sure the casings are shrouded in Stontium-90 and Cadmium to "salt the earth" as the Roman Legions did.
Bombing Mecca probably would just result in more Islamic-fascist terrorism. I'm for deportation of any Muslim that would not make an oath to U.S. loyalty, and seizing the money held in banks or other financial institutions from the home countries that the terrorists come from.
GOP Congressman Tom "Nuke 'Em" Tancredo wants to attack Mecca and other Islamic holy sites if the U.S. is again struck by terrorists.
Tom "TNT" Tancredo IS a terrorist. Collective punishment as a reprisal for terrorism started with the Nazis at Lidice after Heydrich's assassination.
Somebody needs to muzzle this mad dog racist.
Say what you will about him being crazy, I believe he is, but his idea isn't that far out there...How do we expect to win or even keep up with an enemy that doesn't follow "rules", We need to be just as aggressive against them as they are to us...All so-called rules should be put aside when dealing with terrorist... The reason we can't gain a foothold on this problen is due to the fact that they are madmen, with mad ideas, we need to think outside the box when dealing with them.
"BRAVO! FINALLY, SOMEONE WITH GUTS!"
Posted By Anonymous : August 3, 2007 12:52 pm
Mass murders do not have guts!
Ignorant tool.
wouldn't this be the equivalent of a christian terrorist? i find it extremely hard to swallow that an elected official actually said this. how in the hell or heaven is this gonna prevent violence?
Finally someone whose saying what mainsream America is saying.This politically correct stuff to get votes needs to stop or someday the flag of Iran will wave in Washington
Nothing like bombing someone's holy religious sites to show "we mean business" and to deter future violence.
Has anyone in our government paid attention to history at all? Look at the bloodshed caused in Iraq when mosques were targeted. What a buffoon.
In a world of political correctness it's rare to find someone, especially a politician running for office, with enough fortitude to say what most others are thinking. Thanks Mr. Tancredo, you have my vote!!
Mr. Tancredo,
Here is another idea:
The next time that a catholic priest is caught in an act of pedophilia, the vatican shopuld be bomb.
People of Colorado, please show us that you are smarter than this guy. Get rid of him.
All of you who believe that Islam has been hijacked are deluded.
There is a tiny minority of Muslim moderates. The rest support the Jihad against us.
Look at the evidence; worldwide violence and protest for Jihad; almost total silence and no protests by Muslims against the violence.
We need to warn them where it hurts so they will have an incentive to prevent attacks against us.
Tancredo is a dangerous person.
I can think of nothing that would unite all Muslims – liberal through Islamist – under a single banner and spark a war that would destroy civilization.
But he is playing to the tiny brained folk, so maybe it's not a serious suggestion.
You Know if they attack and murder women and children again and it's because of thier beliefs then why not threathen to take away what they hold dear...We have tried everything to stop them and it does not work so threat them like children if they continue take away what thier beliefs hold more dear...GREAt IDEA and I support
Tancredo should be taken out and hung for such an ignorant statement. He sounds like a Bush clone
If you attack Mecca or Madina, you would be attacking first of all the strongest Arabic ally to the united states, and secondly Muslims all over the world, and multiply by ten thousand the number of enemies to the United States.
I would also like to note to the senator that mecca was destroyed in the past and rebuilt , and that the Muslims do not worship " objects " but rather what they symbolize and stand for. This attack will not be a deterrents, but a 9/11 for extremist which they will use to justify multiplied attacks on our homeland. Just like we used 9/11 to attack Afghanistan and Iraq.
This may be the worst form of policy ever proposed in dealing with Radical Islam in the Middle East. We may as well erect a dome over the United States if we bomb one of the holiest cities on this planet.
What a stupid idea! This guy's in congress?????
Not only is this man an idiot, he is an embarrassment. Does he not realize that this only provokes radicals further and the good people of the Muslim world! How can we elect this people. This is an outrage to all people of the book!
Do we bomb Saudi Arabia before or after the 20 billion dollar arms deal that is on the table?
The Neo-Con's are even more fascist that I ever imagined.
And WHO elected this idiot in?
Um I guess this JERK has no idea about what he just said and obviously have no idea that Consequences of that remark could be FAR more dangerous than he can think of so my advice to every body is that dont vote for this guy, he is a NO BRAINER.
With the bombings of Islamic shrines in Iraq being committed as acts of secterian violence, the reality is it's probably just a matter of time until they just do this themselves anyway.
Tancredo,
Your comments are disgraceful and embarrasing to the people of Colorado, and the United States. As one of your constituents, I implore you to remove yourself from the political theatre immediately, and apologize for your abusrd comment.
Perhaps one of your trusted advisors can pull a map out for you, and show you that those cities both lie in the country of our main remaining supposed Arab ally? Where the bulk of our foriegn oil comes from? Dolt.
Umm... we should have nuked mecca on 09/12/2001.
To Rep Tancredo:
Are you nuts?
You heard of great minds think a like. Apparently, terror minds think a like too. Tom, I think if we flip your position with Osama, you two think exactly the same way.
Put these 2 in an UFC octagon and let them fight to the death. I will buy the pay-per-view.
Does any body remember Ronald Reagan's MAD policy used against the USSR? MAD= Mutually Assured Destruction. Did it work? Damned right it worked! Where is the USSR today? Think about it!!
This doesn't make any sense. It's like sentencing a murderer's family do death while the murderer is still out there. First of all, the family didn't do it. More importantly, killing the family doesn't catch the murderer. As a matter of fact, you just embolden the murderer to do something worse that he might have not done otherwise. Finally, religious sites are a historic symbol that is valued by all that share that religion. Sure, this approach means you're going after the most valuable thing the terrorist is fighting for. But, you'll be killing so many people that have nothing to do with it and doing far more damage than the terrorist ever could have.
For those opposed to his solution, what is yours?
The main steam American people and nice, kind and very compassionate. I have been living in this country for 16 years and I love being here and consider myself an American. As an American, I consider OBL as enemy of the state. He is an individual with some nutcases and now a days, not even supported by muslims. I do not know why this Congressman think all 1 Billion mulsims are his enemy and how bombing muslim holy site will help his cause. People with this kind of freaky mentality caused 6 million jews to die in Holocaust. We all know UBL is a nutcase maniac and we expect no sanity from him; but we do expect responsible behavior from US congressman. Hating muslims, hating mexicans, will only bring to himself. Love and hate both are 4 letter word. I hop Congressman will choose love over hate. Peace.
This guy has lost his mind. He wants to start a war with all of Islam. Insanity to say the least.
Sounds like the mutually assured destruction (MAD) tactic utilized during the Cold War. What's wrong with this tactic? Last time I checked, the textbooks used in Saudi schools preach of Jews and Westerners being inferior to Muslims. If these people are our allies, I would hate to see who our enemies are. Just because your liberal socialist Professors trained you to think in a particular way does not it make it the correct or the only way of thinking. Anyone hurling the racist, bigot argument is a moron schooled in American PC.
The only thing that is "reprehensible" and "absolutely crazy" is Tom Casey's cowardly reaction to a viable and indeed workable option. Diplomacy doesn't work with fanatacal lunatics and gets in the way of real world solutions.
How could anyone not realize that this would only inflame feelings against us? Even suggesting it is insane and morally reprehensible.
I can't say that I disagree with his comments about attacking Mecca if we were attacked. I'm also not clear on why anyone would view this as irresponsible. If they don't attack us, their holy lands are safe. If they do attack us, their holy lands are history. Not everyone in the US considers Mecca and Medina "holy". I know that I do not. Personnally, I consider our homeland "holy" so, it seems reasonable to defend it and hit them where it hurts. Of course, I also realize that it's more important these days to be politically correct and not offend Muslims than it is to defend our own country so, I can see why some people will call Tancredo's thoughts on this matter “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.”
Ironically enough, while I'm sure many would consider Mr. Tancredo's comments silly, I don't. Instead of religious sites, I would level Damascus and Teheran with a 48 hour get out of town notice.
This idiot just took stupidity to an entirely new level.
You couldn't do this if you wanted to. The Geneva Convention prevents us from destroying churches, hospitals, schools, museums unless they are being used a staging areas to conduct military operations; then their fair game. So you can't just arbitrarily blow up Mecca. Bone up on your laws Mr. Bush.. I mean Tancredo.
Outrageous in their lack of clarity, and show a clear and fundamental lack of understanding of the world in which we're living. Shame on him. Unfortunately the man occupying the W.H. isn't far off from this type of thinking, and neither is his V.P. That's how we find ourselves in the current predicament.
Good for him! It's about time a politician made sense. This is the only kind of reason these people understand.
No, I would not want Tom T. to be President, but I am glad he is putting this idea out. I would rather have it expressed differently, and explained thus:
In response to a nuclear attack on an American city, the public would demand a retaliatory strike on Makkah.
Our response to Islamic terrorism has been misguided from the start. Calling it a "War" was the first mistake. You can not fight a war against a gang of hoodlums who have no borders to protect, no population to preserve, no industry or infrastructure to defend, and do not wear uniforms.
Further, declaring a war gave them undeserved credibility by elevating them to relative equality with us. You only go to war with a nation, not with a small band of criminals.
The Taliban and al Quaida have demonstrated their lack of respect for the religious sites of others, by the destruction of the statues of Buddha and the Golden Mosque of Samarra, so they are the ones who have put holy sites on the target list. Up to this point, they have felt no consequence of that, so they believe they have us intimidated to such a degree that we dare not attack a Grand Mosque. In the madness of their religious fervor, they see our respect of others' faith as a weakness.
Over the last six years we have demonstrated the ineffectiveness of a massive military response to terrorism. The attacks of 9/11 cost bin Ladin a half million dollars and caused billions, perhaps a trillion dollars in damage and impact on our economy. In Iraq, $250,000 HumVees are being taken out by $500 IEDs. The enemy is getting a tremendous Return on Investment. A similarly disastrous military adventure in Afghanistan weakened the Soviet military and bled the treasury, which brought the U.S.S.R. to its knees. We must not make the same mistake.
I grew up under the shadow of a mushroom cloud, with the prospect on a nuclear war with Russia. The inevitibility of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) brought us to detente; the realization that a "nuclear winter" would devastate the world brought us to arms reduction. We finally understood that nobody would win.
Islamic militants do not have any sense of that. Their leaders stir them with visions of taking back Spain and even establishing a worldwide caliphate. Never a consideration of what they might lose. We give their ravings credibility by reacting in fear instead of amusement at their naivity.
This wildeyed zeal grows in the government supported schools of violent hatred in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are trading partners, but certainly not friends. 16 of the 19 highjackers of 9/11 were Saudi; all the financing came from Saudi businessmen. Buddhist, secular and Shi'ite buildings and monuments have been destroyed, but none of significance to the Sunni. Under shariah law, we should extract vengeance, an eye for an eye.
Christianity has nothing like the Kabbah, the Grand Mosque of Makkah. There is the legend of the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper, and enough wood claimed to be part of the Cross to build a house. But Islam has an ancient pagan temple that is known for certain to have been touched by, cleansed and sanctified by The Prophet. It is irreplaceable; a reconstruction or replica would not suffice. It is precious beyond words.
Tancredo did not advocate a strike on Makkah, only a threat. Threats are powerful, until they are executed; then the power is gone. I would advocate a strike on a modern grand mosque in Saudi Arabia, to let Muslims know we will do it. It probably won't deter the zealots, but perhaps would awaken and embolden the Silent Majority of peaceloving, rational Muslims.
Tom T. has the freedom to speak truth in a way the "serious" candidates and diplomats dare not. Be thankful that he does. Hope that Islam hears him.
It worked with the Soviet Union. It's called Mutual Assured Destruction. Someone needs to tell these a-holes that if they f**k with us one more time, they are all going down. You know, I don't exactly hear any outcries from any moderate Muslims that their fanatics are wrong. I think they all silently hope the Christian West collapses. Are there any moderate Muslims? Then they better start speaking up and going after their own fanatical idiots. I applaud the Congressman for his stand. They want a crusade? Let's give them a Crusade!
This Tan-Credo is Stu-Peedo.
I hope his consituants back home are sufficiently embarrassed so as to not re-elect him again.
Whomever challenges him in 18 months just has to air those comments in a commercial and they'll win in a landslide.
I used to just think he was a moron. Now I know he's a dangerous moron. Thom Hartmann pointed out today that a threat like that would be like if Maggie Thatcher had threatened to bomb to Vatican to quell Irish-Catholic bombings in the UK. She wasn't that crazy or stupid. Tancredo is another wingnut unfit for public service. All reaction; no reason.
It's always great to see someone in Washington stand up and say something powerfull. I wish more were like him.
This is leadership material!
If some of the comments here regarding the inaccuracy or ambiguity of this CNN report do not seem valid, it is because CNN altered this article at 1:55pm. Kudos to them for a prompt correction of the original sloppy reporting. CNN should, however, post an editorial comment in this thread indicating that changes were made so that prior posts do not appear irrelevant or confusing. Anything less is covering up their original shortcomings.
This guy has got to be freaking stupid to the last cell in his entire brain if he has one that is. How dare he even say he is going to bomb Mecca & Medina. He fails to realise that a single drop of blood from a believer is more precious than Mecca. This is blatant stupidity and I can't help but say that if anything he is going to encourage more attacks just by saying stupid things like that. If he wan't the Muslim world to hate him then he is definetly making the right noise. I am not a democrat or republican at the moment but I would like to see how other candidates come out and slate him for his reckless comments. What he does not realise is that the west is waging a war on terror which is mainly against terrorists and insurgents in Iraq. If he did unleash something like this it would prrobably be the biggest mistake the US has EVER made as this would definetly start a world war ALL over the WORLD.
My last word on this is that Tancredo is looking for publicity.. they say any publicity is good publicity and what better way to do that than to start a controversy like this.
Peace
uhm...aren't the (Muslims) already bombing the holy sites of each sect? So how would this be a deterent? What it will do is direct, even more than it is, the aim of Muslim missles on Bethlehem and Jeruselum. Never mind that the targets suggested (Mecca and Medina are in Saudi Arabia and the Us governement just touted a arms sale to arm them. Mr. Tancredo'l logic is short-sighted.
Tancredo's suggestions are absolutely insane, and the rational part of me wants nothing to do with them. However, the idea of bombing holy sites in Mecca if we are subjected to a major attack holds a certain emotional appeal for me. But then reason kicks in again, knowing that such a move wouldn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.
Tancredo has the right idea here. Bomb them where it hurts.
If no one told me Mr Tancredo is from Colorado, USA, judging by his comments, I would think he is of an extremist mentality from the hills of the Taliban!!
What is it with the democrats lately, are they trying to show they have as much gumption as GWB.
What Mr. Tancredo and others who think this is a good idea fail to realize is that Muslim Extremists don't think the way we do. We're talking about people who still believe in an eye for an eye and will cut the hand off a person who steals. So, we bomb their holy sites and we're propelled into the WWIII only this time forget about doing battle on a battle field. We're all fair game. Don't make idol threats. You're not in a parent-child relationship. There is a reason why we call these people TERRORists. Duh!
Ask yourself these questions. If your city or a city where your family was located is hit by a nuclear terrorist attack what would your reaction be? Turn the other cheek? If the threat of a retaliatory nuclear attack was good enough for the cold war why not now? Do you think other Muslims would harbor terrorist so freely if they knew what the cost would be? It gives me hope to hear common sense from a politician.
He is not an idiot or insane. These people are not "politically correct" or "civilized". I think his comments were right on and should go as a warning to Islamic Fundamentalists that if you dare to attack us again on our soil we'll level your holiest of holy sites. We should have nuked them after 9/11. Our country has lost its backbone. That's why these cowards know that they can get away with these dastardly terrorist attacks. I can tell you if Harry Truman was president in 2000 there would be no threat from Al Queda or other Islamic Fundalmentalist movements. They would be gone. There needs to be some policing from the good members of the Islam faith to take care of these zealots who are ruining their religion. Here at home we need to clean house and ban these lobbyist groups from Washington. No more dependance on foreign oil, free up the alternative energy patents seized by these oil conglomorates and remove all people who have ties into these industries. America, Grow a pair!
Shame on Tancredo and people like him for not showing respect for other peoples and religions.
This is absolutely insane. To me, it sounds like he is advocating a Holy War. The problem the Islamic world has with the United States is our foreign policy. It makes me cringe to think that a man with those types of ideas is even being considered to be the leader of this country.
That view is pretty extreme. But i'll tell you what, if these muslim extremist start blowing up themselves with dirty bombs inside the US and killing innocent Americans, we will have to do something, and whatever it is better be extreme.
Yes, Mecca is in Saudi Arabia, a very god ally to the US. And How would bombing Mecca make the US any safer?! Does he think every Muslim will sit idly while we bomb Mecca?!
YES!
Although, in my opinion, he doesn't go far enough.
Let's fight the terrorists with WMD just like they wish to fight us...
1 Improvised Weapon Death = 20 sq. Km of glass covered parking lot. A fair exchange.
To the American Christian Jihadist that spoke earlier...
If we are a "christian nation," tell me which of the 40,000 denominations are we affiliated with? I'm curious.
I hate to say it, but Christ wouldn't be having this discussion. All you "tough" Americans pervert Christ's message through the credibility of your respective "churches." You have no idea what you're talking about. But obviously, no GOP representative does. You all hide behind the Bible instead of reading it. Cowards. It's impulsive, ignorant, trigger-happy people like you that will get us all killed.
I can see that Tom is a bigot. I am ashammed to have him as our one of our congressman. Bombing some religious landmarks does not solve the problem. The problem needs to resolved by determining what is the root behind the problem/s.
I think Mr. Tancredo comment about attacking Muslim Holy sites was absurd. That will not be a deterrent, it will only add fuel to the fire. It sounds like Mr. Tancredo is making this comment out of pure hatred for Muslims.
Completamente irracional y peligroso. No es presidenciable.
Completly irrational and dangerous. He is presidential material.
best bumper sticker I've seen... "TOM TANCREDO IS A FRUITCAKE"
Anyone who supports this is clearly ignorant, highly uneducated, and more than like In-Bred!
Maybe the US should destroy all of the sacred monuments of white rednecks in retalliation to the Timothy McVeigh's of the world.
Tom Casey considers Tancredo's comments "reprehensible" and "absolutley crazy"? I think Tancredo is the only politician who has to date provided any concrete evidence that he understands how to deal with terrorisim. It's obvious that todays policies of dealing with the threat is completly ineffective.
I'm voting for HIM!!
Simply he is Mental with No Brain. He don't know what he is saying. If he becomes president then World Vs USA .
usa will see punishment very soon Amen.
exactly.
I was thinking too, instead of invading a country and then spending billions to occupy it. Why not just send a 100 missles from an Air conditioned control room and only hit military installations of the goverment we're having problems with - dont hurt any of the people. And just leave it at that...they can rebuild their army (and thats fine) but if they get out of line we just bomb their miliary again...and again if nessesary - but leave the people out of it and leave our troops out of no-win occupations.
Tom Tancredo should be the last person to represent this country. This would not be a deterrent at all. I think the extremists would say: "Bring it on", knowing full well it would bring thousands, if not millions to their cause. What a complete and utter idiot!
Are you sure you weren't quoting Deputy Dawg or the Warner Brothers character that used to chase the roadrunner? It's one thing to mean business but another to be just plain dumb.
About half of the world is Mulim. A very good large part of that is hard working, decent, religious folks. They hold Mecca and Medina sacred. The rest are insane people that would welcome an attack by us on Mecca and/or Medina. If we were to do as Tom Tancredo recommends, one country would have to battle many countries without allies. No American would be safe outside of the USA.
I've got a better idea–how about we start with Tom's house instead?
I cannot believe this IDIOT!!! It sounds like they get worse and worse after Bush. Watch out America, we are doomed with DUMBER leadership.
I am a Muslim in the U.S. I am very patriotic and do not support extremists or radicals, whether they are muslim or any other religion. However, in case someone listens to this moron and actually follows up with his "idea", I guarantee I would be next in line to light a match to the Vatican and holy Christian sites in Jerusalem or anywhere around the world. What an idiot...
Can you really be that stupid! You think that bombing a holy site will deter Islamic fundamentalists. Bombing Mecca would cause many Muslims who do not hate the US to hate them to the point of taking up arms. Something the Iraq war has already done to a lesser extent and something the radicals desperately want.
Im with you Tom. Kill them all!
I absolutely 100 percent agree with Tancredo! The only politician who has the guts to stand up to the environment of PC. It is all about survival and this is the best idea I have heard in a long time from any politician.
OMG! Democracy certainly doesn't gurantee good government does it? You have to admit, though, after reading the few supportive comments on Tacredo's 'solution' that he accurately represents an extremely ignorant section of our society. Sad isn't it?
great idea!
As severe and barbaric as this may seem, Tancredo has a fresh idea (perhaps in need of some refinement) that is actually cognizant of the political dynamics in the region and the realities of dealing with fundamentalists.
Its clear that our current leadership and policy makers are at a loss to understand this, and unwilling to take drastic action to establish security or stability. By comparison, the previous regime in Iraq was profoundly more effective in establishing and maintaining order, because of the sanctions or tactics that they were capable of.
As an example, if you are a fundamentalist wacko who has demonstrated some intentions to commit a terrorist act (or, previously someone who didn’t like Saddam’s mustache), you might be deterred if you knew that everyone you were remotely related to by birth would be made to “disappear” and be turned into an immense compost pile once you were discovered.
Fundamentalists are capable of horrible things, domestically or abroad, Christian or Muslim. Trying to apply patience, reason, and good intentions will not cause changes in their behavior, because they do not speak this language, and do not wish to be part of a civilized society. Lateral thinking, openmindedness, pragmatism and a strong stomach are prerequisites to doing business in this political climate. If we’re not prepared to swallow this, we need to stay out of the Middle East.
This is the most idiotic comment that I have ever heard. If any one votes for him I will be shocked. I wonder what is his agenda ...
Is this really coming from him or his senior advisor .......
Considering the Saudis have been the primary sponsor of terrorism around the world since the early seventies and are actively involved in undermining western civilization. I think this would send a loud and clear message to the Islamic fundamentalists there that there is a great price to be paid by them for trying to undermine and destroy our civilization.
Nuke'em all.
What Tancredo said is one of the most absurd comments I've ever heard.
First of all, not all Muslims are terrorists. Second, Not all Muslims hate America. Third, by bombing Mecca or even threating to do so would create an enmity so strong that it could create a never ending war between "US" and them.
Now, let's talk a bit about what the act really is. By definition terrorism is
"the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce especially for political purposes". Terrorists arent just arabs in that region and we need to stop stereotying them as such. What would we be if such an act was committed.
Also Mecca is as holy as the Vatican City in Rome. To destroy Mecca can only be compared to a similar act on the Vatican City. America is NOT the Holy Land and one can't even compare the two. What a ludicrous comment.
What an utterly shameful statment by this so called "representative." Seems he should realize that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. It seems that Tancredo doesn't realize that such an action would result in WWIII and completely extinguish any chance that the U.S. has in regaining any respect in the world.
Tancredo should take a class on Islam and learn its rich history and its peaceful roots before making such atrocious statements.
If the Islamic Fundamentalist bombed the Vatican, would Christians surrender? I don't think so....
Good grief, is it stupid politics week? Between Tom "Lets bomb Mecca" Tancredo and Barack "I'll invade Pakistan if there's pressing evidence" Obama, our government seems to be supporting the current president's view that national boundaries are more like guidelines than actual rules. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are sovereign nations, and they're our allies to boot! You don't just attack other countries because it sounds like a good idea, or because there are people there that you really dislike.
And Americans wonder why the rest of the world views us so dimly of late. My country continues to embarrass me.
Wow, talk about all the gutless wonders here. I haven't heard that much whining in a long time.
People saying this is a bad idea, are having a knee jerk reaction and haven't really listened to the whole thing. Tancredo is not advocating first strike, but as an option for retaliation. He also express the desire to hear alternative.
All, I've heard is name calling, and belly aching. Why are you acting like third graders? Instead of complaining, think of alternatives.
You yellow bellies surely don't understand the Muslim religion. We are all infidels if we are not Muslim. Their holy book tells them to attack, drive out, and kill all infidels. That means you, the ones cozy in your apartments.
So much for the religion of peace.
You go dude!!
Tom is right. This political corectness junk doesn't work. They only understand forces bigger than theirs. They want to kill us if we don't joing them. Time to take back our country. How about the people dropped off a few blocks after getting picked up from an airport because the cabby refused to drive them because they had liquor bottles with them? Against their religion. Throwing a koran in the toilet is a hate crime? We've gone too far. I would rather have Tancredo as my rep than Mendez, who is for open borders and pro North American Union and socialist health care.
Dear Sirs,
From Mexico it seems incredible to me, and most dangerous to the U.S. community, that this person Tancredo can be, in the first place, a "presidential hopeful", and secondly, that he is given space to utter such foolish, crazy, even wild suggestions. Having read my homework on what Tancredo defends, I think the man should be known by now for his spreading hate and violence even if only in words at this stage, and shouldn't even be taken seriously. Mr. Tancredo asks to be presented with other possibilities to deter Islam fundamentalists from harming the U.S.A. Well, he is blatantly in need of considering other options. He lacks the political, moral (forget spiritual) ground to propose solutions on these matters. I bet bombing Islam mosques would only lead to total war and the firmest pledge by Muslim fundamentalists to completely "erase this evil from the face of the Earth". Reagan did harm to countries like Nicaragua in his time. If Tancredo had then been president of the U.S., I guess Nicaragua wouldn't even exist by now. The man is a racist, a fascist and his discourse is evil. You know, some currents of esoterism preach that "this dark evil era" will end in 2012 either with a war or a huge show of solidarity. I don't believe that. But God almighty, how I wish that hate- and bigotry-mongers like Tancredo be not allowed in politics.
Why do I worry being a Mexican myself? Because I've know his opinions regarding immigrants and the value as human beings of Blacks and Browns, that's why.
May the U.S. citizens wake up, take their blindfold off and see what kind of people they are allowing to speak and even worse, influence them.
Thank you,
María Soledad
This guy makes us Republicans look bad.
I'm proud to be an American Muslim and I am myself in a state of shock to see a very small percentage of muslims killing innocent civilians in the name of religion. I also feel very strongly about muslim shrines and mosques getting desecrated in Iraq. In spite of that I cannot ever imagine harming any non-muslim or any religious site, be it a Church, a Synagogue or a Temple.
Instead of looking for a political situation and trying to understand the reasons behind the conflict, he wants to blow away centuries old sacred sites for 1.5 billion muslims all around the globe.
This guy is insane, he needs to get a psychiatric evaluation. To me he is suicidal.
The American people elected this fool to Congress. Blame the Americans who sent him and the others to Congress to screw up our country.
Wake up America! It's time to vote these morons out of Congress
Wow. Not only is that probably one of the most insensitive and ignorant things I've ever heard, it's simply a ridiculously BAD idea. That certainly would not have the desired deterrent effect. It seems many ideas that certain Republicans are throwing out in the guise of 'deterrents' all have the common trait of most likely radicalizing more people.
Bombing Mecca to deter attacks by Muslim extremists is akin to bombing the Vatican to deter priestly pedophilia. Tancredo is a complete NUTJOB! He shames the great State of Colorado every time he opens his mouth!
What an absolutely idiotic statement. Thats one way of getting the rest of the world to loathe us even more than they already do.
Rep. Tom Tancredo is absolutely correct in his statement. These are steps we should have taken years ago, after the first attack on Israel.
About half of the world is Mulim.
Nowhere near half the world is Muslim. Where do you people get this stuff?
Nevertheless, threatening to blow up Mecca and Medina is an unbelievably stupid idea. Most Muslims are in fact pretty moderate. If you want to unify 100% of them against us, just make a threat like this.
How can person that works in an occupation predicated on rhetoric survive while making such ludicrous remarks? Or does this message show the true (and ugly) sentiments of many Americans and we just don’t recognize that reality?
This is as almost repulsive as it is disappointing. Just goes to show you how ignorant some people can be. Isn't there a law against that or something? And for those that claim to have faith, one would think they'd know that Mecca is also important to "us Christians" as a site where Abrahams other son went when exiled from Judea. Bombing Holy Sites and Shrines is not a deterrent, it'd simply add, literally, more fuel to the fire. It's not Islamic radicals on Jihad we're fighting. It's terrorists that are flying the flag of the religion to protect them. I wonder what our dear Mr Tancerdo would say if they bombed the Vatican, the Jerusalem sights like the Church of the Holy Seplechere, or his hometown parish or church of whatever. He probably wouldn't be 'detered'. Ludacrious! C'mon Tancredo, you'd think that you'd think before you talked. This just shows how truly ignorant some people are. I don't care what faith you are; Jew, Catholic/Orthodox, Protestant, Bahai, Buddhist, or Scientist, attacking the pinnacle of someone's faith- whether it be a temple, a lab, a park, etc- is no braver or heroic than what the terrorists did to our nation at the World Trade Center. It's a disgrace to the memory of what our nation was built upon- fundamentals of morality and 'taking the high road'. Grab your shovel Tancredo, your scaretactics will get you no where. No Government of mine would stoop to that level... if we want to prevent terrorism from festering and exploding in to an ecclectic war, or some crazy crusade, we've got to shutup and come up with a better plan than that.... wow... just when you think you've heard it all.
Lets nuke the whole middle east and pave it and put a McDonalds in the middle of it.
Wow, I can't believe somebody in that position would even think of something like that never mind speak it in public. I was gonna say its a Homer Simpson type comment but that would be insulting to Homer Simpson...
Over the ages, "Hotheads" have risen to power in many countries and the suffering that they caused is known to all. The rest of the world just hopes and prays that that a "Hothead like Tancredo will never rise to power in the USA.
you got to be kidding me. i am a christian, i am not into politics, but this has to be the dumbest thing i have heard.
please, guys, make sure this guy is not elected. we do not need another bush
Ya know... I cannot say that I totally disagree with this. At some point the gloves need to come off when dealing with the middle east.
The people of the middle east have been fighting for 4000 years. Either walk away and let them be savages or take the gloves off and wipe it off the map.
People still keep praising this guy. It still boils down to the Law of Armed Conflict. There is not a member of this U.S. Military that would follow an order to blow up Mecca or Medina, because it violates LOAC.
Good luck trying to deter terrorists, when you have no control over your own military.
I am sure that about 5 minutes after Tancredo made this irresponsible comment that it was being used to recruit fundamentalist Muslims to attack the US and/or West. Tancredo thinks he is being tough and standing up against terrorists when actually he is inspiring them.
Here is what should happen:
1. Remove all the sane people from Colorado.
2. Herd Tancredo and all the idiots that agree with him in any fashion into Colorado.
3. Blow up Colorado with the same nuclear weapons that Tancredo wants to use on Mecca.
There appears to be a general trend in comparing Al Qaeda today to Imperialist Japan during the 1940s. Similarities stop at Japan sending kamikazes into Pearl Harbor and Al Qaeda flying planes into New York. Think a little, people. Unless you are able to reason out the motive behind each, a knee-jerk reaction to repeat the nuking exposes your stupidity, you lose credibility, then and therein.
The analogy by Trevor Willis on deterrence is brilliant! "..just like how when they bombed the Twin Towers, we were deterred from attacking any more muslim countries, right?"
I agree with Mr. Tancredo. This war is a war between two religions. They strike at Christians constantly, and this is a Christian nation built on Christian values. If they continue to attack us, we should strike back at their most precious, if not false (idol) sites.
Racist? Can someone please tell me what race Muslims are?
Read “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam” by Yahiya Emerick and you’ll agree with Tancredo.
OK, now we know where that complete idiot gets his information. We should have guessed.
Technically, contaminating Mecca with lethal radiation would end the hajj permanently, theoretically killing off Islam in a couple generations. So from a "500 year" strictly utilitarian view, his plan is "so crazy it just might work." However, even ignoring the moral problem, those 50-60 years would be very "eventful" to say the least. Tancredo's plan would not be in the self-interest of anyone alive today.
Another thing, for all those who agree with this fool and say he's got "guts". I say lets fight fire with fire, the people who agree should strap bombs on to themselves and go do it themselves. Have the "guts" to die for your beliefs. Not just talk about how others should bomb people, while you sit at home. That takes a lot of "guts".
When I saw that Bay Buchanan was an advisor of Tom Tancredo, all I can say is "So it goes..."
"Tom Casey, a deputy spokesman for the State Department, told CNN’s Elise Labott that the congressman’s comments were 'reprehensible' and 'absolutely crazy'."
Maybe the above gives some sort of clue as to why the Iraq War isn't going well.
I agree with the congressman. Bomb Mecca if we are attacked again. We are not cruel enough to win a war.
I'm shocked that Mr. Tancredo is a presidential hopeful, since his statement just goes to show his lack of maturity and experience related in foreign affairs – skills that are highly desirable of a national leader. I would sincerely advise him to drop out of the race before he commits any more blunders.
It is an absolutely crazy idea !!. We don't want to put us at the same level as Taliban and Al Qeada. Their slogan is kill all American because they don't like our government policy. We will bomb Islam Holy sites because a small group of radical Muslim harm us. How in the world this guy (Tom Tancredo) get to be our congressman.
I fully agree, and Mr. Tancredo only voices what millions of us think.
I agree... period
Although misguided (we can't bomb holy sites in countries that are our allies) at least he understands the only way to hurt these nutjobs. Specifically targeting religious shrines is a really good idea, so long as you do it in an enemy country. What other deterent is there? They don't care if they die. Hit em where it hurts!
I guess Tom's mentality is if we kill all the innocent civilians there will only be bad guys left. Good strategy!
Numbers.
- World Trade Center death toll: 2752
- Iraqi civilians killed (excluding military personel): 68172 to 74575
- American military killed: 3652 to 3665
- Ossama bin Laden, in the meantime, is in Afghanistan.
Other numbers.
The recent Isreali-Lebanese war, when 2 Israeli soldiers were taken captive by Hezbollah, and Israel "retaliated":
- Hezbollah killed: 250 to 600
- Lebanese civilians dead: 850 to 1191
- Israel military killed: 119.
- Israel civilians dead: 43 (they were in Lebanon, at the time)
From these numbers, who is more entitled to be pissed off and seek revenge? Stop bombing and killing, maybe people will want to befriend you.
(By the way, I'm Canadian, and we don't get terrorist attacks. I wonder what differences we have make you a target.)
It's absolutely that kind of radical thinking that the US is hated so much !
Holy sites have as much to do with Islamic extremism, as Churches do with the 'Jerry Falwells' and the 'Jim Bakkers' of the world.. if I may use the names ONLY to represent extremist views....it's an absurd comment – and oh, by the way, I am registered Republican, not that it should matter.
As Colorado Native...I have to say Tancredo should use his brain just a tad bit more.....Mecca is in the Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia. If Im not mistaken we are about to close a multi Billion dollar arms deal with this Kingdom . I don't think they would take very kindly to the USA useing there Holy sights for a bombing run just to prove a "See what we can do to you." point.
Bombing Mecca would alienate ALL muslims..about 2.5 billion of them....I think Tommy Boy should really THINK before he speaks..We have way to meny leaders like that already... Some even act before they think..Who Lives In the White House??????
Eric ....Littleton Colorado
Whoa. Thats right, Give the muslim's the excuse they need to legitimize attacking the United States at every level possible.If you thought we had problems with terror now? Thank goodness there are enough sane educated people in this country to take note of the absurdity of his statements. Those same sane people will ensure that he never see's the inside of the Oval office...unless of course he is part of a tourist group.
Are you high?! I think that most of the people who go to these sites are not terrorists, but peace abiding, kind and loving Muslims. Apparently Mr. Tancredo believes that every Muslim in the world are terrorists. Hmm, I'm ashamed to call myself a Christian if Mr. Tancredo is one. I won't even listen to a mention of him now for president. Just what we need another lunatic in office.
Mr. Tancredo, what ever happened to separation of God and state or did you forget about that when you were elected?
Tom Tancredo is a walking "how to make everyone on the face of the planet hate us" guide.
I think that we should put him and ward churchill in a boat in the middle of nowhere and film it -kudos colorado, another fine state employee!
Does anyone remember the Cold War?????
For decades, US Presidents of both parties could press a button to unleash thermonuclear warfare on the Soviet Union in RETALIATION of a strike from them. Ever heard of MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction? Go rent a few videos – Doctor Strangelove and Failsafe.
BTW – the capability is still there – Russia, USA, and now also China.
VERY Immature + irresponsive comments. He is not even eligible for a blue color job. How can he be sitting in House representing his community?
He is such an IDIOT!!! Strange he made a similar comment in 2005 and got away with it....
He should be banned from politics... He is such a disgrace to this country....
This guy is an idiot. Who would of thought there would be more stupid that George Bush.
Perfect canidate for U.S President.
Personally this sounds like the same stupidity we as Americans used when describing the Russian people and the indians of the American west.
BY THE WAY, isn't Colorado the same state that a certain professor was from? The one who declared that the victims of the World Trade Center got ehat they deserved because the were like the German Nazis?
In the first century AD Rome, the creators of a world wide peace, (the Pax Romna)strugled with Jewish zellots (terorist) who wanted freedom of religion. Finally brought to the brink by Jewish rebelion they solved their problem by destroying the Temple in Jerusalm and killing millions of Jews. It is said that people who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. This not where we want America to go, I hope we are not driven to the brink by a few Moslem radicals.
Hoorraaayyyy! About time someone tells it like it is. I totally agree with the Senator. Attack us, then we should respond likewise. Enough of turn the other cheek! Stop coddling these terror enablers like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan etc. These "allies" talk out of both sides of their mouths. Do I need to remind everyone where the majority of the 9/11 attackers were from?
Well folks,
Maybe this is a bit extreme, but he has got the right idea. After Pearl Harbor was attacked were we supposed to sit around and sing Kumbyeya (sorry, spelling)? If this country is attacked again, SOMETHING HAS to happen beside sitting around debating and talking about it. Haven't you realized ... this isn't working. BTW. the Saudis truly aren't our allies.
Good for him! Somebody needs to stand up for this country. It's ok for Muslims to blow innocent Americans to pieces, but it's not ok for us to blow up a bomb factory (aka mosque)??? Time to stop the political correctness that is getting us destroyed, and end this crap. The next attack on this country will be the democrats fault for not having a back bone and taking a stand. No, we can not all just get along. No, you can not talk sense into these radical religious nuts. "Convert or Die" is thier motto, the all mighty followers of Allah.
This is one of the most offensive, irresponsible and intolerant comments uttered this primary season. A several proclaimed man of faith is actually considering targeting religious holy sites? That is barbaric. He should resign from Congress and withdraw from the campaign.
I can't believe all of these posts. Yes, Mr. Tancredo's comments are very extremist and over the top. However, it will take a radical change in policy to defeat the religion who's doctrine all calls for the destruction of all who do not call themselves a Muslim. Besides, he didn't say he would attack the cities, he said that it would be a deterrent. And he also did not say that he would use nuclear weapons.
So laugh and make fun of Rep. Tancredo you want, but when the Muslim population exceeds that of American's from a Judeo-Christian background in the United States, and Muslims are the majority in our government then you will see our Constitution destroyed, and your rights and freedoms as we know it will be gone and we will be under Islamic law. And oh by the way, convert or they will behead you. And then we will look back and go, "why didn't we see this coming and why didn't someone in our government get over being too sensitive and take care of the problem BEFORE it is too late.
General Patton after WWII wanted to go get the communist. Everyone laughed and called him psycho. But in hindsight it might not have been a bad idea. And the communist didn't even want to kill us they just want everyone to become dependent on the government for everything and adopt their form of liberalism, I mean socialism, I mean Marxism.
Mark in Chicago,
You may want to read yesterday's ticker and postings about what Obama said about going into Pakistan if he had actionable intelligence. There was an equal outcry from many of both parties to what he said, as well.
Contrary to what you said, all Republicans are not stupid (and by the way, neither are all Democrats). What is wrong with the political process is mindless partisan posturing where someone automatically discounts anything offered by someone of the other party as being reprehensible just because it came from someone of the other party.
Neither political party has a monopoly on controversy (or errors in judgement or gaffes). Say what you want about an issue, just don't assume that everyone in a particular party feels the same.
It will benefit you in the long run to not generalize in such a fashion, since that is a narrow minded and antagonistic way of looking at things.
"If I am wrong, fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else"
Tom, you're wrong. As emotionally cathartic as it would be to destroy a place held sacred by someone who attacks us, the place is also sacred to millions who didn't attack – but will then be tempted to do so. "Eye for an eye" is not a mature way to handle problems in the real world.
Are you crazy! The extremist represent less than 1% of the world's Muslim population. If you blow-up Mecca, then you are dealing with 900 MM extremist, not just 150,000 or so.
I totally agree. If they want to cause damage all over the world, then use that to stop them. All it would take is one place of their worship bombed and they would get the picture. Their money comes from the oil. Most of their people do not work because they know that the oil money will feed them. That is why all they want to do is cause problems in all the other nations because they are to lazy to work, they had rather die than work. I agree with this canidate.
Finally, somebody who thinks the way I do. Just tell them that if you bomb us, no more Islam!
This wasn't mistakenly taken from theonion.com right?
This guy has too much hate in his heart; one thing is being patriotic at heart and another crazy in mind!
Ya know, we really can't fight terrorism. Period, end of subject!!
So what are law abiding people to do? At some point reasonable people will become unreasonable. We've seen a bit of that in the trumped-up reasoning for invading Iraq. Bush was too stupid to plant WMD for justification..
I don't think that'll ever happen again.
Unfortunately Islam is a "personal religion" in that each conscript has his own interpretation. Of course, much of it is pervertly interpreted by clerics. Politicians or rulers know that without the cleric support they're doomed, just look at Iran.
There has to be a way of bringing moderate Islam to the forefront. Without that silent majority, nothing will ever occur. Its very much akin to the civil rights struggle of the 50s & 60s in America. It was only with an ever growng white support against the opression of blacks that racial change occured in this country. If it was just Martin, Malcolm and blacks only, it would've been status quo for who knows how long? And thats just the thing.
How do you get the silent majority of law abiding Muslims rise up and stop the Islamic nuts?
Does the summer of 68 (riots) ring a bell??
Tom may be nutso, but when all the major cities in America were burning, change happened, and it happened fast..
I don't want to see Mecca and Medina harmed in no way; but America reluctently woke up when the cities were burning. Tancredo may be nuts, but not without historical reasoning
GEM. The only person who is going to cause more devestation this weekend, is MUR at the shore
Tom Tancredo is absolutely correct... If they launch a major attack on our soil, obliterate mecca and medina... people who suggest this is crazy or reprehensible are ignorant.
why are his comments so bad ?? why are we expected to endure the un-thinkable while others can do whatever evil they wish ??
Hooray! Lou Dobbs' favorite buddy makes another intelligent comment.
There is nothing crazy about this idea. Violence must be met with violence. The common thugs the media loves to call 'militiamen' have no problem attacking our way of life. It's time to take the gloves off and send a serious message to those losers.
Is this guy nuts???? Do you know what kind of backlash we would get by this type of action? Not all muslims are terrorists as some people make them out to be but this would turn even the good against us. Tancredo should not be allowed to hold a place in the government with that type of thinking
TOE,
Just for your info, the Japanese didn't use Kamikaze tactics until the later stages of WWII when things weren't going so well for the bad guys. Pearl Harbor started the war for the United States.
And yet another government educated liberal who cannot get their facts straight.
i wonder if that would be a terrorist threat on the part of the congressman..
i demand that this man is to face trial for repeated threats of the nature, as well as investigating any relationship with the criminal Zionist movement and christian extremist movements
HE MAY BE CRAZY BUT HE IS RIGHT. IT IS THE ONLY DETERRENT AVAILABLE NOT SPOKEN ABOUT. CHURCHHILL AS CONSIDERED CRAZY TOO.
and that there laadies and gentlemen....will be the beginning of worlf war 3....i promise.
Hi there,
First, let me preface my remarks with the fact that I am a registered Demo, though I am ashamed of both parties at this point. I also wish there was a peaceful way to settle all of this.
That said, I see NO PROBLEM with warning an invisible enemy of the reprecussions of their actions.
Are we supposed to be politically correct forever, afraid to step on toes...and let whatever happens...happen?
I think not. Although we never should of gone to Iraq in the first place, you must remember that while there, the US has tried to fight a war to minimize civilian casualties.
I think after the next attack (which is imminent in my opinion), the gloves have to come off, and the threat needs to be eliminated. Period, end of sentence.
I don't want more violence. I detest war (like most folks) and I want my daughter to grow-up in a decent world.
But I am sooo tired of the extremists of any religion determining the path of our society. This is religion folks–and I'm tired of hearing about it.
Anyway...there is no doubt Tom is a few donuts short of a dozen...but warning our enemy is smething that needs to be done.
This is a good start.
Many comments here seem to think this methodolgy will lead to more attacks. That will happen regardless. They have already declared war on us, what part of that don't any of you get? THE WAR HAS STARTED.
Believe me, they aren't sitting around their cave thinking "gee, if they'd only just let us rule the world, we wouldn't have to fight them! If only they'd submit or die we wouldn't have all this fighting...
It us or them. I choose us.
How desperate have we become? A bridge falls down & we worry it's a terror attack. US bombing of such sites would bring us to the same level as terrorists. We're not Apes fighting for a water hole, but if we were, this guy would grab the first stick.
Creating hostility between muslims and the west are the primary goal of terrorists. They would think nothing of sacrificing their holy sites in order to create 1000 years of war and a unified muslim nation. Stupid, Stupid idea.
I agree with Congressman Tancredo. Strike them where they hurt. If we get incontrovertible proof that US soil has been attacked by an Islamic faction, regardless of which group or country it is with, we will strike back by hitting Medina first then Mecca second. This may not only deter such attacks in the first place, but hopefully would encourage OTHER Muslims to reign in these terrorists once and for all, and keep them from besmirching good people and believers.
Despite all the condemnation of this idea, it would represent a viable deterrent if you just think about it. The real enemy is fundamentalist Islam – the brand of Islam Muhammad fabricated – and probably most imams know this and also know that Islam cannot survive the permanent nuclear destruction of this stupid “holy site”. The credibility of Islam – already on thin ice in the modern world – would be totally destroyed along with Mecca and our problems with this 7 th century hoax would be over. This destruction, however, would never occur because the Mullahs of Iran or anywhere would never authorize anything that would lead to the end of their wealth & power. At least nuclear missile capable Israel should announce this deterrent.
Tancredo's comments may be viewed as "crazy", but we are dealing with raging lunatics who fly themselves into buildings! They are NOT reasonable people & do not have respect or tolerance for human rights & decency.
I agrre 110% with Tancredo!!! We need to show these muslim terrorists that we are the strongest country, and that we will defend our brothers and sisters by any mean necessary. These politicians in the government would rather kiss the muslim world's butt. Forget that. There are 300 million Americans. We are a more daunting force than any of these chicken terrorists that attack innocent people. If Tancredo would run for President I would vote for him!!!!!
Darlene,
Could you please tell me where in the United States Constitution or Bill of Rights where it says, "Separation of Church and State?" Thanks, but don't look too long cause it is not there. Do you or any of the other liberal, ALCU nut cases out there even know who coined the phrase? Please do us all a favor and read non-fiction for a change. Try "God in America" by Newt Gingrich.
Another example of a government educated liberal.
Now you're talking!
I find it hilarious that Americans are concerned more with the rights of a religious group that would subject the world to Shari ah law if the opportunity presented itself than the safety and security of our country. The only way to fight terrorism is with terror and targeted international strikes, not with the military occupation of a country. Do you think terrorist training camps and command and control elements are in Afghanistan and Iraq? No, they're in nations that we do not currently occupy.
Why is this suggestion "reprehensible" and "absolutely crazy"? I, for one, am encouraged to hear somebody say "If you mess with the US you will pay a heavy price". This country hasn't fought a war to win since 1945.
Anyone who can fathom even mildly defending this man's comments is an idiot. Islamic Radicals represent a minute sect within a religion that has millions of followers, including many in the United States. If we are to follow Tancredo's ideology, then when Christian Radicals bomb abortion clinics and protest the funerals of our dead soldiers we should bomb Jerusalem, Bethlehem or The Vatican?!?! He is an uneducated bigot!
Dear god he will get us all killed!
Tancredo is exactly right. Liberals/Democrats believe you sit down and talk out differences with everyone. You can with civilized people.
The Arab enemies of the US and Israel believe talk is weakness and action strength. Seems they need to see an awful lot of their supporters eviscerated before they realize they can't push us around/intimidate us anymore.
I have supported Tom Tancredo from the beginning because of his stance on immigration reform.
To hear this statement made by him just solidifies my opinion of this man. This is the type of candidate this country needs at a time like this!
I truly hope that he does well in Iowa, and if nominated by the GOP, he certainly has MY vote!
Are you trying to catalize another wave of violence to justify further rapes and extorsions against Arabs and Muslims
Don't you think that the benladins of the world are trying to do the same thing. Which side are you on?
Terry from New Haven:
This is not a "Christian nation". It is a secular nation with equal protection for all faiths.
And since when is the wholesale murder of innocents a Christian value?
I don't believe the so-called religious right understand the constitution or the new testiment.
Please, people. This is war, not a garden party. Hide your head in the sand, and that is where you will be buried. Go Tom.
If Tancredo wants to win even a single vote he must stop making such idiotic comments.
Diplomacy does not and will not work against an ideology which believes in conversion by the sword. Thomas Jefferson learned this the hard way-read the article "Jefferson's Quran" sometime. "When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to [accept] Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them."-Sahih Muslim, Book 19, Number 4294
So it is pretty clear, pay the money or fight against Islamo-facist expansion. Now the question is do we fight to win or fight to drive the war machine?
I bet Tancredo is a good Christian – an eye for an eye. Doubt he heard of the New Testament, however.
This sounds like something out of the movie "Idiocracy."
Modernist interpretations notwithstanding, it is clear that military jihad—even in its expansionist form—is an authentic part of Islam. No matter how you cut it, Muhammad was not only a religious leader, but a military leader who waged war against his enemies as soon as he had the means. Following his example, Muslims quickly carved out an enormous empire. And what ended Muslim expansion was not a change of heart or doctrine, but European military might.
Furthermore, the traditional doctrine of jihad remains alive to this day.
This means that Christians should not accept the sweeping claim that Islam is a religion of peace. There’s just too much contrary evidence.
On the other hand, Christians shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that their Muslim neighbors are bomb-toting fanatics: Even Muslims who believe in militant jihad don’t necessarily like violence.
Wow- I am astonished to hear about this... but also hear about other folks that actually think this is a good idea.
If you hate illegal immigration coming in from Mexico- would bombing the Vatican be a good idea because Catholicism is one of the dominant religions in Mexico? No way!
I am embarassed as an American for these stpuid comments and even more embarassed for those Americans who may actually think this is a good idea because that is exactly the way terrorists who have started these conflicts think and talk... As an American I stand for far better values.
As a Muslim Kuwaiti who lived through the first Gulf War, and am grateful to the United States for leading the world in liberating my country, it breaks my heart that someone would threatened the religion I believe in to deter few people who call themselves Muslims, but are not acting like Muslims.
Kuwait is a very strong ally of the US, and has cooperated greatly in the war on terrorism. Words, actions and beliefs like those strike at the heart of who we are as an Islamic country.
The door was open for an alternate suggestion. If I may propose one: Get rid of the notion of Islamic Terrorists. A person can either be a muslim or a terrorist, because fundementally they mean the opposite (Islam means peace). Those considering themselves fighting a holy war are either delusional and living in a very distant past, or using something very common to a great many people (Islam) to further their own personal intentions. Make no mistake, Saddam Hussein new the world would turn on him when he invaded Kuwait, but he benefitted greatly from attacking Kuwait: he preoccupied his people with the illusion of trouble and an emergency, which inturn distracted people from a poor economy and gave them no room to voice opposition; thus further securing his throne (that's why he was in a war with Iran for 8 years). Most of these fanatics actually have plans that involve financial, political, media, religious, and manpower planning. They know how to cause certain reactions.
A winning idea is to
1) Treat "Islamic fanatics" as terrorists as they have always been. This term has existed for at least 40 years, throughout the world and governments have dealt with them accordingly.
2) Empower and hold accountable governments for creating, maintaining and expanding peace, through economic and political developments, as well as human rights, industry, education and trade. When governments and people have something that they themselves created with their own sweat, they will have something to loose, and thus they would feel the loss of others; they are awake to what truly is life. That wakes people to using communication as an avenue to resolving differences.
Many of these comments seem driven by fear. Fear that we'll make the Muslims angry (too late). Fear of what they might do to us (guess what, they'll do it anyway). Could it be that you've been effectively...terrorized?
Somebody needs to buy that boy a map. Mecca and Medina are both located in Saudi Arabia which, if I remember things correctly, is one of OUR ALLIES. We would strike at a friend because an enemy hit us? That is beyond a "carry a big stick" way of thinking. That is more like an episode of the Three Stooges where a big stick is a featured prop.
If this clown Tancredo can call for the bombing and demolition of Mecca and Medina, so what's wrong with Iranian President calling for the destruction of Israel?
Remember, a terrorist for one is a hero and a martyr for another.
Stop this violence now and let's all live in peace!!!
Tancredo got balls unlike the rest of u wimps. Islam is a disease , and he is the cure.
Unfortunately, Al Qada does not seem to place any value on shrines or holy sites, as evidenced by their willingness to blow-up mosques and other moslems at prayer. Threatening to bomb their holy sites would not be a deterent to them, but could quite possibly alienate the remaining moslem world.
Looks like he lost about 3 million votes in this country.
When a country issues a passport, they are vouching for the holder to be a lawful citizen of that country and, hopefully, represent that country well abroad. If that persom commits mayhem in another country then I believe that the country which issued the passport should be held reponsible for the damages committed. Who paid the USA for 9-11?
What a wacko! There are more effective ways to deter crime than by destroying historic and significant sites that mean a lot to a lot of people–then we're no better than the terrorists.
And the US wonders why they are hated, I just wish the rest of the west would stop being lumped in with George and crew.
Represenative Tancredo is seriously out of touch and by this statement is showing he has no right to sit in our President's chair. America is held to a higher standard in our world. To knowingly attack civilian sites and religious areas, makes him no better then the terrorists that attack our civilian population. It's takes an adult to be able to stand up to these attacks and state that we will not sink to their levels and act as they do. If we attack Mecca or any other religious site, then we can no longer condem terrorists for doing what they do. In addition, no President can order the attack on such an area. Our military Code of Conduct and Rules of Engagement prevent such an attrocity from occuring. Tancredo has shown that he is no longer fit to lead our nation, in any capacity within our government.
I don't know. Improbable as it is, it's curiously tempting.
sure makes one think about his electorate, and reaffirms foreign views on US citizens` IQs. sorry
Well, Tancredo's comment got him what he wanted: the newsworthiness that his candidacy is otherwise woefully incapable of generating.
The price tag? Fear and trembling among the miniscule percentage of the world's Muslims on the fringe? No, the ire of the quiet masses of Muslims who are (were?) either neutral or on our side.
Thanks, Mr. Tancredo, for proving that in this great land, any idiot can run for President...and one is sure to win.
Don’t worry about it. This guy does not have a chance in Hell. He'll drop soon. This idiot won’t make it past next April. What an Idiot..... That really makes a lot of since, Lets bomb one of the Holiest Sites. How many Muslims live in this country and you want to bomb their most holiest site. Oh yea, your presidential material. For Libya maybe…..
Good job making this war not seem like a holy war (sarcasm intended)... What will striking Muslim holy site do other than turn more moderate and liberal Muslims against the United States...In this day and age it's surprising how little our representatives know about the Middle East and Islam...Disappointing
You have got to be kidding me!!!
Actually, he does represent the block around his home. But he doesn't represent ALL of Colorado.
Colorado citizens it is time to step up to the plate. We must all buy or rent in Tancredo's district so that next time he comes up for election, he is not voted in by a majority of stupid people!
This is the best idea this guy could come up with?! Newsflash to Tom: Most of the leaders of these terrorist groups are not as religous as they claim. It is a front to seduce impressionable followers. There are more holes in this idea than any solution I've heard. What an idiot.
LOL. Tancredo is a MORON.
I'm from CO, and its clear this representative did not discuss this matter with the muslim community in the US for reactions before he made such a statement. Not only would such action disrupt or international ties to allies all over the world, but would violate the laws of armed conflict making him and anyone who obeyed those orders war criminals, but would likely send the message to moderate American muslims that American policy is against their religion giving rise to countless homegrown terrorists. To attack a civilian "target" like a mosque is s war crime, and this candidate has just told us that if we were to elect him, he would likely become a war criminal because these terrorists aren't done with us yet.
Great idea!!! Please pass it in Congress!!! Mr. Tancredo should publish a detailed plan and get into action. Assuming it gets done, Muslims will build the place again. Then pass another Bill and destroy again.. Muslims will build again.. Please pass another Bill.. By now, five decades would have gone and thus, Mr. Tancredo would have successfully solved TERRORISM in planet EARTH, as per this plan. Mr Tancredo should understand that the fight is not with Muslims, it is with Al-Qaeda and the arm suppliers of Al-Qaeda, many Muslims including me around the world wont recognize Al-Qaeda as MUSLIMs(even Saudis wont recognize them). They are cowards using Islam to fight their political battle. Mr. Tancredo, how are you different?
All you liberals know how big of a crock religion is so dont act like these Muslim holy sites are all that important. Eye for an Eye baby! Nothing good comes out of the middle east, Religion-man made nonsense, oil-ruining our planet, terrorism-sexually frustrated suicide bombers blowing up innocent americans, and hummus-ok this may be the only good thing...
Let the middle east rot!
I have never heard a more asinine comment in all of my life. How could the prospective leader of the “free world” advocate bombing religious sites. It’s obvious that the candidate hasn’t a clue as to what would be one of the leading causes of WWIII.
or it would just give anyone in the world a free pass to bomb our 'holy sites'. dumb and dumber...
I think Tom Tancredo is right. Any State Department puke or anyone else who thinks his statement is outlandish needs to pack their bags and go to the middle east. I've been there. I've faught the terrorists. I've faught the Muslims. Yes, Muslims. They are the one's that think this is a holy war. If it were up to me, I'd kill just about every single one of those people until their backs were broken. They simply will not stop. Zeal like that is great when it's for a good cause. Not when you're hell bent on a fanatical form of extremism. Unfortanetly, that's the entire Muslim world. If I'm wrong, prove it.
Why are the republicans always scared? Grow some of those things all you Republicans claim to have.
It’s about time! Islamofacists are fighting a holy war against all who are not Muslim. It’s a holy war they want so it’s a holy war we should give them. Destroy all their holy sights. They will not stop until all of us are converted or killed. It’s about time our politicians wake up and realize this!
Why not? I seem to recall that back during the days of the cold war we deterred our enemies with the threat of our annihilation of their own population centers if we were attacked. Since all the extremists in the Middle East pay so much attention to their so-called 'religion', but not to life (theirs or ours) a direct threat to the very core of their 'beliefs' would be in order.
I'd say we should bomb the vatican too if it were extremist catholics threatening us.
What a country! It's great. I think the people who believe Tancredo is nuts are as crazy as I think they are for not agreeing with him! However, the most of the comments in the blog reveal the woeful educational system in this country. Most of the writers wouldn't know a logical syllogism if it slapped them in the face!
Tancredo never said "bomb Medina and Mecca". He said to threaten to bomb them if there are attacks on the United States!!! Only a blithering idiot reads a paraphrase of what someone says and then ascribes that as an original quote. Duh Rob C. from Pittsburg
]m
This guy is nutts.. is he a decendant of of Bush cos I can't imagine how he could have the political background yet the stupidity of the current administration multiplied by 1,000,000,000.
Good luck with your primary campaign.
I think he is making a smart move though. He probably wants to pull out of the primary as it definetly costs a lot of money staying there when you know you ain't got a chance in hell but can't justify it to his backers so decides to commit suicide then blame it on all the fanatics and dems.
Good riddance...
Stupid fool. Say that to a Muslim's face.
He's absolutely right. This will be a deterrent, just as pigs fat on bullets would be a deterrent. We can't fight Middle Eastern philosophy and attitudes with Western philosophy and attitudes. We have to fight them with what they understand. Threatening their so called holy sites would be one such measure.
Let me understand what some of the posters are saying " We'll tolerate a nuclear attack on the US but bombing Macca and Medine is simply crazy-talk"
Way to go ! A nuke attack may not be a bad thing if it wipes out these cretins here.....
Rod Burnette,
"Separation of Church and State" was coined by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, two guys who obviously had nothing to do with the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or the First Amendment. I think it was pretty clear from all of their writings, which, you know, constitutional scholars study endlessly for an understanding of the Constitution, that the phrase "Congress shall make no law respecting establishment of religion" means that religion and government don't mix.
As for this Tancredo comment, I'm all for bombing the hell out of all of the Muslims, right after we bomb all of our own crazies that we can't control here. You people don't realize that you're all the exact same in so many of our eyes that it's sickening.
When you realize that the terrorists don't represent the majority of Muslims, come back and talk. Maybe the next time some Christian fundie bombs an abortion clinic, we should bomb a couple of churches from the bomber's denomination in retaliation.
The terrorists would LOVE us to bomb a holy site. Then they would have the justification and motivation get their BILLIONS of followers into the fight and wipe the floor with the United States.
Anyone who thinks that this would be a deterrent is a dolt. Don't you fools understand that Muslim extremists don't actually care about their religion or religious sites as much as they just care about killing as many non-Muslims? If the US were to intentionally target civilians, the extremists would be absolutely thrilled! They'd get to say "SEE how bad America is?" The only reason Muslims complain about stuff like cartoons and the like is because they KNOW America does not intentionally target civilians, so they have to find some other BS to complain about. Mind you, I was RAISED a Muslim.
A truly ignorant and ludicrous individual.
I agree 100%
Rod Burnette,
Thanks for pointing out the facts about kamikazes to me. I'm just curious, though, why would you finish off by stereotyping me to being a government educated liberal? You are not sidestepping the point of argument here, are you, which is the reluctance to reason out the causes behind both the attacks on the US? Not getting my facts right, I can see, but a liberal?
FYI, I'm just a curious passerby; left, right, centrist, I don't care. Hey, I'm not even a citizen here. That the suicide-attack-similarity failing appalls me even more. Aren't you supposed to be frustrated at someone/something else?
We can't watch people in their countries. They must do the watching for us. If they believe that it is in their best interests to act in our interests, they will. True Muslim people will work to protect their holy sites. Trouble is, the american people can't stand the truth. Apparently, the State Dept. can't either.
You MUST play by your adversaries rules or be prepared to forfeit. The President needs to reassure the country and the world the price of the next terror attack on the US or it's possesions have a cost so dear that the countries presently providing safe harbor for terrorism may want to rethink their position. Meanwhile, perhaps Mr. Casey from State should apply at the ACLU for his next position, where he is assured of being able to further dilute the value system this country was built upon by blaming almost anyone for almost anything. Reprehensible and crazy? Maybe. Kind of like going to war without an exit strategy. Meanwhile, while the State Dept. muddles around ineffectively, our soldiers die.
Crazy and reprehensible, don't you think?
Whether we choose to face it or not, America is at war with Islam. Combatants, in the name of Islam have declared war on us, precisely because they perceive us as infidels. Pointing out that many or even most Muslims are good people does not change this. Many Germans and many Japanese were no doubt good people during WWII, but this did not change the fact the rest of them were trying to kill us. Most of the Japanese killed in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which ended hostilities in the Pacific theater were good people, but thousands of American lives were spared by the decision to use those weapons on those populations. To me, the number of American lives the Iraq conflict is "worth" is zero. We need to either get serious about killing these folks, or get out. Walking around waiting for them to shoot us, for fear of accidentally harming 'noncombatants' (as if one could even tell who these are) is silly. An effective solution to 9/11 might have been to destroy an Islamic village with a population of approximately 3000 – preferably one from which one of the perpetrators originated. Destroying Mecca or Medina in response to another attack on the US by self-professed Islamic Jihadists may be politically incorrect, but it seems like a viable strategy to me. They chose the twin towers because victims were concentrated there, and because the terrorists viewed those victims as capitalists (which they think is our evil religion) worshiping at the temple of capitalism.
I like this guy! His approach is fine by me!
I agree. Bomb the Muslims back to the 13th century where they belong. Kill them all. LEt Allah sort them out.
Great idea! Finally someone with enough guts to say it!
Frankly I'm ashamed and a little frightened as an American, not by Tancredo's insane comments – one person alone is just a lunatic – but by the alarming number of people AGREEING with him. Welcome to the Weimar Republic, it's only a matter of time now folks...
He has the right stragey, but wrong targets. We can't continue to roll over for these people all the time. They alre4ady think we are a bunch of weak sissys. We can't keep throwing money at people to bribeor appease them to not hurt us.
Ok, Sanity break time: If the USA had its back to the wall, of course we'd hit the most demoralizing target. But that's not too likely, don't ya think? And seriously, why did this angry crazy radical man say such a fool thing? Some poor soldier in Iraq is paying for that right now, Tom. Hearts and minds, Tom. We'd like to show them a better way, a righter way, a more moral way, Tom. Shrill whiny threats make you sound weak, Tom. This country is incredibly strong, Tom, we're at war on two fronts and on alert eveywhere and the man on the street isn't being inconvenienced a bit. No gas and rubber shortages, no Victory Gardens, no newspaper drives. They must be peeing themselves in fear; they've never dared attack us again for fear of that strength. Nuke Mecca? Tom, we could occupy it and charge admission, make it into Disneyland if we wanted. Even our friends are afraid of our power. So, shut up! Shut your bullying mouth – there are real men still in the GOP and one of them needs to knock your teeth out.
About time someone stood up and said it......
In case you didn't notice :
Pakistan(home of Islam terrorism) condemned Tancredo's statement.
Looks like the terrorists are getting nervous. Tom might be onto something here.
good PR move guys... that's how to should view it. He's way behind in the primaries anyway!
What a crazy loon! It's about the means not just the ends! Not only would this define our country as the "evil empire", but we would be bombing in ignorance! Are we willing to become a people who destroy that which we don't know, but fear? I'm deathly afraid of spiders and they can hurt me as well, but i'm not about to drop nukes on them!
"Muslim holy site" is an oxymoron. There is nothing that I consider "holy" about a religion that teaches children that they should blow themselves and others up so that they can have a bunch of virgins. Violence and sex religion??!?! We get angry that TV has too much violence and sex!! This is supposed to be a religion for crying out loud.
I say that the US and all other non-muslim countries countries should band together to blow all of the sites up. It's time to rid the world of the evil people that propogate this madness.
Why don't you liberals just go live with Muslims, pray to Mecca five times daily, and live their lifestyle? That's what your children will be doing if you continue to cater to these unreasonable people. Liberals had prayer ripped from school, the ten commandments removed from courtrooms, but allowed school to be stopped for muslim prayer in CA and allowed call to prayer five times daily in MI. College students need to start using common sense and stop taking lectures from retarded liberal professors that never worked a day in their life outside of academia.
Is this guy out of his mind, religion has nothing to do with the terrorists, infact they used as an execuse to advance their idiology of hate and fear. Bombing holy sites will only bolster their claims agains the United States. I can't beleive that Mr Tancredo made such an outragous comment, it just goes to show what kind of leader he would be.
America has many bright, intelligent leaders, Mr Tancredo has not made the roster.
Finally, somebody with some stones to say what needs to be said. So tired of the United States trying to be so "politically correct" all the time whereas we end up being wimps instead of the strong nation that we once were. Time to start fighting back!!!
This is great! Who needs sit-com's? We have american politics and CNN!
Is this guy for real??!!!!!
Stupid statement, I guess his dream of becoming President is not coming true.
If they want to hit us where it hurts, then let's play by their "eye for an eye" rules. That's the language they speak, so they ought to understand it! Passivity certainly isn't the answer. I applaud Mr. Tancredo for standing up and speaking out. Bravo!!!
Tancredo is a complete moron. The terrorists will hit us just so that we WILL bomb Mecca, which will incite all Muslims to attack the US. What a douchebag
Understand something, people. Tancredo doesn't want to actually bomb Mecca anymore than Ike, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush I wanted to bomb Moscow. His idea is to put the bad guys on notice that nuking an American city will cause them immense pain. BTW, without Mecca, no Muslim can make the Haj. It ends the religion. This is the ultimate deterrent to Muslims nuking a U.S. city. They have to believe that we would strike back hard. Remember, a lot of Al-Qaida captured in Afghanistan were bewildered that the great Paper Tiger ("The Weak Horse") fought back. This is the single most important question to be posed to candidates in this election: New York, Boston, and Los Angeles have just been nuked by Arab terrorists: What do you do? Tancredo at least has an answer. I'd like to hear what the other candidates have to say.
Although I do not agree with specifically targeting holy sites, I do agree with his tough stance on Muslim extremists and Islam as a whole. The Islamic world has proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is incapable with existing together with the West. We in the West have appealed for too long to the so-called "moderate Muslims". I do not believe there is such a thing. This Islamic world wants to make the rest of the non-Muslim world bow to its rules and ideas. I for one will have none of it. This is a war of culture, society, and ideas. I want nothing to do with the Muslim world or its values and ideas. I know what side I am on. At least Tom Tancredo does too, and he is not afraid of the politically correct backlash that is bound to come his way.
The idea that we can reason with or buy off the good will of the Islamic world will fail. We won't be able to win hearts and minds in any way we try. Why? The Islamic god, Allah, has divided the world into believers vs. infidels and into dar al Islam ( the house of Islam ) and dar al Harb ( the House of War i.e., where jihad must be waged to put infidels into submission and where Islamic law, sharia, needs to be put into place)
Anyone not Muslim is a dirty infidel by the eternal commands of Allah in the Qur'an. Here's the proof:
The Koran (Pickthall translation) says that disbelievers (non-Muslims) are “worst of created beings” (98:6), are “miscreants” (2:99, 24:55), are the worst beasts in Allah’s sight (8:22, 8:55); (some Christians and/or Jews were) turned into “apes and/or pigs” (2:65-66, 5:58-60, 7:166); are like frightened donkeys chased by a lion (74:50-51); are worse than cattle (7:179); are like dogs (7:176); they (idolators) are unclean (9:28); “evil” is upon them (16:27), evil (2:91, 2:99); “wicked” (80:42, 9:125); the “wrong-doers” (42:45, 2:254, 5:45); evil-doers (42:44); evil-livers (5:59); they have no good in them (8:23); are “guilty” for disbelieving (45:31, 83:29); on the side of Satan and are fighting for him (4:76-77); of the party of Satan (58:19); Allah assigns them devils for protecting friends (7:27); they choose devils for protecting friends (7:30); are partisan against Allah (25:55); are the “enemy” and “perverted” (63:4); have disgraced lives (22:9); are hypocrites (4:61); have a “diseased heart” (2:10, 9:125); are ill (84:20); are deaf, dumb, and blind, and have no sense (2:171); deaf and dumb and in darkness, Allah sends them astray (6:39); they have no sense (5:103, 10:100); a folk who do not understand (9:127); their fathers were unintelligent and had no knowledge or guidance (2:170, 5:104); are “a folk without intelligence”/ “most ignorant” (8:65, 6:111); losers who are deceived by Allah (2:6), and deceived by Satan (4:60); Allah sends devils against them to make them do evil (19:83); Allah cursed them for their unbelief (2:88-89), liars/they lie (2:10, 4:50, 9:42, 16:39, 16:105, 59:11), “losers” (5:53, 7:178-179); foolish and liars (7:66), liars and losers (58:18-19), in false pride and schism (38:2), among the lowest (58:20); the lowest of the low (95:4-6).
In reading those insults, keep the following points in mind: These insults apply to disbelievers because they are disbelievers (disbelief is the worst crime); the insults are assumed to be the words of Allah and are therefore true of disbelievers for all time, until the Last Day; the disbelievers cannot do anything to improve Allah’s perception of them (He does not accept the good works of the disbelievers, see 5:5, 18:104-106, also 18:30, 33:19, 47:1-4, 47:32), except to believe in and obey Allah; and the insulting adjectives refer to the inherent character traits of disbelievers.
Thank you Tom Casey! As I read this story I was worried that Tancredo spoke for some sort of majority- well I guess he does speak for a majority of people in colorado, which is scary. As the "biggest kid on the block", people are going to take shots at you. One has to really consider how these "shots" will be dealt with. Turning the entire muslim world against the US as the result of the actions of a few redical extremists is definitely NOT the answer.
How is this man a representation of the United States? Comments like that don't even qualify him to be the village idiot.
To "Rod Burnette" who asked the question of where in the Constitution do we have a separation of Church and State, and then made the claim it doesn't exist, I direct you to Article ONE of the Constitution of the United States of America, ratified on 12/15/1791.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..."
First sentence of the First Amendment, so I must ask the question, since you struck against so-called "government education..."
WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? ARE FREAKING SERIOUS?
His commment may be nuts, but what is more nuts is people defending Saudi Arabia as an ally. What are you smoking?
This guy is a disgraceful embarrassment to our great State of Colorado. To see him in the media being identified as a Colorado Rep makes it appear as though he speaks for the entire state. This is not the case. We are good people here in Colorado.
In reality, he only represents a very small, homogenous, wealthy, predominantly Republican district. And not everyone in his district voted for him. A real disgraceful embarrassment to Coloradoans.
I guess if you can't beat em' ... join em'?
No question that it would deter the extremists. Of course, the added effect would be to turn every muslim against us.
Okay,
Is he mentally insane, or is he just retarded? Doing such a thing would literally kill, MILLIONS at that site, excluding the billions of people who live in that area.
This guy is a nut case. "Only option." What was your other option? To say, "Let's go over there and burn their flag!"
This guy is ignorant, dumb, and seriously needs to see a psychiatrist who isn't his mom.
For all of you who disagree with TT, you should rememeber this is what we did in the cold war with the Soviets. It was called deterence -and gee whiz, it worked.
Is this guy for real? No he's not! Is he? and he's running for president! Even Israel with all its problems with the arabs and the pals(muslim or christian) has never held a holy site as hostage.Thank god this guy is just a third rate politician who will never be elected as president. The RNC should boot him out of the republican party.
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH HIM. HIT MECCA FIRST
I agree with Tancredo's statements.
There is no reason not to attack religious sites if those attacking us use that religion as the basis for their attacks.
How else would we get the so-called 'moderate' Muslims to become involved and to reclaim their religion from the idiots?
The argument that terrorism is not primarily related to Islam is laughable. Nearly 1/4 of Muslims polled in the US support terrorist activities and nearly 60% consider themselves a Muslim first and an American second. Hyphenated Americans should not be tolerated and should be summarily removed from our great nation.
Tom Tancredo is a hate-filled idiot. Violence will only beget more violence.
Mr. Tancredo's suggestion won't work because he is (naively)accepting that the terrorists really are Muslims – they aren't. They hide behind Islam, but they're really mass murderers.
Republican's are so stupid.
This guy is nuts! Good thing he is nothing but a marginal candidate.
Sure HIT MECCA, it's the root of all evil.
I won't be surprised that he would say lets attack their God.
I like Tancredo's idea. The Muslims can have their holy war, but it gets to be on our terms. And why stop with Medina, Mecca, and conventional weapons? Why not Riyad, Tehran, Damascus...and tactical nukes? Maybe then they'll start acting like responsible world citizens and stop picking fights with people who have the ability to anihilate them. Then again, maybe not. Genesis 16:12
You liberal nutjobs must have forgotten to read the moem. The Islamists WANT TO KILL YOU. They don't care if what coler you are or how old you are. If you are not a muslim THEY WANT YOU TO DIE RIGHT NOW THIS VERY SECOND. They will do anything in their power to kill you. I agree with the congressman, if a terrorist detonates a nuclear bomb in an American city, I want to see at least 3 or 4 nuclear bomb go off in the middle east, holy cities, shrines, I don't care. Those people need a lesson in civility and if detonatin a nuke on their soil is the only way to get them stop trying to kill American civilians then so be it.
What if the so-called fundamentalist Islamic factions aren't as devot to Islam as is reported. We (in the west) don't have a good understanding for the thought process/motives in that region of the world. I doubt that another milky white republican has the correct answer. Just like Bush announced "that I see what Vladimer (Putin) has in his heart". Wrong again GW, or as we now say "he Bushed this one up."
He must be off his rocker. Attacking Mecca would be the last thing on Earth to do. There are millions of Muslims of all nationality in the World.. We don't need to piss them off. The religion doesn't have anything to do with this. Terrorists groups are based on geo-political and economic issues hiding under the umbrella of religion. I swear people need to become more literate when it comes to religion.
All the don't upset or offend anyone liberals need to take a laxative. Tom simply suggested it was an option.
Unfortuanely, not everyone is pacified by a hug and a good roaring round of "we are the world". Tom is right on and has the guts to protect America and the western civilization. Men like him and other American heroes are the reason spineless oppeasing liberals are even able to babble their nonsense. Go Tom!
THIS IS NOT A WAR WITH ISLAM!!! THIS IS A WAR WITH AL QAEDA!!! Al Qaeda is not all muslims. In fact, they are a small proportion of a sect of islam. It is stupid to unite an entire religion against a multi-religious country (US) in some kind of holy war.
Also, to those of you whom continue to invoke MAD, we are not at war with a country like we were with the USSR. There is no specific target that we could threaten to deter Al Qaeda. Unless you wish to destroy much of western Asia, Eastern Europe, and half of Africa give or take.
Doesn't make sense.
The solution is to deal with the people who will deal with us in exchange for information regarding the real criminals. The problem is that many people don't have the patience, so they decide to blow something up. Not an ideal trait for a leader.
It looks like most people comments on
this don't mind if these killers use
suitcase nuclear bombs on our cities.
They have no answear. 15 of the 19
killers came from our so called allied
S.A. I guess it safer closing your eyes
and hope it will go away. I would erase
those two cities and a couple others.
Bravo! The only viable deterant against Muslim extremeist.
This guy is some bizarre combination of a moron and a psychopath who will only accelerate the extinction of the human race. Anyone stupid enough to vote for him should be sterilized.
This comment shows Tancredo's vast stupidity. For one thing, there are over 1 billion Muslims in the world. Only a tiny fraction of them are "terrorists." This would be seen not as a "retaliation" against terrorists, but an attack on Islam itself. As such, this would be the end of the USA. We would be assailed by Muslims from within & outside of America.
Also, clearly these crazed killers, the ones who would actually commit an act of terrorism, don't care about blowing themselves up. What makes Tancredo think that they would shy away from provoking an attack by the US on their holy cities? This would play right into their agenda.
If you vote for Tancredo in '08, not only should you be ashamed of yourself, but you probably are in need of psychiatric care.
"religion has nothing to do with the terrorists"
... considering how often they quote the Koran, I think they would disagree with you. Right before they lopped your head off for insulting them so.
Some of you guys are hilarious!!! You are comparing the cold war times with these times??!!! At that time the Soviet Union was ONE country... Now Muslims do not constitute ONE nation, but many nations (and most of them -believe it or not- are actually US allies: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, ...etc)
Also, saying that "nuking" holy sites is the "right " move is simply insane!!! I personally have no idea how this guy got elected into being a representative!
For the guy who is saying he fought Muslims... Oh PLEASE!!! I have lived in the Middle East for YEARS... Middle Easterners are just like us: they have families, they wanna live free and with dignity. Also NEWS FLASH: not all Middle Easterners are Muslims, there are also Christians and Jews.
So a piece of advice: why don't some of you go and read a bit more about that part of the world: its history and its people (the REAL people who live there and have normal everyday lives, not the ones you choose to look at because they satisfy your ignorant self and distorted stereotypes.)
Thank you.
Isn't it funny how all the libs whine over Tancredo's remarks, yet think Obama is the greatest candidate to come around in years – you know, the same guy who says we should invade Pakistan to go after terrorists?
I agree that to bomb Mecca would hasten the end of the world as we know it. Tancredo asks for an alternative deterant, and I hope there is one.
I personnaly prefer more proactive steps like multiplying our fleet of predator drones by 1000 times, and taking out more training camps and mosques. That'l learn 'em.
And to "Concerned Voter" in South Bend who writes, "How would you feel if they blew up the Vatican? Your local church?"... Well guess what, I'll bet there are tens of thousands of Muslim extremists out there at this moment who would love to do just that – bomb the Vatican or YOUR local church – and would in a heartbeat if they could.
And to those who think Tancredo hates Mexicans because he takes a stand on illegal immigration, it makes no more sense to say that you love Mexicans because they make great tacos. He doesn't hate Mexicans; he loves America.
Do it! If this would "turn" a moderate Muslim into an suicide bomber than they were never moderate to begin with and we need them dead. There is no moderate Islam, only moderate Muslims. Islam by it's very nature is violent and meant to be "spread by the sword". Stop being PC. Stop trying to garner favor with Muslims to make yourself look smarter and more "progressive" than American' who actually believe that if somebody punches you in the face, you should punch them back. Surgical strikes on religious shrines would kill far fewer than a conventional war.
Me thinks sometime is trying to draw attention to their presidential campaign. Nice try douchebag! Drawing comparisons to Hitler is not a good way to win an election.
ahem – while this is a bit extreme, who can deny that this would certainly be a good deterrent. We are fighting with our hands tied behind our back, thanks to the liberals in this country. This is the sort of man who would not accept attacks from islamo-facists and the governments (yes, many governments included) that support them. Thank you, Mr. Tancredo. And keep up the good work on calling for a more secure border. We're with you.
No wonder the world Hates us!
Here is the bottom line: there is ZERO deterent for a terrorist. You can threaten them with anything you like but they won't listen. They've made a decision to innocent lives, i.e. they're insane. They don't make rational decisions. This is why starting the war in Iraq played right into their strategy. They want to escalate the fight. We can't have our politicians making the kinds of statements that the nuts will publicize. Tancredo's statement will be headline news in a lot of Muslim countries. What an idiot.
RE: The argument that terrorism is not primarily related to Islam is laughable. Nearly 1/4 of Muslims polled in the US support terrorist activities and nearly 60% consider themselves a Muslim first and an American second. Hyphenated Americans should not be tolerated and should be summarily removed from our great nation.
Posted By Joe, NJ : August 3, 2007 4:18 pm
JOE in nj. Get a life, dude. Are you against the constitution of the United States? You tory. Go move the Great Britain.
To J. Czeikus, Victorville, CA: What you suggest would actually be the quickest way to get the "moderate" Muslims to join with the loonies against us. Bomb their holy sites to get them to work with us? Think, man. Sheesh.
By your logic if someone blows you away "in the name of the Catholic Church" (regardless of whether they're actually Catholic or not), are we supposed to bomb the Vatican?
Rep Tancredo is absolutely correct and right on target with this issue as well as Illegal Immigration. Finally, a representative with some guts to say it as it should be and not some whiny political BS. Keep going Tom !!!
Zack Highstreet Allston,
If you don't believe in the Islamic GOD Allah, none of what the Koran says should bother you, should it? Wouldn't those be like the words of any delinquent soul on the streets? Why care?
Montreal, Quebec wrote,
"
Stop bombing and killing, maybe people will want to befriend you.
(By the way, I’m Canadian, and we don’t get terrorist attacks. I wonder what differences we have make you a target.)"
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –
Mr/Ms Canadian,
The US GDP (economy) is 11x larger than Canada
In World War II, over 450,000 Americans gave their lives to help defeat Japan and Hitler. Canada lost 45,000.
Currently the Canadian "Forces" consists of approximately 63,000. The US has 2,000,000 between active and reserve.
The US gives $27 Billion a year in foreign aid. Canada gives $2.5 Billion.
Your country is a woodland derivative of France, ruled by England until almost the 1900's. The greatest contributions of your Country are hockey players and skunk-type beer.
Your government remains a constitutional monarchy with deep leanings toward socialism.
The question anyone would legitimately want to ask... why WOULD anyone attack Canada?
Terrorist LOVE Canada (great port of entry in attempting to sneak into the US).
I think Tancredo should rethink his study statement Or should we also bomb rome and the holy land of isreal. but of cause he may not believe in anything except himself. why dont he and his friend bush leave office before they get thrown out.
At last there is someone who understands how the Muslim minds works. Tancredo whether realizing it or not is stating the inevitable. He should be commended for his courage in this ultra-PC Orwellian culture.
OMG – clueless. Does he also want to blow up Christian churches to stop anti-abortion violence?
There are over 1.5 billion Muslims in this world, a few who are fanatics. Start blowing up their shrines and sacred places and that number will grow dramatically.
And dont go for the 'Muslims would then police Muslims' agument. The vast majority of crime in America is commited by men. Perhaps we could treat all men as criminals and they would start to police themselves?
I am extremely disappointed with the level of stupidity that is being shown in politics these days. What would happen if a candidate in Pakistan made a similar comment, but in regards to a Christian religious landmark? Being an American and a person of Pakistani & Indian decent, I am shocked, out-raged, and disgusted by these comments.
Tancredo is spot on by saying that Mecca and Medina should be bombed. He can not be more right. Islam is not a religion at all and Mecca and Medina are just "holey" cities / symbols which represent a school of thought that spawns and inspires terrorism/ terrorists. These two places need to be bombed out anyway – it is just a matter of time before this eventually happens.
The idea of bombing holy sites in the muslim world would only send more bombs our way.
I don't see how Tancredo's opinion is any different from USSR vs. USA (& NATO) or Pakistan vs. India. Direct, guaranteed retaliation can help to reduce the likelihood of a first strike... at least when both sides are sane...
I'm certain there's a better strategy than Tancredo's, but you will NEVER read it from any of the liberal posters here. The best the liberals will offer is that Tancredo is a racist and republicans are bad.
Ha...ha... I love America. The people has the freedom to say whatever they want and make the idiots voice their idiocy to everyone. And some even publicly indicate that they're listening...
oh, good luck on trying to do that. Should it be successful, start thinking about defending yourself with the millions of American moderate moslems you've just pushed to the enemy.
What an insane moron, to suggest attacking a neutral/friendly third party nation, as though every moslem is guilty by association with a terrorist, who may or may not be affliated with islam.
I think Republican president hopeful Tom Tancredo is absolutely wrong when he says the only deterrent to another attack is to bomb the holy shrines of Islam. Need he be reminded that the fundamentalists that would cause such an attack have killed more Muslims than Americans, more innocent Islamic women and children than American soldiers. I think the better solution would be a collective effort by the civilized world to bomb and obliterate the states that allow this kind of thing to happen by providing money, training and safe sanctuaries for fundamentalists to operate freely and push their agenda of terror not only on Americans but also the majority of Muslims who are law abiding peaceful people.
Although I wish Representative Tancredo's statements were "crazy", I cannot help but consider that there actually may be some truth to his logic. Terrorists do not give a second thought about doing anything possible to tear down their "enemies". Yet, I wonder how they would react if the shoe were on the other foot so to speak. Obviously, by attacking our way of life for no other reason than it being different from their ways and beliefs, they care nothing at all about anyone but themselves. However, due to the fact that much of their thinking is based on their "interpretation" of their religion, why would there not be some rational logic using a threat their way of life as a deterrent? As the war in Iraq continues with the continued loss of life in the name of democracy, I think that Representative Tancredo's statements are based solely on the frustration over the entire situation! Diplomacy and ultimately war have only gone so far in trying to reach a solution. We are dealing with radicals and the time has quite possibly come to deal with them in the same manner. All we are doing is treading water on this whole situation in hopes that we will "eventually" prevail. The time has come for someone in the government to show that they actually have a set of balls rather than listening to all of the double speak that has until now been the "norm"! I would love to hear anyone's solution to the current situation that doesn't continue to cost American lives in one way or another! Anyone?
Anyway, thank you for allowing me to vent just a little!
Results of Bush's unjustified and contra productive Iraq war include death for several hundred thousand innocent people and misery for many millions. The war cost will be higher than one trillion dollar.
A 'Tancredo bombing' of the holy sites would transform oil rich nations like Saudi Arabia in lawless, terrorism supporting states, paralyze the world economy, and leave the United States isolated and vulnerable, maybe collapsing.
no it doesnt show you mean business, it shows that your a complete and utter pillock.
What sad times we are in. It seems we have become so afraid of terrorism, that we are now willing to explore options which include attacking sites that thousands of women and children attend daily. Protecting our country should not put innocent lives at risk abroad.
This is not the Cold War... and the world view of the USA is that we are a bunch of morons because of people like Joe in NJ.
What if it turns out that it would not to be a deterrent? Meantime, you have added to the popele that dislike this country...and we are less safer....
Is this man nuts? Leave their Holy places alone.
15 of the 19 9-11 hijackers were Saudis. What do you think the Saudi Royal Family would do to us if Mecca were bombed say during the Hajj or other holy time? There would be Jihad the likes of which you could never imagine!
Go away, Tom!
And I thought only Israel had an Avigdor Lieberman. Guess not.
Wow - Tancredo's statement begins with a profound misunderstanding of Islam and he follows that by jumping headfirst into the worst policy suggestion I've ever heard. Bombing the two holiest Muslim sites in the world will only further polarize an already widely split religion. Not only will those that already hate the U.S. continue to want to kill us, but we'll recruit the entire Muslim world to join in.
Do it now!!!
All one need do to deter if not end the muslim radicals attempt to controle the world is to coat all ammo of every caliber with pork fat. When a muslim get hit with one of these rounds the pork fat invades his body and he can no longer enter heaven because he is impure. Muslims willnot want to die to go to hell.
ok, so if i get rear-ended by a guy with a Broncos sticker on his car, can i blow up Invesco Field?
Wow, this guy is insane.
This would result in even more attacks on us. These people stop at no cost to hurt us and our way of life. And we can punish all muslims for the actions of the radical ones. Im in the military and this is the worst idea i have ever heard. This would get us in a deaper and deadlier fight. Someone with this idealogy should never hold any kind of leadership positions in our nations govt. Hearing this is totally not that American Way. And Sir your running for president. How sad.
Wow, Bam's a typical liberal! I would actually be offended if he had an ounce of intelligence and possessed a real occupation, but instead he offers the typical liberal retort rather than offering a superior solution.
Tancredo is a sick man. I can see him as extrimist as those who are trying to harm america and americans. He needs to read to history and find out what happened to those who tried to harm the House of Allah. Does he know that the Holly site in Mecca was built By the Prophet Abraham not by Mohamed Peace be Upon all of them. Dangerous sick and ignorant man.
yea sure attack them so they can attack us even more. Lets bomb the whole city and get them even more pissed off!!!
what the hell is wrong with this guy.
"We mean business" that is only going to make it worse...they attack us, we attack them, they attack us, we attack them. Problem will definitely not be solved.
Question for Tancredo and all the other nut jobs out there that think bombing Mecca is a good idea. If Saddam, or Iran's president, threatened to bomb the Statue of Liberty and the White House if we attacked, would that deter us from attacking if we considered them a significant threat? And once they followed through, would that make Americans more or less likely to press the attack harder against the perpetrators?
This is the same problem with this sort of thinking. The extremists that we are up again want more violence. The more innocents we kill, the more cities we bomb, the more wars we start the stronger their cause becomes. You cannot fight random violence with random violence. That is why our policy in Iraq is failing. That is why terrorist recruiting is up now.
The only way to fight this sort of extremism is to remove the things fueling it. Our Mid-East policies, especially supporting Israel no matter what they do, the poverty and social unrest in areas like Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Kenya, etc., and are willingness to destroy democratically elected governments just because we don't like who the people elected are just a few of these.
This is not to say that military action has no place. There are some, particularly the leaders of these organizations, that need to be taken out (preferably arrested and tried in an open, independent court). But using their own tools as a blanket policy only reinforces what they say about us. This is not a military war, this is a sociological and psychological war. It can not be won with just a gun.
We should hold a lottery for the honor of pushing the button, then use the profits to help fix the national debt.
Unless someone can provide a better Idea, This Idea is brilliant.
This is a holy war against the west, Hit them were it hurts. By eliminating all mosques we eliminate the place were the holly warriors gather to spread their hatred of the west and Israel.
So are we going to blow up the church of the nativity next time a Christian extremist bombs an abortion clinic?
I cant believe what I'm reading here (the original statement and many comments).
Are we living in Nazi Germany? What the hell is wrong with you people? Would you be ok with putting all Jews in gas chambers, too?
If you do that you can guarantee that EVERY Muslim would turn against us, and there are seven million of them in the U.S.–many of them citizens. Tancredo and his ilk really seem to want to see the end of the world.
That is awesome!
I like the idea, but you would certainly need to be well-prepared for World War III.
Great idea, Tom! Maybe if we also bomb the Vatican, that will deter priests from molesting little boys?
PS: While were at it, can we bomb Nashville? I don't like country music.
Bombing the holy cities, according to Islam, would only put the United States more at risk for another terrorist attack. This would not end any type of "extreme islam" or as Bush emphasizes "Al-Qida". It is sad that people are brain-washed by the media and believe that Islam is actually full of hatred and killing. Did Al-Qida or Islam cause the Oklahoma city bombings, anthrax in our mail, bridge collapsing in Minnesota, Columbine shootings, VT shootings? We are so stuck on Al-Qida and all these anti-Islamic movements that America is falling apart. We are scared to leave our own houses, because there is a "orange" level threat at the airport. The government has destroyed this country and it is mostly to blame on the Bush administration.
Bush doesn't have an answer to 9/11. Since he hasn't done anything to investigate this tragedy, he can only result to, "Iraq has weapons of mass destruction" and the American people will sit there and agree. However, their sons (troops) are being slaughtered along with innocent civilians each minute. What a beautiful world we live in.
Good Day.
what an idiot, if this plan were to actually go through, and a largely christian nation such as the US bombed the OVERALL holiest place in the world of all religions, i'm pretty sure all ties to oil would be cutoff, as well the vatican getting obliterated by the muslims. think of the big picture.
Mr. Tancredo, What do you predict the Muslims will do after you a-bomb Mecca?
WOW. It is amazing how can someone representing thousands can freely state such absurd and irresponsable comments. People have to understand that extremist aren't only born in muslim country's, here we have a congressman RUNING FOR PRESIDENT. How ignorant you have to be to not realise that Mecca and Medina are places were millions of NORMAL muslims with nothing against the U.S go to pray. Bomb them and we will make them all extremist. DUMB
I abosultely agree and I would go further to suggest that we would hold all Muslim States responsible throughout the World and completely destroy their capitals and major cities / infrastructure if we are attacked.
We're dealing with loony-tunes that are literally awash in a culture of death. What other deterrent is there than the threat of retaliation against something they hold dear?
The reason it's shocking is because it's politically-incorrect. And that's a GOOD thing. The world has no use for political correctness. Tancredo's statements probably offended the same knee-jerk, intellectually-nihilistic, Christmas-banning PC liberals that consider flushing a Koran down the toilet a hate crime, but would have nary a complaint if it had been a Bible.
We are told over and over that the fundamentalists are only a Tiny Minority of Extremists in Islam, and that most Muslims are moderates who just want to live in peace with their families. Fine. If the Tiny Minority of Extremists is really so tiny, it shouldn't be hard for the overwhelming majority of moderates to weed them out. In which case, nothing will happen to Mecca.
It is time for the moderates (if they are truly present in Islam in such overwhelming numbers) to step up to the plate and take back their faith.
Maybe such a threat would even prompt the saudis to use some of their trillions of petrodollars to clean the hate literature (published by the saudi government) from the hundreds of mosques they control in the US.
Of course, it could be that the Tiny Minority of Extremists isn't as tiny as we've been led to believe ...
Is it just me or aren't the terrorists looking for a "holy war"? Wouldn't bombing their holy sites give them them more reasoning to assume that they are actually in a holy war? It seems to me that it would be a "nothing left to lose" outlook on the part of the terrorists if we destroy Mecca.
Plus we would just look like enormous, disrespectful, irreverent jerks. Oh wait. We're America.
I'm so glad that some of you spineless "Americans" aren't leading our country. Tancredo's words, whether backed by sincere action or not, send a pointed message, DON'T think you can attack the US and not pay heavy heavy consequences. Most of you Dem libs would rather follow Obama's lead and roll over to the terrorists! Shame on you. At least Tancredo is willing to stand by his assertive message, and is still willing to listen to alternatives.
All this crying and belly aching from the same type of lemmings who would have balked at bombing of Japan to end WWII.
When terrorism or our sorry ass border policy finally personally has impact on your life, you'll be begging for hard politics like this.
I would be proud to have him as a rep from my district. He echos the voices of most of the people I hear from.
Pull out our troops, fight this war the way it should be. Our expensive toys evaporating their mud huts and adobe palaces.
At first I thought, “What about the majority of Muslim peoples throughout the planet who are not radical lunatics?” Then it hit me, it's too easy to assume he is merely the smallest right percentile on the political bell curve. Tancredo’s comment is so outrageous that one has to wonder why he really made them. Ann Coulter, with her oodles of “couth” would never suggest that we threaten to bomb the holiest place in the lives of millions of our own citizens. In my opinion, Tancredo is an agent of the Taliban or possibly Iran hired to spread counter intelligent propaganda in an attempt to call the ENTIRE Muslim population to arms against America. Tancredo’s M.O. includes outlandish statements and public appearances that coincidentally give a face to the exact stereotypical American “pig” that the Ahmadinejads of the world create to jam down the throats of their impressionable masses. Aside from publicly calling Miami a "third world country;" he reportedly gave a speech to an ultra-conservative group while draped in a Confederate flag. This Tancredo character is clearly trying his hardest to bury America’s lowest common denominator somewhere below the Earth’s mantle. His master plan is most likely to turn sympathetic ears into hate spewing recruitment posters for Islamic Fundamentalism. Just something to let marinate for a while...
Politics play dirty games, all Muslims are not bad, our future presidents should talk about peace and harmony of the country rather then bombing the religious places. Bush started war in Iraq without focusing on Afganisthan....what a shame. First improve what is wrong please don't make more enemies for the country. Give us health care rather then wasting Billions of Dollars on wars.
All these 'holier than thou' christ-ies turn my stomach. Did anyone read the Hirsi Ali article on the Washingtonpost/newsweek website? This is an evil religion that knows nothing about compromise. If you don't convert willingly, you'll convert at the end of a blade or die. It's pretty simple, even for the 'simpler' of those in our country.
Tancredo is right on the money. I've been waiting for a politician to actually say this out loud.
The rest of you all are just lemmings...
Good Idea !!!!!!!
Should have already been blown off the Map a long time ago.
This guy isn't smart enough to spell 'IQ'.
Bringing the US down to the level of terrorists, simply makes us more like them.
Threatening to bomb THEIR HolySites makes the US the terrorists.
Not only is this guy a 5th term Congressman, he is a TEACHER !! Let's hope he is not teaching what he is preaching...
I still can't believe that ANYONE would say something like that, even a republican.
I have never heard the words "idiot" and "moron" ever used this much. The level of political discourse is so low that it's impossible to take seriously the credibility of any of you who post in such a hostile fashion.
It's fine to disagree and to offer opinion, but knowing that it is unlikely that any of you are political geniuses, try to hold off on rude personal aspersions...your comments and opinions will carry more weight.
The man is a danger to all of us if that is what he truley belives.
Im actually grateful that this is in the news. I hope that, by hearing about this guys proposal, we can stop ourselves from starting to think along these lines. I cant even imagine what would happen if Mecca or Medina were bombed by our government. The world would turn into a warzone like we can't even imagine which is probably what the Jihaddists want.
WOW. You couldn't make this up. I have never seen such a desperate attempt to garner some attention. Mr. Tancredo has left the building.
RE: Posted By Jerry, Philadelphia, PA : August 3, 2007 4:21 pm
Yeah buddy, then you will cry because the price gas for your P.O.S. Car has gone up to $10/ gallon
Only thing that's scarier than the Muslim terrorists are the liberals who want forever appease the Muslims at all cost.
Liberalism truly is an incurable mental disease.
Why don't we stop worrying about IF/WHEN Americans will die at the hands of the next terrorist attack and start spending money to save Americans who ARE dying in America. If we spent a fraction of the trillion-dollar war cost on saving starving, homeless, and uninsured Americans, we would save more lives than trying to prevent a POTENTIAL attack by sending our youth into combat zones, where Americans ARE dying.
I support Tancredo 110%! Deterrent worked in the Cold War and it will work again. If we get nuked, Mecca and Medina should both become glass parking lots.
If your enemy still acts like it is the middle ages then we need to find a way to intimidate them on their level. So far nothing else has worked. Maybe a few suicide bombers would think before killing innocents if they realize Allah couldn't stop their holiest sites from being destroyed, then it's possible they might not get their 72 virgins and eternal life in paradise. Bravo Mr. Tancredo, it takes guts and the ability to actually voice what needs to be done. I would vote for him in a heartbeat.
While most US voters realize Tancredo is an idiot without a realistic chance at the presidency, it’s only a matter of time before Al-Jeezera and radical imams try to spin this as representing how all of America feels and that Tancredo has a legitimate shot at becoming president.
On basis I AGREE
All it would take is one atomic strike on a major islamo-nazi population center to deter them. The only way to defeat an enemy without reason is to be even less reasonable than they are.
This guy is awesome! Let them live in Fear for awhile.
Politicians, can't live with'em, can't live without'em.
Lets take a step back, "we will not make the distinction between those who harbor terrorists and those who support terrorism". So peoples, the answer is so simple yet complicated: issue an executive order to top level foreign diplomats to deliver messages abroad that Damascus and Tehran (isn't the verbal threat of extinction to another country an act of war? If not, it should be) have 48-72 hours to evacuate their citizens, all mullahs and presidents must stay within city limits. Level them, then meet where ever it is they meet in Egypt for a peace accord. Why? because they both openly sponsor terrorism. Hamas and Hezbollah. Wake up!! Then you have no support for Gaza, no support for Lebanon!! Golan Heights solved!! Gaza solved!! After the dust settles, Israel can grant "right of return" to Gaza only. 99.998% problem solved. Ahhhh but is it.
Then we can see who is our TRUE ally and who isn't. A war folks is fought to WIN, not to be politically correct in doing so. We in the good ol Usof A will surely lose if that is the case. Why? because the "other side" does not apply to the same standard.
By the way...on the return trip home, drop a bunker buster on the north pole, then tell the Russians they can have it. You have no idea what kind of problem that is going
to bring in the very near future….watch and remember.
And oh yeah... The Middle East thing... It will NEVER end because the standard of life in the Middle East is Death. In the West it is Life. Hence the dilemma
that God of Abraham spoke of.. eh?
Tancredo is an idiot extraordinaire! Blowing up Muslim holy sites will only serve to upset and inflame the millions of peaceful Muslims with whom we all share the planet. There is no reason to further exaggerate the rift between our civilizations.
Wow. I don't even know what to say. If we attack Mecca, or other holy Muslims sites, we will ignite a fire against us that we will NEVER be able to extinguish. Put it on the other foot, "Arab politician professes desire to bomb the Vatican as a result of bombing by the US in XYZ country." Completely unreasonable response, right? That idea is as bad as what this nut job is espousing.
Mr. Tancredo apparently assumes that all Muslims are currently attempting to attack America, rather than the extremist 1% or less. Although, if his actions were followed, we would surely see that number climb significantly.
You want an alternative suggestion. Work harder to become allies with the countries and surrounding countries of the areas that these terrorists are hiding in.
Tancredo is insane if he things bombing Islamic holy sites will be a deterrent. It would mean quite the opposite and currently moderate Muslims would then want to wage war on the US. Tancredo can't be trusted with any political power, especially the white house.
I agree with him! An eye for an eye.
It's really amusing that all negative comments about Tancredo are filled with words like idiot, nut crack etc. That is the way modern liberals argue -no respect to the opponent, very little about the essence, just insult and presumption of intellectual and moral superiority.
The guy just said that id you hit our women and children we will respond disproportionately (the concept of proportional military response is a joke in itself).
That's the best idea yet. Not only is Tancredo the only politician with the guts to stand up and attempt to rid America of the unlawful, illegal immigrants, but he's got the wherewithal to finally do something effective to the Islamo-Fascist terrorists!
I agree with Tancredo , in this case what other deterrent do we have ?
he can't be serious: sounds like the headline of an onion article
I am an Atheist, but AMEN!!!!!! That is all they understand....When they realize that their God will not protect them, then they will have to find another strategy besides terror, or evolve into a peaceful race. If the leaders of the churches that spread, and fund this fundamentalism realize that the shrines are at risk from the same insane methodology, then they may teach a more peaceful, understanding, progressive message.
JASON – If you took the time to read what I said I quoted "Separation of Church and State." That phrase is not in any document our founding fathers created.
So you get your facts straight before you respond.
I did not say that there should not be a Separation of Church and State. There should be. NO GOVERNMENT should make a law telling or forcing someone to believe or worship in a certain way. This was one of the primary reasons our ancestors left other countries and came here (religious persecution.) The is what will happen when the Muslim Religion takes over the world. You will be under "Islamic Law" and you will be forced to become a Muslim or die!
So.
Rice and Gates are offering the Saudis cash and weaponry while Tancredo (another Republican), political cottage cheese candidate, is offering to wipe out their holy sites.
Huh? Does the left hand of the party know what the right of the party is doing?
Mr. Tancredo seems to know their aquiles tendon better than anybody else, the only way these animals would stop from attacking us is exactly what he is proposing, even their own life seems worthless to them, I serious warning should be issued, and if attacked by them carry on the threat, let them learn the lesson. Frank
Isn't this the same idiot that called Miami "A Third World Country"? Maybe if there are any bombs leftover, Tancredo would like to wipe us off the map as well! I think the altitude of Colorado must be getting to this guy!
Hes a correct and a genius. They fight for Allah, we should fight against Alah than. This guy for president
Typical Republican/American suggestion.
You people who agree with him need some help...may God have mercy on all your souls.
This is like beating a kid for hitting his brother, how will we ever find peace on this earth if the solution for violence is more of the same? Pray for peace, don't ask for more death of innocent people.
It is incredible to hear these comments. Mecca and Medina are Holy sites for all Muslims. Why should millions of Muslims suffer that kind of offense because of very small radical groups, who use religion as an excuse, just because Tancredo is such an ignorant and violent guy? Guess what would be the next target of extremists. Exactly: churches, cathedrals and even the Vatican. Shame on you, Tancredo!
Unfortunately hate monger like Tom Tancredo get elected again and again. I think peopl those who elect this kind of congressman should not expect the country to go to the positive direction.
Tancredo's idea isn't crazy, although it may be MAD. And it's worth pointing out that no American or Soviet cities were actually nuked during the cold war. Likewise, Mecca will not be destroyed if our Islamist enemies take our threat of retaliation seriously and refrain from doing whatever it is that we announce ahead of time would trigger the destruction of Mecca.
This assumes, of course, that Islamists would actually be demoralized by the destruction of Mecca and might even lose their faith. If this is not true, then destroying Mecca works to the Islamists' advantage, and retaliation for a major attack should involve killing large numbers of Islamists. We need to know the correct answer before we act or threaten to act. And Saudi Arabia is not our ally.
This comment from Joe in NJ struck a chord..
"..stop taking lectures from retarded liberal professors that never worked a day in their life outside of academia."
Similarly, don't heed to a word on Islamic fundamentalism, from anyone who hasn't stepped foot even once on any of the Islamic-countries..
Let's be honest folks.... islam is not a religion. It's a doomsday death cult that has terrorized and brutalizd everyone and everything in its path since its inception.
There comes a point when you've done all that talking that can be done, and all the molly-coddling that can be done. It's time to get serious about this before a dozen more American cities fall prey to 9-11/WTC type attacks.
Some people believe you can't declare war on an idea. No? Ask the Japanese how they feel about Imperialism.
We defeated Japan NOT by destorying their infrastructure. We defeated them by crushing their spirit (well, that and melting their cities, thank you very much Curtis LeMay). They had no will to fight after that. That's what must happen here. Not nuke a million people, but nuke an idea (islam), an idea that is so cancerous it destroys everything it's ever touched. The way to do that, is to hit the cult in the heart, it's two "holiest" sites.
I ask, how many more WTCs have to happen? How many more innocent people have to make the decision to burn alive in a sky-scraper-turned-molotov-cocktail, or leap 100 stories to their death on the sidewalk below. Remember, the man in the "Falling Man" photo wasn't a uniformed member of the American military. He was just some poor guy who happened to get to work on time. How many more people will be forced to make this mind-blowing decision, because the leaders of this nation no longer "LEAD" but rather hold their wet fingers up to see which way the polical wind is blowing (i.e. take polls).
Harry Truman, where are you when we need you?
After reading dozens of these remarks about how crazy Trancredo is and "This is why the world hates us" Ive come to one sad conclusion. People posting on here havent a clue about anything that is happening outside our borders. If they knew how much these Islamic extremist hate us, and want to kill us all, the American liberal press and its sheep-like followers might wake up for about 2 seconds. Just in time to see the next suicide bomber push the button. God help us all. Were gonna need it.
DAN from Chicago,
Could you please tell me when we fought a war the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic?
Thanks.
Government indoctrination ( I mean education) has destroyed our country.
Government Education is to blame for this guy.
This is the kind of attitude and knee-jark reaction which has been so harmful to the U.S. in world opinion. There will always be extremists and terrorists. A civilized society should not resort to terrorism, as this ignoramus proposes, to counter the disjointed and despised actions of terrorists.
Most Muslims are peace loving people who despise violence and the actions of the terrorists. Tancredo proposes terrorism upon the innocents to counter terrorism inflicted by fringe elements who are also despised in the world. Tancredo is totally irresponsible and stupid.
Zack Highstreet Allston,
If you don’t believe in the Islamic GOD Allah, none of what the Koran says should bother you, should it? Wouldn’t those be like the words of any delinquent soul on the streets? Why care?
Posted By toe, Atlanta, GA : August 3, 2007 4:30 pm
I have to care what Allah says because unfortunately at least 200 million people around the world take it serious enough to wish violence on my person, property and system of government. Allah matters because people take it serious and wish me harm because of what Allah said in the Qur'an.
Until Allah is proven to be a nothing all non-muslims need to be concerned with that god and his commands. Islam allows every Muslim to be jury, judge and executioner on the rest of us. Islam sanctions first degree murder of non-muslims. Allah calls us 'the worst of creatures' among many other things and True Believers take it to heart.
Allah must be shown to be nothing. One of the best ways to do this is to occupy and systematically destroy Mecca. Allah, if he were 'real', would never allow Mecca to be occupied and destroyed. This doesn't require the deaths of millions in the Islamic world.
The beliefs behind the terrorists are the root cause of all this in the last 1,400 years.
Jihadi terrorism is a symptom.
Imams, mullahs, ayatollahs and muftis are vectors.
Islam is the bacterium.
Islam is a plague on both houses – the house of Islam and the House of War ( the rest of the world not ruled by sharia law).
We have to de-legitimize the beliefs. Mecca is the vulnerable heart of it all.
That may seem extreme and un-doable, but this jihad will never end until Allah is destroyed. Killing a billion muslims won't change their minds, but killing Allah will.
Huh? Osama Bin Laden said that if US troops stayed in Arab lands, he should be able to blow up the symbols of our country and kill thousands of innocent people. And now Tom Tancredo says that exact same thing?!!! I'm all for free speech but when a member of Congress puts the lives of all Americans in jeopardy by talking like a terrorist, he should at a minimum be censured by the Congress! What a colossal bonehead!
Haha, is he running for president in the 1950s or something? I'd rather have a mule with a magic 8-ball strapped to it as president.
Come on people, we're better than this.
What an idiot. btw, he is racist.
i agree 100% what are we supposed to do, roll over and get kicked again. It may wake up other Muslims to take care of "their" problem-fundamentalism.
Tancredo just became the most efficient Al-Queda recruiter in the world. What better way to drive more conservative Muslims into extremism than promising to nuke their holiest sites. How much did the Al-Queda lobby on K-street get paid for this little number?
Amen Tom. I like your suggestion.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and an atomic strike would only exponentially increase the amount of ignorant people who will sign up to fight for any cause that gives them an identity. And dropping bombs hasn't worked in over 60 years. The largest aerial campaign was carried out over the skies of Nam, and look what that got us- NOTHING. In order to beat these terrorist, all you need to do is stop directly attacking them and take away what fuels their recruitment- American attacks, albeit accidental, on innocent civillians.
I wish people would stop saying this is a crazy statement and think about it.
He said this would be retaliation for a NUCLEAR ATTACK inside the United States. Let me tell you, if that happens, it already is a World War. Do you people understand how many would die in a nuclear attack in the US? Sept. 11 would look mild.
The Saudi's are the ones who have financed and educated the hateful Islamic Fundamentalists. Maybe they will have some incentive to prevent these readicals from going through with a Nuclear attack if they fear retaliation.
Also, Tom Tancredo didn't suggest dropping a nuclear bomb on Mecca, he said he would attack. He could destroy famous sites with conventional weapons.
His point is certainly rhetorical, but he is accurate that there is no downside for the terrorists in exploding a nuclear weapon inside the US. The Soviets had fear of reprisal because we would destroy Moscow. If the Islamists have no fear, where is the incentive not to attack??
We're not going to "love" our way out of this problem anytime in the next 100 years so at least be prepared to fight.
What a moron. Deterrent? I can't think of anything else that would be certain to enrage the hordes and ensure they travel the US and kill everyone they can get their hands on! Remember those cartoons? Imagine that reaction times one million. I wish the Republicans would get babysitters for their candidates so at least they can keep them from going outside without adult supervision!
Does this mean when the IRA was blowing folks up in Ireland, we should have, um, nuked the Vatican?
Oh, wait, you mean all those people [Catholics] aren't alike? Well, the same surely can't apply to those people [Muslims].
I guess you Kumbya singers just don't get it.
The moderate muslims who you so cherish for support and assistance never offer anything more than phony words with no meaning and no value.
"We think it was not a good thing that (Name the target, country, people)" was bombed and innocent people killed, OH THANK YOU FOR THOSE STRONG WORDS thank you so much for being with us and doing your best to help.
Hold hands and sing with me people.
I am not a fan of this guy, but he shows some seeds to at least put out there an actual deterrent.
Let me ask the Kumbya club a real simple question, California gets hit tommorow with suicide bombers that wipes out 20,000 people including women and children and a few churches, schools etc, etc.
Do we have a summit to appease the UN and the "moderates", or do we do as Tancredo says and go after the targets that they cherish including their innocent people and INCLUDE mosques, MECCA wherever?
I bet you hit them where it hurts the "moderates" will do more to save their own people and then and ONLY then will the really begin to help us.
The threat of REAL action must at least be spoken, and that is the point here.
Strong words, but real needed.
HEY MONTREAL – CANADIAN,
You posed the question why do the terrorist attack the United States instead of Canada? Although very funny, the answer given by the guy from CA. doesn't really shed light on the truth.
The truth is that we are the WORLD SUPERPOWER that represents everything that they wish to destroy. That is why they flew planes into the World Trade Ctr's. Not because it would kill a lot of people. They could have done something a lot easier to pull off then that. They attacked the towers because they are a symbol of economic freedom and prosperity, or in other words Capitalism.
Our country also was founded on and even today stands for Religious Freedom. The ultimate slap in the face to Muslims.
For those of you who think they are attacking us because we are mean bullies, think again.
The statements Tom Tancredo made regarding attacking places of worship are not democratic, very uneducated and vicious behavior. If you cannot think of safety precautions intelligently than you currently are, then you do not deserve to be a representative of this government, i.e. US. I certainly would not vote for him.
Wow. Where do we find these people.
You Americans need help...serious help.
What happened to common human decency? Speak out against your gov't for spending trillions of dollars on military and on wars for oil (that you blame on 'terrorism') – and take care of your own people.
Your health-care system is a joke, your crime rates are deplorable, you are disliked everywhere in the world – fix your country and stop letting uneducated-rednecks like this guy (and Bush) represent your country.
Great... 1000+ years after the FIRST Tancred went off to fight the First Crusade, we get this guy spouting off about taking up where his namesake left off.
Can't we make some progress here, now, or are we forever doomed to fight the same turf battles over and over again every millennium in the name of somebody's idea of salvation in the next life?
Obliterating Mecca & Medina is as stupid an idea as is blindly supporting Israel's aggressions in the Middle East, in the name of peace & to the continuing detriment of Western Civilization.
I've just become a Tancredo fan.
Enough with the white flag waving Dhimmicrats and the elitist mealy mouthed PC Incompeticans.
If some brain dead jihadist wants to
try for his 72 raisins, then it is time
to Rock and Roll big time.
Don't Tread On Me.
Here's why Jihadists have already won: people over here wanting to "kill them all" in the name of Christianity. Apparently, the jihadists have their holy war already...and all you flag-waving zealots are giving them all the ammo they need.
Way to doom us all, rednecks. Perhaps Tancredo and the rest of the Christian-zealotry is right..because apparently, we haven't evolved much at all.
Yeah! World War! Sweeeet! Whoo-hoo! And we'll drive our Hummers to victory!!! Go go AMERICA!!! Jesus is awesome!!!
I never ceases to amaze me what incredible morons we have in this country, with the likes of people like Tancredo leading the bunch.
Ignorant, knee-jerk testosterone overloaded right-wing sheep count for too many reasons why America is despised throughout the world. Please do us rational, sane, thinking Americans a favor: volunteer to fight in Iraq if you are so hell-bent on "defending" America. Put your money where your mouth is. Being an arm-chair supporter is the coward's way out.
This is one of another "Trancredo Gimmicks" for cheap publicity to put forward a wow-factor-statement.
It is indeed surprising how such people get elected.
Apparently Rep. Tancredo needs to go back to his trailer and wash his 'Nuke 'em' tatoo.
What about crazy catholic priest that molest little boys because 'God told them to do it'? Do we start bombing churches and catholics.
Let's all sit back and take a religion 101 class. We must be able to isolate issues and criminals accordingly, and not ignorantly associate terrorism based on skin color or religion.
The fundamental flaw in a terrorist logic is that you can achieve piece through violence. That's not the policy we need to perpetuate through our own leaders.
Proving once again that extreme republicans are just plain scumbags (and the rest of them aren't too far behind.)
This guy is awesome! Let them live in Fear for awhile.
Posted By J, Killean Thornton CO :
Yeah I know right!?! They are over there living it up going to disneyland , drinking sodas and playing video games all day.
Wirh Cretins like Tancredo in Government, God and Allah help us all...
Comments like this make Tancredo stoop down to the level of the terrorists he condemns. It is reprehensible, his views. Imagine if a Roman Catholic gang would come in and attack the United States. Will that mean he will want to bomb Vatican City?
If this git gets the Republican nomination, you can bet who I will never vote for!
This man is too ignorant for words...
Is it so hard to see the only reason that there are terrorist attacks against the west are because we are considered by extremist "enemies" of islam...
Will bombing their holy sites and causing yet more innocent civilian casualties really do anything to deter extremism or strengthen relations between the east and the west?
Think about it..
Moderate Unicorns
In medieval times, people created fairy tales and magical creatures to make sense of their world. One of the most endearing is the unicorn, a horse with a single horn that symbolized purity and wholesomeness. In our modern times, people in Europe and the United States consider themselves more sophisticated and rational than people from the Middle Ages, but we still create myths, albeit more subtle ones.
Daily we hear reports of violent acts committed by Islamic terrorists on every inhabited continent. We try to wish it away with the myth of the ‘Moderate Muslim’, telling ourselves the Islamic agenda has been’ hijacked’ by a ‘tiny minority of extremists’ and that soon the huge, silent, moderate majority of Muslims will take charge and change things. However, post 9/11 very few Muslims have condemned terrorist actions. We are still waiting for moderates to stand and deliver, identifying and removing extremist thugs from their mosques and their communities. Waiting for this self-correction is our modern version of unicorn hunting.
Moderate Muslims will not be able to wrest control of the agenda for several reasons. First of all, Mohammed, the Messenger of Allah’s eternal word, was not moderate. No moderate can legitimately tell another Muslim to stop doing the extremist things Mohammed himself did. Also, the Qur’an condones violence and coercion to further the Islamic agenda. People whom we call moderates are labeled hypocrites by Allah Himself in the Qur’an. Moderates will always lose the argument because, as ex-Muslim author Ibn Warraq says, “There may be moderates in Islam but Islam itself is not moderate.”
Islamic expert Daniel Pipes and others estimate ten percent of the Islamic world to be militant. In 1933 when the Nazi party took control of Germany it had 2 million members, comprising only three percent of Germany’s sixty-six million citizens. A tiny minority of extremists can control a vast number of moderates, making them irrelevant.
Placing hope in ‘The Moderate Muslim’ is like searching for unicorns in the forest.
If we do what Tancredo proposes then we will lower ourselves to the level of terrorists. This guy makes me ashamed to be a republican. Mr. Tancredo, you truly are an idiot.
What i believe is, right now, These comments sound absurd, crazy and very ignorant. Also, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1946 sound very evil and unjust right now years after it happened.
But you guys need to put yourself in this position. Imagine these muslims, in the name of god, decide to blow up the entire city of New York with nuclear weapons from the center of the city which as a result kills millions of new Yorkers and flattens the city. Since new york is the countries' finacial capital and one of the centers of the global economy which makes it probably the most important city in the world,Say the entire global economy greatly suffers from this effect. Then tom toncredo brings up his idea of considering an attack on mecca and medina. After imagining this cituation, tell me if you think that retaliating against the muslims by destroying their holy sites sounds totally crazy at that time. We are afraid to critisize islam and thier prohphet for fear that some muslim will come blow us up. when the danish papers show pictures of mohammad with bombs, the entire muslim world protests in anger. Pope benedict calls islam violent, again the entire muslim world erapts in anger, churches are burnt, calls for the pope to be killed even fromm the iranian president.
We are afraid just to say or do something that they would view negatively. Why are we so afraid when Islam is just a religion. Why are we so afraid of this religion. We all know religions to be peaceful, loving, holy, but why are we scared to death of this one.
Thats because Islam has turned from a holy religion to an evil ideology.
One were it's people justify the killing of inocent non muslims as well as muslims, suicide bombings and other evil acts. They seem like an army and not a religion. When bush threatens an invasion of afghanistan after 9/11, they say it would be an attack on Islam. A muslim gets killed by a westener, thats an attack on islam. What kind of religion is that, why should we tolorate all the injustice they cause. Are you telling me the world most powerful nation fears not another country but a religion?
Its rediculous, These people need to be dealt with accordingly. And if it means striking them at the center of all thier craziness then so be it. They wouldnt mind destroying the most important city to the united states and the entire global economy so why should we care about destroying thier holy cites in an event of a nuclear attack.
Whats more important,new york(the center of the gobal economy, millions of lives, the countries' finacial capitol) or a mosque with a rock in the middle of it?
I disagree with his comments and his strategy. Instead of issuing threats to fellow human beings, we should be reaching out to find a way to better understand each other.
I was born in the U.S. Growing up I was taught that other countries (like China and Russia) were giant propaganda machines.
What I learned over the years is that U.S. also spits out propaganda with the best of them. For example, we have been told that the U.S. is the best and the smartest country on the planet. Assuming that is true, then how come we can't figure out how to be friends with so many people around the world?
Although I'm not surprised by his comments, I'm ashamed and embarrassed.
I can’t believe that he actually said that. Well first there is the pesky moral implications, there aren’t going to be any combatant’s at a “holy” site it will be women and children then we are no better. Then they well respond like they have every time before. How did Tancredo get elected he really is not that smart.
This man is crazy. The consequences of doing such an action is scary. He needs to be kick out immediately.
What a nut case.
As a muslim, to kill anyone (whether jew,muslim,christian,athiest,hindu or ANY human being without just cause -as in self defense)is a sure way to get youreself into Hell. I am glad to see most of us are bothered by this mans comments. But to those who agree with him, you are Stereotyping the entire religion due to the act of a few. Dont you realize that "Crazy terrorist people" are enemies to all mankind,including muslims. And luckily most of them cant even get out of their neighborhoods. 99.999999999% of muslims disagree with any form of terrorism and anyone who bombs a country and kills even once innocent person, will answer God for that. The people who terrorize others also terrorize their own neighbors, so please dont hold everyone responsible for the act of a few. Just imagine if the rest of the world thought that America was like this senator and believed what he did? Lets not do the same to others. God Bless All the Good people of the world, and guide the others who need Guidance.
Is this guy for real. That is like probably the worst thing I have ever heard a politician say. I really dont understand how this individual can look at himself in the mirror in the morning and call himself a represenative of the people.
As a deterrent, the threat of bombing these sites would be ineffective. The fanatics and terrorists who pretend to be Muslims have no concern for sanctity of Islam. They are simply using religion as a platform from which to manipulate the ignorant into carrying out their evil in order to attain power. I would speculate that these infidels would be delighted to have Mecca and Medina bombed to dust. It would give them an excuse to escalate their destruction and recruit more poor slobs to blow themselves up. The comments made by Tancredo are of the same ilk as those of the terrorists. He is evil and is trying to gain power and wealth by advancing his political career at the expense of all logic, reason, and humanity. Any American who believes that "showing them that we mean business" is a meaningful statement in anyway is guilty of diminishng the democracy we so proudly claim to uphold . This is the kind of meaningless rhetoric that takes our minds away from real issues, like how much Tancredo and other members of Congress are stuffing their pockets with from special interest groups. These comments foment discussions based in ignorance and devoid of logic. Anyone can say "let's kill 'em all 'cuz they ain't like us" without reading, talking, or learning. To actually resolve an issues require that we educate ourselves, not simply spout opinions that are unfounded and not even our own.
I agree. Why not attack their holy sites? They attack their own people, women and children are not even off limits. They are radical and crazy. We had better act accordingly if we want to survive. What is more important, a building or lives?
Just GREAT!!! Let's fight violence with MORE??? Grow up!!!
I'm wondering about being a Republican, and am more and more embarassed to admit it and things like this just makes me cringe!!!
Might as well do a kick off for world war 3. Tancredo is an idiot.
Rep. tom Tancredo,
Making statements should not be elected Presendent. He would have us in a war just to show the world his testrostone level is higher that any person in the world or to show all the nations that he is strong on defense. Right wing governments start wars, germany, korea and japan. the village idot (President Bush) is a good example,
This guy is running for president? He is an idiot if he thinks violence against holy sites is a good solution. Good luck becoming president, looser.
The Middle East is already so screwed up...... What more harm can we do? We bombed a whole country! Does
Tom Tancredo even need to state what
everybody already knows. He is only stating a reaction of what could happen.......
The mir act of mentioning this may stir up hatred amomg muslims. Thank God that Tom Tancredo has zero chance of becoming president.
I honestly couldn't agree more with candidate Tancredo. I would go furhter and state there's a bomber in the air 24/7 with Mecca and Medina in range. These are religious fanatics, after all, and this is a strong deterrent. Doing it, is a real option!
I THINK ITS A GREAT IDEA...!!! GO GOP!!
First of all, by threatening to attack Muslim holy sites, Tancredo is already implying that ALL terrorists are Muslim. What if someone of another religion or ethnicity was to attack the U.S.?? Of course, the first people to be blamed will be Muslims, and we being the good ol' U.S. of A. would probably attack immediately without any solid evidence.
This is a completely prejudice and racist comment by Tancredo. What about the Virgina Tech attack?? It was all over the news, especially CNN, and yet, just because the attacker was not Muslim or of middle-eastern origin, the words "terrorist," "terrorism," or "terrorist attack" were not once used to describe what most definitely and undoubtedly was a horrible terrorist attack.
Secondly, an attack on Muslim holy sites would cause World War III (and that is an understatement). Tancredo is just another example of exactly what we DO NOT want or need in the White House, or even in the house just down the street: a racist, prejudice person whose ignorance will cause nothing but trouble in the world. Thank you.
He is absolutely insane. Seriously, was he thinking right when he said it? How will bombing holy sites in Mecca and Medina prevent retaliation from Islamic fundamentalists. It'll only increase their hatred for us. How could he have been nominated as a hopeful...
Vote for this guy and welcome to the end of the World! We will never break the horrible cycle of War.
This guy doesn't deserve to hold ANY political office ANYWHERE. He belongs in an insane asylum for comments like that. What an idiot. No one in their right mind would vote for someone who speaks so carelessly.
Attacking anybody's holy site is only going to provoke more violence, it wont actually deter anything. Especially since we will be killing devout, most likely non-violent muslims.
But if our intention is to start a giant slug out between Islam and the West, then thats a pretty good way to do it. War is never pretty but at the end of the day at least one side of this stupid fight will be shut up for good
I TOTALLY agree with Mr. Tancredo.
Makes you wonder how the words "freedom" and "democracy" are being translated and explained to those little Iraqi children.
He has my vote!
I suspect the muslim hypoctites may not even care if you nuke the alleged holy sites.....
I agree target mecca and medina with nukes. War should be so terrible no one is crazy enough to do it. You can't win a war till you stop the money.
I must admit, i wasted a lot of time reading most of the comments posted, and I think he is right, they are destroying things we love and killings people we love, yet they are hiding behind democracy, i say do same, destroy things they love and kill people they love, and they will know who they dealing with
I agree. If they want to hide in mosques, then bomb them. We should stop giving terrorists a hiding place so they can regroup.
Since they don't value life why would they value their own religious sites? They kill (bomb) their own children for what? To make a statement? I believe we should build a wall around their cities and whoever walks out in a year get to keep their oil profits.
Following that logic I quess UK should bomb the Vatican the next time the some nut in the IRA blows something up. Tancredo is an embarrasment and a disgrace.
Yeah, lets nuke the two holiest cities in the muslim religion, that ought to stop Ben Laden dead on his mule somewhere between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Lemme guess, overcome with pain and sorrow, he will throw himself off the cliff and his followers, shamed and broken into submission, would turn into instant pacifist and rush to rebuild their cities while singing "We are the World" and we will all live together in peace and love forever. THIS MAN IS A FIRST CLASS MORON WHO DESERVES TO BE STRIPPED OF HIS CITIZENSHIP AND SENT BACK TO WHATEVER RAT HOLE HE CAME FROM (or should we send him to Iraq or Mexico? hmmm).
It probably wouldn't matter as the real target has to be Iran. They sponser terrorism and everybody knows that. But we are afraid to challenge them and so we will ultimately be destroyed for our weakness. But at least he has the courage to fight for our Country. Unfortunately, most on this blog and in our country apparently will no longer do.
The sheer disgrace of Tancredo's comments are only matched by the sheer ineptitude, stupidity, and desperation of those who have brought this country to this point. This is the same chain of faulty reasoning that Bin Laden no doubt followed prior to 9/11.
It's revolting given the values on which this country was founded that any politician would suggest such a vile and un-American policy. And it is even more astounding given our recent history that anyone with half a neuron would think that bombing our way through complex problems largely of our own making with the catastrophe of Iraq will lead to a peaceful or prosperous future for our descendants.
Thankfully for New Jersey, Michigan, North Carolina, and Montana ( the home states of Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, Eric Rudolph, and Ted Kaczynski) this moron wasn't in charge during the Oklahoma City/Olympic Park/Unabom bombings.
The best defense against terrorism is by being a just society founded on our American values, not the knee jerk reflexes driven by hatred and a sheer contempt of our national legacy.
Such action would turn the U.S. government into a terrorist dictatorship–itself nearly one already. Moreover, the alliance with Saudia Arabia is one of the U.S.'s most valuable friendships, no matter what tensions might exist. This would destroy U.S. credibility in EVERY Muslim nation–and further alienate Muslims in the U.S. itself.
Cool! Then there will be world war 3 and muslims will attack christians all over the world. It will be soo much fun to watch!
Man oh man! This guy is two things: stupid and courageous. Courageous because he is truly speaking from his heart, telling the truth that he embraces and stands by his conviction. STUPID: These comments incite and invite more violence. There is no clear cut answer to end the terrorist threat, but blowing up innocent citizens in Mecca and Medina will make America a bigger terrorist threat to the rest of the world.
Quran, Chapter 105
[1] Have you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) not seen how your Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant? (The elephant army which came from Yemen under the command of Abrahah Al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka'bah at Makkah).
[2] Did He not make their plot go astray?
[3] And He sent against them birds, in flocks,
[4] Striking them with stones of Sijjîl (baked clay).
[5] And He made them like (an empty field of) stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle).
This moron is over-the-top ridiculous, even for a Repugnicon. Anyone who takes him seriously needs to be deleted from the gene pool before they breed.
oh my god, this is hilarious. you can't make up stupidity like the stuff the amazing Mr. Tnacredo dreams up! and having Bay Buchanan chiming in makes it even more delicious. Vote for Tancredo, if only for the nonstop laughs!
Idiotic and unChristian does not begin to describe his remarks. We can defeat Islam again as we have for centuries, with power and charity in equal measures. You don't win converts or those in the middle by attacking non-military targets. By his logic, the Vatican and all Christian holy sites are fair targets. Tancredo is not credible. End the campaign now. Please.
Oh for heaven's sake! What kind of a MORON is this guy??? This makes us better than the terrorists??? What about all the law abiding, Koran-following Muslims who worship at those sites and are just as appalled at the deeds of terrorists as we are??? This just exhibits your ignorance of the world and other religions and your bigotry! Shame on you, you IDIOT!!!!!!
As a Muslim, I'm a bit confused to hear a fellow American speak this way. The truth is that his logic is as faulty as all those fanatics' that he fears so much. Their thinking is "we hate America, let's bomb a mall." Huh? What?!? His "strategy" does nothing to address the threat these fanatics pose. Imagine their side of things, if they can get him to bomb the holy sites, it would be a monumental PR coup for them. They'll no longer need a reason to recruit. Period.
This guy is a nut job. Attacking Muslim holy sites would turn the whole Muslim world against us. That includes the Muslims living in our own country. This guy wants to be our president?
I think its pretty obvious this guy is trying to make headlines. Even if he didnt mean what he said...does he not see how easily his statement can be used by Al Queada for the purposes of recruitment. We're lucky the terror threat level didnt go up after that comment.
Don't be naive. We have NO allies in the mid-east. And israel is a bully and should never have been created. Religion is a societal crutch anyway – a way to control a populace afraid of death. So, tell the 'good', 'sane' citizens that we're going to make the mideast a quiet desert for a few thousand years and kill whoever is dumb enough to stick around that miserable piece of land.
An excellent idea, Mr. Tancredo! We will gather the Tiberium in the Arab states, and our Black Hand troops and Scorpion Tanks will occupy the Great Pyramid at Giza. Our Obelisks will take over the global networks. Then victory and global domination will be ours! Praise be to Nod!
(seriously, if Tom Tancredo wants to act like a crazy supervillian from a computer game, then let's treat him like a crazy supervillian from a computer game.)
The plethora of negative comments on this page is indicative of the fact that 9/11 and those responsible for planning it and financing it is just a distant memory for most. As some other posters pointed out it's basically the same as mutually assured destruction. And, God forbid, if a nuclear dirty bomb happens to hit the city in which you live and it is determined that the attack was carried out by citizens of our "friend" Saudi Arabia, a country whose Government funds mosques that teach hate and violence and train their people for this kind of action, and financed by their Government, who cleverly disguises and muddies the water when it comes to the question of whether they finance terroritst, then you might be singing a different song. The "kingdom" has been promoting terrorism with little fear of repurcussion for far too long.
Tancredo's resolution proves that he is nothing more than a dullard. By bombing Muslim holy sites, more fundamentalists will will join in jihad against the US, and there will be nothing short of a bloodletting- the size of which we have only seen in the movies. Honestly, how can Tancredo even fathom such an idea as viable? Is this the best we can put in government? And you wonder why the world hates us. It isn't because of our freedom; the swiss are free and nobody bombs them. The problem is our terrible foreign policy which idiots like dullard can only worsen...
I totally agree with Tom. If a Bully attacks hit them where it hurts. You cannot reason with these insane fanatics. Being a pacifist sounds nice but it doesnt seem to ever accomplish anything.
I love the idea.
Why be the world super power and not stand up for ourselves?
It didn't take Japan too long to figure it out.
Strike us, we destroy you.
Makes sence to me.
Since the Mahommedans are not overly concerned about their own lives, yet have an obsession about many geographic locations as "holy land" this might be the one thing that will at least make them reconsider their murderous, terrorist actions.
I agree! That's a powerfull threat & one they most likely will take seriously! It's about time for some tough talk from Washington. I'm sick of these whiners, including our current president. Could weadopt this guy to run for president? PLEASE!
The masses continue to believe that Islam is a religion of peace hijacked by a terroristic minority. Perhaps these types of threats/actions will force the masses of "peaceful" Muslims into action to police their own. That is assuming these "peaceful" Muslims exist.
That is the perhaps thee dumbest foreign policy statement that has ever been made by a member of the United States government. What an idiot. Such action would create millions of new terrorists that would not hesitate to turn America into a perpetual war zone. Such actions would feed right into the the lies propogated by Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al Zahari. They teach that the west seeks to invade and over run Muslim lands and destroy Islam. Bombing Mecca and Medina would prove them 100% percent correct even moderate / liberal Muslims.
How would Catholics respond if the Vatican was bombed by a foreign country? Millions would demand retaliation and hundreds of thousands would be willing to sacrifice their lives in order to do so.
Great Idea. Let's cut the BS. Why are our lives, society and families any less valuable than theirs. Deport Muslims pull out of the middle east and spend everything we have to get rid of oil. The truth is that Bush is Islam's greatest asset. He will never go against the oil industry and he loves the Saudis who publish school books about killing us. No one has figured out that the oil industry is Saudi arabia. We are going to be the first society that bought and paid for the weapons that killed us.
Actually, this may be an eventuality if things continue. We should never apologize to Islam, for Muhammad was a stone cold killer of innocent people-and WWMD (What Would Muhammad Do?) shapes Islamic thinking.
And their thinking, is their Achilles Heel. We should have already adopted a defillation policy if we weren't so maddeningly PC...in other words, FEED TERRORIST BODIES TO HOGS; and that will deter them quite a bit by denying them access to Paradise.
Someone said the Saudis wouls shut off oil to us if we bombed mecca....
NO WAY! They have nothing else to sell but sand, and we already have sand here. They would still love to sell us the oil. Did Muslims care who they killed here? They are born to kill... time to face the fact we are in a "holy war".
Dear Mr. Bubble head
Two wrongs never make a right
wrong + wrong = 2 wrongs
They want to follow the Koran, ok, we'll follow the bible, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Way to go Mr. idiot. It is better to think before opening your mouth. Think what is achieved with this insane behavior?
Hmmm isn't this like threatening to blow up St. Peters because some fighters in, let's say, Ireland, happened to be Catholic? I don't think threats to holy places of devout millions are any kind of deterrent to the relatively few radicals and would only galvanize people against the U.S.
excellent AAA +++. been saying that for months now!!!DO IT !!!!NOW!!!
Finally a political canditate with BALLS!
I agree–you kill my wife, mother or children, and we NUKE your most sacred sites.
Not an OFFENSIVE measure, but a RETALIATORY measure.
He has my vote.
Or do you prefer Harry Reid to respond to insane Islamist extremists??
If he wishes, I'll press the button personally while holding a picture of my loved one lost, just like those who hold pictures of lost ones from the barracks in Beirut, Somalia, the USS Cole and at the Trade Centers, Pennsylvania field and Pentagon. Not to mention our bravest warriors and fallen ones in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Has anyone from CNN ACTUALLY STUDIED EVERYTHING SADDAM HUSSEIN DID HIS CAREER OF TORTURE, RAPE, DEATH and MASS HOLOCAUST???????
What would George Washington or Abe Lincoln do???
Let history be the teacher. Study the words of Sir Winston Churchill who pointed out (unfortunately) that Hitler could have been CRUSHED by the French in the five years prior to WWII and the deaths of 40 million plus.
This is an outrageous and dumb idea. I* think that if he (the US) bombed the holy land of all holy land's (Mecca)and (Medina) where would the Muslims turn too for holy prayer..that would be 10 times worse then bombing the pope at the Vatican. The Muslims would be in an uproar. This would not stop Muslims from fighting the Americans..it would get all Muslims AGAINST AMERICA including the ones that are living in it. This man is obviously not mentally capable of being any kind of leader.
Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) worked against the Soviets for over 50 years. I agree with the Colorado Senator. We should retaliate against the terrorist sites if we are ever attacked again. It was a very effective deterent. If their goal is to bring down western civilization we should also bring down their civilization. What sane person would ever wage war if they knew that their homeland and everything that they loved would be totally destroyed. However, we should never do this if we are not attacked.
with comments like that, i forget who the real terrorists are. how did this man ever get elected to any political office?
Good idea Tommy.
While we are at it, let's nuke Iran, North Korea and the other people we don't like. Then we can live in peace. It will work out just like our master plan in Iraq.
Tommy is so smart... I am sure even smarter people actually elected this guy with an IQ of 10. I am surprised that you aren't president yet. Osama would definitely vote for you, you are the perfect one to recruit off.
And for all those Tommy-supporting morons, go light on the beer, and beating your poor wives. Americans are not as stupid as you all, so stop making us all look bad.
perhaps this moran should look at adjusting US foreign policy. this person is completly devoid of any comman sense!
What a moron.
"bombing holy Muslim sites would serve as a good “deterrent” to prevent Islamic fundamentalists from attacking the United States"
Yeah. I don't want this guy in office. Or in politics all together. Uh, is anyone here a psychiatrist? Pencil Tancredo in please. Well it is good that he came out and said this. Hopefully it has tarnished all hopes of him becoming president or taking any serious political roles.
I think I'm gonna hurl... This guy is played like a pro by the extremists. This is exactly what they would like to see happen.
Maybe we should stop listening to the dribble of the GOP or Democrats and actually vote for a statesman... you know.. like Ron Paul.
If you want to learn more, click on http://www.ronpaul2008.com. Also, study him up on the issues sites, like vote-smart etc.
Tancredo's suggestion to nuke Mecca may sound crazy, but what other response makes sense? If millions of Americans are killed in a muslim terrorist attack are we supposed to just wring our hands and wish it would stop? Mecca is more than just a holy place in Islam. It is one of the cornerstones of their religion. Even a terrorist would understand this. Tancredo's idea holds some seeds of brilliance.
Liberals – Have you spewed enough insults yet? I have yet to hear a better suggestion come out of the mouth of anyone that has criticized him. I know! Maybe we should surrender the world to Muslims, succumb to Shari ah law, and live happily ever after in an oppressed country. No thank you.. i support Tom, his immigration plan, and his voting record in the Congress. He can't be any worse than Bush or Bubba (the President that committed multiple crimes while in office.)
Personally, I think it is a good idea. If you can't beat them, join them. Let thier innocent reap the whirlwind of the actions caused by the ignorant few fundamentalists. We are too nice, if they are going to really hate us let's give them a good reason.
Bomb them all, I really don't care.
What else would those of you that disagree suggest. If we are hit again, all bets are off and you can forget diplomacy and political correctness. We should be th war mongering cowboys that all expect of us anyway and who they come calling for when they need help.
As for the comment that Tancredo was wrong on the illegals, maybe you shoudl think of the possibility that bridges wouldn't be collapsing if we did not have the economic strain of 12 million plus non citizens.
I geuss I dont realize how bombing Islam Holy Sites is going to serve as a deterent. If anything it will turn the public against us and turn this into a holy war. As history has shown us no one wins in a holy war.
I'm actually glad that someone is standing up to the terrorists. We don't actually have to follow through with this threat, but the ball is in their court. We will not attack them unless they attack us. But I agree that there needs to be a deterrent of immense magnitude to prevent another attack. This may be just such an idea as there is nothing more sacred to their fundamentalist ideas than those cities.
I think this is the kind of thing that Al Quaeda is trying to get the U.S. to do. Remember that they are very weak on their own and their strength only lies in how they can get the U.S. to act. I think that many of our responses to their terror are exactly the types of responses that they are looking for.
If the terrorists are willing to hide out in "holy sites" then they're the ones putting them at risk.
Until you realize that because of their religion they cannot hate us anymore than they do already, you cannot win this war on extremism.
We should have hit Mecca and Medina on Sept 12 ,2001, just for a warm up.
Why do all the chickenhawks who never went to war always want to bomb and kills as many people at one time just for the sake of looking tough. I always find this so strange. Next the guy will be talking about bombing Mexico to fix the immigration problem.
Loser............
Tancredo and his sympathizers (including some losers posting on this forum) should be arrested and charged with making terroristic threats. Terrorism has nothing to do with the religion of Islam. Sincerely seeking knowledge is a cure for this type of blatant, compounded ignorance.
Incidentally, as a scholar of Islam living in Mecca said: "We say to these criminals and their envious supporters in Europe and America: You are blaming others for your very own crimes [i.e., terrorism]!
Let it be known that never did Muhammad (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace), nor his righteous successors or any of his honorable companions, ever establish factories for even the most primitive of weapons, like swords and spears, let alone atomic bombs, long-range missiles, or any other weapon of mass destruction.
Never did Muhammad (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) build a single weapon factory. Rather, he was sent as a mercy for the entire creation, to guide all Mankind towards happiness in their worldly lives and in their hereafter, such that they fulfill their Creator’s right upon them, for it is He who created them to worship Him alone. Whoever rejects this is truly a criminal deserving punishment in this life and the next, by the Lord of all that exists, the Creator of this universe and its Master."
See the full text at http://bakkah.net/articles/defense-muhammad.htm
Sounds like a fantastic plan.
I've thought about it before, but finally someone from Govt views the same ideas.
Love the idea – When can we get started??
Has this man heard of "diplomacy" and "retaliation"? He is a presidential hopeful??!!??? Remember that he also called South Florida a 3rd world country. Mindless. You people in CO should be apalled!
As a muslim man this is the type of vain talk that can completely tear apart relationships. People have to realize that for every 1 extremist their are 100 honest hardworking muslims in this world. Those 100 people are the ones who are hurt by this comment and others just like it. The leaders of this Great Country need to encourage positive solutions to this problem. You don't fight the monster by becoming the Monster yourself. This man should be ashamed to display such hatred on his powerful arena.
Whose government teaches hate and violence???? Tancredo has done nothing but try to invite a terrorist attack and make things worse for our troops on the ground in Iraq. He should resign. Today.
In fact,Bin Laden in 30 days, or Mecca is a hole on the ground, just like ground zero.
His comments were referring to retaliation for a NUCLEAR attack by terrorists.
he was not saying we would attack Mecca if a suicide bomber blows up a building.
You people are completely misrepresenting what he is saying. There is video on youtube of his comments. He is talking about proportional response.
What do you propose to do if Washington DC, where I live, is incinerated by ansuitcase sized atomic bomb? Send flowers?
Stop confusing the issue. He was referring to retaliation for a NUCLEAR attack.
Once terrorists go nuclear, there will be no going back so making friends with al qaeda will not be an option.
The point here is to make people in the middle east get tough on terrorists inside their own country.
Again, he was referring to retaliation for a NUCLEAR ATTACK. That would be unprecedented and cannot be compared to suicide bombs in Isreal or London.
Yes: Achilles had a heel too and we must asault this Evil where the vulnerability is greatest. Fundamentalism, Islamic, needs to be confronted, converted, and annihalated.
Now, listen to me: not your routine law-abiding redneck, black, italian, or islamic. I'm speaking of those that would kill your sons and daughters (are killing) if they could and when they can.
I like Tancredo's statement and will support him 150% with all I have WHEN THE TIME COMES, AND IT IS COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m surprised at the vehement attacks against Representative Tom Tancredo. I do think it was a mistake to say the obvious. The radicals must be aware that if we ever are hit with a nuclear attack we will (those of us that are left) be crying for a reprisal against those that killed our loved ones and attacking anything that represents the attackers – including their holy places.
These radicals only understand the sword. Why do you think China & the Soviets are not plagued by the Radical Islamists? China is swift to retaliate, this is one lesson we should learn from them.
Those attacking Tom Tancredo should think about the fact that these radicals want us all dead, our parents, our children, our loved ones, everyone!
Let’s work together not attack each other.
The only thing Islamo-terrorists understand is Power, Fear and Death now he is speaking their language. All of you who think he's nuts, would be the first ones beheaded by the terrorists cause you have no balls. And by the way the last time we tried this it WORKED and saved probably thousands of lives. Remember Hiroshima?
This is absolutely terrifying. By attacking holy ground, we would not be waging a war on terrorism, we would be waging a war on the Muslim religion.
Considering that Islam is the second largest religion in the world, with over 1.3 billion followers, it would be ignorant for us to assume that we could possibly PREVENT violence by executing that type of retaliation. God (Allah, Yehweh), save us all.
Tancredo is irresponisble and should be held responsible for his words. His televised comments as well as his quoted words will undoubtedly end up on many Terrorist-sponsored sites. If there is an attack on the US, some of us might be willing to place blame on Tancredo and his "reprehensible" and offensive words.
Beware of fighting the monster... less you too become the monster
The Republican Party should not have a single delegate vote for Tancredo during the caucuses, or simply, they should ask him to stop campaigning. Giuliani, Romney, Huckabee, et al. should be ashamed to share the stage with this nutcase.
Good for him finally a politician with some "nuts", We should stop playing by the book and take out their sacred dwellings they are doing it to us! He has my vote for Secretary of Defense!
Its called the Law of Armed conflict from the 1949 Geneva convention. Look it up Tom!
I hope he gets the Republican nomination for president.
His plan will not work. Terrorists will think it is just some empty threat, and someone will commit a terrorist attack. Maybe some terrorists will be deterred, but it only takes one person or small group of people to commit a terrorist attack. You can be certain that if we bomb Mecca or Medina in response to one person's terrorist attack, there will be immense consequences that could potentially lead to the end of the world as we know it.
idiot. shame on those who raised this guy & on whomever taught him politics and respect. these are disgraceful comments from someone who is supposed to represent the people in this respectful country.
This guy would be best friends with Glenn Beck and that Biggotted Conrgressman from Virgina (cant remember his name) as well as the same idea was proposed by Sen Jon Kyl from Arizona. Thankfully he will never get a RNC Nomination.
I would have to believe that our government has already, very quietly, made the same threat. The Islamists hold no territory to protect, so the only feasible deterrent is against their religion
I'm a Staunch Republican and that's a load of crap. He needs to be removed from office period. let alone the presidential race
Eventually, some Muslim whackos will try another 9/11. Probably nothing will deter these fanatics, but I sure think we should respond by dropping a H-bomb on Mecca. Our Trident submarines have the coordinates.
Wow. This guy is stupider than Bush. Why don't we just blow up all the holy lands in Israel first and give them their land back and let them live out their lives without our occupation and political interests.
Maybe Muhammad did preach peace, but try telling that to the Muslims blowing up buses and subway stations.
What's the problem? We have the firepower, but we're unwilling to use it to full advantage. These vermin kill, murder and annihilate with abandon, knowing that we won't do to the what they are willing to do everywhere in the world.
If it's a choice of hitting two million muslims while they "rally round the poles" waiting for some kid to appear after drowning hundreds of years ago, and my family being in a building that has just been leveled by some muslim vermin, I choose the 20,000 lb MOAB dropped right on Mecca.
How many virgins would that make us liable for?
NO ONE WANT PRESIDENT LIKE YOU
you just lost a lot of vote ,
Shame on you , we all should look for peace not for boming holy places
I begin to see why the bible says that only a remnant will come to believe in Jesus Chriwst as our Lord and Savior. All these appeasers sound like school kids. Just ignore them and they won't hurt us. Bull. The war is coming... like it or not... and unless you want to live under a dictator, you better start thinking of how you can protect this country.
While that seems extreme right now, what is the alternative? When (not if) the terrorists get weapons of mass destruction, how many here or abroad must die, before someone takes action to stop it. Those countries targeted have been on the defensive way too long and if the threat of attack on their holy sites gives those funding their actions a reason to stop, I'm all for it!
Truly spoken like an American.
This is the only language the islamist terrorist will understand !!
Hey Tom Tancredo
Today is not April fool to make jokes. What part of the world you woke up today?
In 9/11 we lost more than 3000 people who belongs to many belief. After we lied to the whole world about WMD, we lost more than what we lost in 9/11 in the name of freedom, and we said to the world we are not against Islam as terrorist claim. There are more than 1 billion Muslims in the world and we go and attack their holy cities and what we suppose to expect from them and peace deal?
Here is the real question. Why we make Islam or any other religion with terror. To be just we have to call Tom as Presbyterian terrorist. Wake up America, we are guided by fools and narrow minded. What more we need to wake up!!
Call his office at 703-255-9898 or 515-268-3341 and let him know America is not behind him for another attack!!!
His comments show how ignorant he is of foreign affairs. all allys in the middle east regardless of how strong ties are will not stand by america if they attacked muslim holy sites. Come on retaliate on muslim holy sites, he's no better than the terrorists. With his statement he basically says that ALL muslims are responsible for terrorist attacks, which is ridiculous. He says “This shows that we mean business,” from my point of view his suggestion would mean the beginning of a never ending world war. He is a state representative, he should be more aware of his naive statements.
I think it is a great idea. We need to identify the enemy,Islam, and let them know that we will fight back. The moslems have no problem killing Christians and destroying Christian churches. Why should we not hit them where it hurts.
Finally, somebody to deal with these animals the only way THEY understand. I hate violence. But enough is enough. Like the bible says, an eye for an eye...
Tom Tancredo's "option" of detering another terrorist attack by bombing Mecca and Medina would fulfill al-Qaida's prophecy that the United States is attacking Islam, not terrorism. That would make them appear truthful and moral. Is that the message about al-Qaida we want to send to the world?
It is as if Saudi Arabia were to "deter" the United States from attacking Mecca by bombing Washington D.C.
Now does that make sense?
For the record, bombing Mecca and Medina would make us the religious terrorists, since most Muslims have nothing to do with al-Qaida.
Jean Rosenfeld, Ph.D.
historian of religion and violence
If this guy gets a chance to push the red button, I (a White American male citizen) would probably take up arms against the U.S.
I support that. NYC and WTC are American Icons. The attackers chose them because of thier iconic status. Perhaps a real threat on thier icons would generate a great deal of self policing.
Amen to that! This is the 1st idea to make sense. That would really make the "Moderate Muslim" stop turning a blind eye to the extremists. If we threaten this and a terrosist attack happens the blame falls at the hands of the terrorist attackers. They can't take hostage all that we value and not think we won't do the same in return!
Real smart guy you elected in Colorado. Way to go folks. Nice work.
I mean come on sequels are a great thing but I don't think Crusades II Middle East Must die, is not a very good working title but I guess we could then look forward to Crusades III Third times a Charm?
This is the worst thing I have heard in a long time. I would expect this from a naive middle schooler, not a "well informed" presidential candidate. How pathetic he should step aside NOW...
Is'nt that called terrorism.
CNN should be put behind bars for incitment to terrorism !!!
First and foremost I want to thank the people in here who doesn't support this person's idea. I am not here to comment on Mr Tancredo, just want to shed some light. If I was not Muslim I would be pissed as hell like some of you guys are here. I absolutely understand where your anger is coming from. However, There are millions and million and muslims out there. Not just the ones in Middle East but in Asia, Europe, Noth America, just about every corner of the globe. We are sick and tired of these terrorist using the name of Islam for thier own incentives. Half the muslim countries around the world are 3rd world countires, so therefore, they can't fight against these terrorists. Some muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and UAE are our(USA) allies. What I'm trying to say is not ALL Muslims are terrorist and targeting Mecca would just make things worse. It will make every Muslim in the world mad. Countries such as, Albania, Turkey, Bangladesh, Bahrain, UAE and countless others have done nothing to America then why should America punish them for few bad apples.
I always try to say something worthwhile and constructive, but I'm at a loss on this one. What a moron.
Good for him. I'm tired of radical Islamists being catered to. If violence and death is what they want, give it to them.
to Jason, Richmond
I am talking about that Idiot , sorry don't have time for you , I still believe in peace , oklahoma boming did not happen by muslim, that does not make all christian bad
I suggest that this guy have a lecture on what Islam is from a knowledgeable person. Comments like this usually stem out from ignorance and disinformation. Moreover, he should take time to go to the ME and look over it's history. A research on world history and the role of America, both good and bad, should also be on his list.
"Whats more important,new york(the center of the gobal economy, millions of lives, the countries’ finacial capitol) or a mosque with a rock in the middle of it?"
Martin from Toronto, are you suggesting we bomb Israel? I think CNN should block you from posting you anti-semite.
Thats a very good idea!!
Then lets watch all 1.4 billion "sucide" bombers destroy every inch of this planet.
This guy is better than Bush
finally...someone has balls to say it. we can't all just sit here and wait for some catastrphic attack (like 9/11 or worst). the terrorist are openly saying how they are trying to destroy us, and everything that is important to us. Just like with Iran, that has been taunting us and the UN because neither of us is doing anything about their nuclear power, the terrorist are doing the same thing. they know, we have to be a politcally correct world power. i say screw it. they bomb us we bomb them. regardless of what country they are, ally or not. that country's government should be well aware and responsible of the terrorists in their country and put an end to them. they cant tell us they support us and let terror organization that want to harm us exist within their borders.
Yep, Mecca is in Saudi Arabia, and they are "Supposed" to be our allies. Where is Osama Bin Laden From ??? Saudi Arabia! Its always fun to see the Liberal answers to "suggestions" such as this. Ohh we can't do this or that we'll piss somebody off. God forbid we piss somebody off we might not be able to buy our cheap stuff we import from all over the world or we might hurt someones feelings. Unbelievable we've forgotten 9/ll so quickly and what the Islamist and that religion have done. Whats it gonna take folks another attack on New York or one of our other cities. This is just another tool in the tool box we have to use.
I'm all for a Crusade, its coming just a matter of when.....
BTW, Tancredo got a psych deferment to get out of service in Vietnam.
Fantastic Idea. Jail relatives of suicide bombers while you are at it!
This is the (a)moral equivalent of saying "If a Christian Right-to-Life advocate kills a doctor who performs abortions, then pro-choice advocates are justified in bombing churches in retaliation."
What an idiot.
I AGREE WITH TOM TANCREDO.
Islamaphobia at work again. Terrorists can bomb our cities, our churches, our childrens' schools but we can't even talk about attacking what is about the only thing they care about....Allah! Until Americans learn to stop pandering to this group, we'll never be able to stop them.
When did this become a religious war? I never thought I would see the day that Hitler would re-incarnate himself. I guess the day has come. No surprise he's a republican.
He hit it right on the button.We must give them somthing to be afraid of,instead of waiting for threats and fear to consume our feeling of safety and security in our every day lives.The only answer is to take away sites that are most important in thier history and culture.
How many innocent lives would be lost in a strike on Mecca and/or Medina?
How would terrorists react to such an attack?
In WWII the Japanese fought to the death for their "God" the emperor: sound familiar. How did we beat them? We nuked them, and made the emperor renounce his deityship. No religion, WWII over. For a muslim to be saved, they have to perform the Hajj. They cannot perform the Hajj if Mecca and Medina is radioactive dust. The first tenant of Islam is, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet. Allah's house is literally the Ka'aba in Mecca. Allah's house radioactive dust, The holy city of Mecca, the city of the prophet, the black stone from heaven in the Ka'aba, all radioactive dust. It's over. No religion, war on terror over.
Once again politicians like Tancredo and Obama prove that they have no clue about the world they live on!These kind of dumb talks will not help American troops in foreign countries...........
I'm with you Tom. I hate to say it but we are bound to fight in accordance with the Geneva and Hague conventions but our enemies are not bound to do so. An eye for an Eye I say, good bye Mecca!
Jihad (in Arabic, "struggle") is a central duty of every Muslim. Modern Muslim theologians have spoken of many things as jihads: the struggle within the soul, defending the faith from critics, supporting its growth and defense financially, even migrating to non-Muslim lands for the purpose of spreading Islam. But violent jihad is a constant of Islamic history. Many passages of the Qur'an and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad are used by jihad warriors today to justify their actions and gain new recruits. No major Muslim group has ever repudiated the doctrines of armed jihad. The theology of jihad, which denies unbelievers equality of human rights and dignity, is available today for anyone with the will and means to bring it to life.
If Jalal Talabani said, "If you invade Iraq, we'll blow up Salt Lake City" there is nobody who would find that a reasonable or sane statement. It's terrifying that this man is actually a part of Congress. His statement is not a deterrent, it's an incitement.
Tom Tancreado is reaching for something that might have a desired effect on the muslim extremeist; I have seen nothing else that might have the desired effect. I believe that to follow the lead of Black Jack Pershing is the way to stop these murderous religious thugs in thier tracks. They do not mind killing innocents in the name of thier religion... perhaps it is time to destroy thier religios icons.
If some Christians are doing something wrong in Ireland, you cannot bomb the Vatican. Likewise, if some crazy Muslims(!) are doing terrible things you cannot bomb the Holy shrines of 1.8 BILLION Muslims. This guy is playing with fire as big as the Sun in the sky. He is absolutely crazy. I am outraged.
Jack,
This is something I advocated shortly after 9/11. As far as the holy sites being in an allie's country, Al Queda already think we defile the holy sites by our presence in Saudi Arabia. When Lebanon was comming apart in the 80s and insurgents were kidnapping professors from the American University, a diplomat from the USSR was snatched from the street. The soviets knew who did it but not where he was, a couple days later a package arrived at his home. It was delivered to him in his hideout and when it was opened he found his brother's head in it. His group didn't target the citizens of the USSR after that.
It's not punishment unless it hurts.
OH YEAH, just what we need...another cowboy.
Who in their right mind thinks it is a goood idea to bomb ANY city or religious locatiuon? this makes us how much better than our terrorist enemies?
Is there a single sane person running for any office?
I have no problem with doing just that, If we can prove that it was Muslums that were behind any attack.
While we're bashing Tancredo on his stupid comment please take a moment to go evaluate your favorite candidate's rhetoric on these issues. You should be just as alarmed when they claim they "won't take a nuclear option off the table" in regards to Iran (Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Hunter, Gulliani, Romney, McCain). And no it's not any different. These people will not stand down from our current policy. It's frying pan or the fire in their world-view.
Thanks Tom for clarifying what a lot of us already knew. There is only one viable conservative in the race. He happens to be for peace. His name is Ron Paul.
Many Muslims are already upset that the US has military in the country where Mecca and Medina are. How is bombing those sites going to make Muslims less angry and make the US more safe? Thankfully, Tom Tancredo has no chance of becoming President.
Thank you America. The way you have commented and condemened the good congressman's statement. From a Muslim please accept my thanks.
Wow, Tancredo proves that the Republican Party is still full of bad ideas. Hey America, would you like to know how to get all 1.4 billion muslims to want to come an blow stuff up? Bomb Mecca.
Idiots abound in the GOP.
Hmm. Supposedly Hitler considered bulldozing the Vatican but decided it would not be a good idea.
But let's look at some numbers.
Based on polls, 88% of Americans believe in God.
Also based on polls, 90% of Americans think we really did land a man on the moon.
My unofficial analysis shows that about 93% of the CNN bloggers disagree with the congressman from Colorado. The only thing I can think that compares to this number is when 93% of the citizens of western Nebraska voted incredibly popular football coach Tom Osborne to Congress. (He was unopposed.)
The only number that apparently exeeds that is from an earlier (Muslim) blogger who said "He is being a racist with that comment, lumping all muslims into that 5% of extremists who are wrong in their interpretations of the Koran. " So that leaves 95% of all Muslims who think Bin Laden and company just don't get it.
Tancredo not only doesn't get it, he never had it.
So bombing the two biggest holy sites in the world is going to solve all the al-Qaeda problems. That's great. Now let's deal with the outcome. I'd say about two million more Islamic militants for starters, followed by terrorist strikes everywhere in the world, and finally a never ending war in the Middle East. Fantastic. When does it start?
It's an Idea. That's all. Not a plan or even an option for that matter. I like the fact the the man would be willing to go to extremes to protect the country.
What an idiot. How did a fool like this ever manage to get elected? I thought people in Colorado were smarter than that.
Tancredo should have his head examined. Action such as he suggests would bring about the worst result this world has ever seen. Bombing Mecca and Medina is unspeakable.
I think its a great idea.
I see a lot of "wow, what a nut" but it is this line of thinking, Mutally Assured Destruction, that prevented nuclear exchange with the former Soviet Union.
That policy was also "insane", but it was precisely its insanity, fully commited to by a nations leaders that prevented a superpower war beyond simple conventional proxy wars.
As Americans, if there is anything that we can do to help calm down anti-American sentiment, then we should be doing it. On the other hand, I keep hearing that "it is only a tiny percentage of Muslims who are acting out by becoming terrorists, and the vast majority of Muslims are hard working, normal people." Well this is a call to all the hard working, normal people of the Muslim world: Take care of this problem on your own soil, on your own terms. Why let a few of your countrymen make a bad name for the entire region? Stop these terrorists, and we won't have to.
These so called Muslim use Islam for thier own gain. They want you to bomb a holy site like Mecca. Only few radical muslims are creating havoc in the world compare to the 1.2 billion muslims out there. Bomb a Mecca you got 1.2 billion people coming after you. Keep in mind that while these people strap home made bombs on themselves and blow up people, we hired Einstien to make Atomic Bomb to nuke Hiroshima. We went to Iraq and destroyed a whole country when it was osama that bombed twin tower. do you get my point here. Most of us believe islams teachings tells its people to kill all non-muslim but does christianity tells its people to kill innocent civilains, I think not. We should not have to stoop down to these radical muslim's level. Not all muslims are bad. We are bigger than that and thats why we are the greatest country in the world. PERIOD
As a proud American and a proud Muslim, I am speechless. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely opposed to extremist Muslims who resort to violent acts of cowardice, and I think we should do whatever we can to stop them (and yes, I do my part in publicly confronting this extremism). But why, oh why, would we threaten to attack the very cities that are holiest to someone like me? I'm not a fan of Saudi Arabia, but those two cities in particular mean a lot to me. There are over 1 billion Muslims in the world. To punish all of them, including loyal American moderate Muslims does not seem to be congruous with the very American values that I have always been proud of. I recognize my bias here, but judging by other responses, I don't see how it is apologetic or politically correct to declare Tancredo's statements misguided. Bombing Mecca and Medina will only radicalize the silent moderate majority! Isn't this obvious? It will certainly not make them sympathetic to our cause. To borrow Tancredo's words, "If I am wrong, fine, tell me."
so, lets see. israel has had nuclear weapons for some time now- no one seems to care about that though.
let the extremists fundamental religious idiots (judeaochristian/muslim) take each other out and maybe we can move onto some real issues in the world.
Muslims have declared war on the West and have vowed our destruction. How much more can they hate us? If they bomb one of our "holy" cities we should react in kind. That is what this enemy understands. Tancredo spoke what many of us have been thinking for some time.
This type of irresponsible and unreasonable comments will only add fuel to the very dangerous situation that we are in with respect to terrorism. This guy with such crazy ideas should not be among the policy makers.
Some of you just don't get it. You think you can apply a diplomatic solution to this problem with the Islamic fundamentalists. Do you not understand that they will not stop until every last one of them is erradicated from the face of the earth. Their goal is to convert all non muslims or kill them. That's it. You can't reason with these people. Yet the same tired elitist comments from the residents of NYC, SF – wake up people. If they get the ability to set off a nuke in either of those places they will not hesitate to do so.
Muslims only understand violence.
They don't care for human lives (theirs or others )
Funnily they care for that stupid box in Mecca.
So you threaten that stupid box.
Juvenile, but it works.
You can never have total peace with Muslims – just an uneasy truce
Folks, attempts at chemical, biological, or radiological attacks in one or more US cities are imminent.
A nuclear attack during the next Presidency is very likely.
The threat of retaliation will certainty increase cooperation among international parties in the Middle East on intelligence gathering to avert these attacks.
What's your solution ... denial?
Wow... as a Coloradoan I just don't know what to say, I didn't vote for this clown and boy am I glad. It isn't so much his ridiculous, insensitive and stupid idea, as much as this will be presented overseas and Muslims around the world will take this as a representation of our country. So terribly sad.
Depends on which holy sites.
The ones in Saudi Arabia – sure. Saudi Arabia continues to provide more than 90 percent of all al-Qaeda funding and volunteers worldwide, and exports radical extremist Wahhabi teachings to the UK and US.
But I can't see other countries.
Tancredo just came up with the right response to the religious maniacs. Now let's advertise this response loud and clear so that if it comes to that no one can say "we were not warned."
Things I have learnt from reading the article:
-Tancredo is insane
-Anyone in the US with enough campaign money can be a congressman
-1.5B Muslims in the world hate Tancredo
-Tancredo is in a way the Muslims Hitler
Tancredo, If I may suggest one thing, proceed with your plans in the Hajj season to get as much Muslims as possible
Putting this stuff on the table is a good idea, these debates are all about having a discussion about issues of the day. Too bad most are strung by political correctness.
All you folks who think it's politically incorrect to speak of such things, we'll see you you feel when a nuculear bomb takes out of or our cities, it's not a matter of if, but when. Not only will millions of us die, the world economy will go into a tailspin the likes of which we have never seen.
That is so wrong to say! He is so rude and ignorant for saying something like that. Mecca is the home of God for us Muslims. For one, you cannot punish all Muslims for something that a group of dummies did. For many Muslims, going to Mecca is a big hope and dream to them. If you destroy it, you are disrespecting and making all Muslims around the world upset and even more angry. Two, Making this kind of threat toward the Muslims is very racist and wrong. It doesn't show business dummy, it shows hate and racism toward muslims.
Is he crazy?!!! Two wrongs don't make a right. Get this guy out of there!!
Congressman you are insane..
Bravo! Finnaly someone with a plan. I'd vote for this guy in an instant.
This guy is absolutely insane. First and foremost, if the US were to be attacked by terrorists again (god forbid), he is only adding fuel to the fire if he were to bomb a muslim holy site. So far the "war on terror" is associated with extremists and is more about politics and oil, than it is about religions, but hey, im hoping everyone already knows that. Any bombing of any muslim religious site, would result in all the middle eastern nations coming together (for the first time in their history), to take part in what would be world war 3.
However, i am assured that this nutjob will never make it to any post, and their will always be good people around to stop idiots like him from doing stuff. Personally, charges should be filed agaisnt him and he should be removed from any political party he is representing for having non secular motives, while living in one of the most multi – cultural, secular countries. In short he has publicly shown his little knowledge of the whole issue with terrorism.
Yet another reason to vote for Mr. Tancredo (the only congressman with the guts to stand up to Bush on the immigration issue). I believe his statement here is very similar to the "mutually assured destruction" policy during the cold war. You may not like how it sounds, but it worked then and it just may work now.
Wow. Who votes for these lunatics? I'd like to ask him what we should do once we bomb Mecca. If we did, fanatics would make it their life long mission to destroy us. What should we use as a deterrent then?
First of all he is a moron.
1)saudi is an ally country to the U.S and he wants to bomb it along with the Muslim Holy sites which are supported World wide.
2) If he realy does get elected and bomb the place then this will be the start of WW3 between the muslims and the U.S.
3) U.s citizens then come and ask why do you hate us ? Why dont you like us ?Well this is a reason why, its because of morons like him.
4) its sad enough that the U.S elected a moron for a president and now you have someone more dumber and more idiotic with no sense of logic.
5) If the Muslim holy sites are realy bombed then the U.S should prepare itself for War along with Terrorism acts being done within the U.S more than ever expected along with the riots.
Hi,
I think at this point this is probably the only thing that would get the attention of Iman Alzawari And Ali Khamenei that any further talk of jihad and talking about attacking United States Interests around the world. We have an ancient constitution in the United States that truley preserves thw pursue of life in its most perfect way.
Respectfuly & Sincerely,
Mohammad Don Safaei
I equate Tancredo's brain to that of a terrorist. How did this idiot even get elected? He's not only a racist but a lunatic.
A classic "us" v. "them." Tancredo assumes all muslims are extremists and that all muslims want to kill "us" and that all of "them" own mecca and medina. After "we" bomb their sacred sites, they would then humble themselves and all of the sudden realize that we are right and they are wrong and thus the whole "clash of civilizations," that people like tancredo seem to love to create and continue, will end. Then we would all live happily and safe. He's a fool, but a dangerous fool.
Please can somebody tell me the meaning of freedom of speech as defined in the america constitution 'cos i dont see why such an enormous inciteful statement must not go unpunished.
What an idiot...the america government will have to call this guy to order to clear the mess he caused. the fact that he is a presidential hopeful leaves much to be deired. how did this kind of person gets to congress...
this is really a sad story...a pathetic one for that matter....
Um I read a lot of "what is he thinking" and a lot of "He is insane" "bad person" but I do not see any "what we should do's"? instead all the bashing and not a single idea of what should be done if we fall under attack. maybe wait for our ally/enemy government, to say it had no control over what its people did? so i pose the ? to you out there what should the US do as a Deterrent to terrorist attacks? what example should be made? a friend of mine (ex marine RECON) always said GO after the terrorists family's, I guess that’s bad to right? but remember it might be your family member that may be hurt in a terrorist attack SO what say you then? of course you will say AN eye for an Eye when it directly effects you!! or maybe talking might solve things? so what say you???? ideas not criticism would help here, BUT are we just ones to TALK and second Guess leaders after all they lead and all you do is follow
He should attack Mecca by all means if he thinks it is going to solve the problem, but he should first allow the pilgrims and civilians from there to relocate. BTW, Muslims can't protect Mecca, if God wills it to be destroyed. So Tom, bring it on....
The problem is any practice of any religion which runs counter to the foundation of that religion itself which is peace, brotherhood, etc. should be condemned by that religion’s religious world population and its leaders and regard its perverted practice as illegal. Those who perpetrate such acts should be regarded as outcasts and if needed be ex-communicated. The Muslim world is not doing this and that is why terrorists do anything they want in the name of Muslim religion. Bombarding Muslim holy places is not going to uproot terrorists and but would only flame hatred in the larger peaceful Muslim population.
This guy is a moron, lets put it this way, "what happens to a hornets nest when you smack it? You get the hornets mad, right? What does this guy think is going to happen if we (the USA) strick their religious sites. And he is a presidential hopeful?, look we already voted in a 'C' average president why are we going to listen to a 'D' average representative. If this Homeland Security thing is legit then there isn't much to worry about, these people are going to attack us no matter what, or die trying. I really think that the mentality of our government will change when the venue changes.
Force is the only thing these muslim extremists understand. I support this threat.
It may or may not be effective, but the certainty is that we cannot allow them to think there would be no consequences.
What a moron! It's no wonder everyone hates the U.S.
Thanks Tacredo for making an idiot out of yourself and realizing that you really DIDNT want a political position because now for the rest of your age you are going to never live down the day you opened your mouth and said the dumbest thing that would pop out of your head:)
P.S. Now everyone will have the pleasure of saying, "Tom who?"
I don't know what's worse... his ignorant suggustion or his ignorant supporters...
An eye for an eye makes the world go blind... all you supporters of such ideas forget that there are over 1 BILLION MUSLIMS... what would you do if you pissed off over 1 Billion people... not including all the non-muslims who support muslims... include all the non-muslims who support Islam you're talking about a couple billion people now...
These type of comments are unacceptable just like people who make comments against those of the Jewish faith... attacking people simply because of their faith will cause more problems
BINGO!
Sure Mr. Tancredodo Bird, and after we nuke Mecca and Medina, the terrorists will put up a white flag and cuddle up to us and whisper sweet-nothings in our ears and we'll live together happily ever after.
Japan was (and is) a country when we nuked them, and they surrendered as a country. You think the terrorists will all come together as a group and meet us in Yalta or on USS Ronald Reagan to sign the surrender documents, maybe?
Get real, idiot. You just painted a scenario for Armegeddon, you dolt.
It's true what they say about Americans: Anybody can run for President, to wit, Dubya and now Tancredodo Bird.
It sounds like a good option to consider for deterance.
If Muslims wish to bring terrorism to us, then the threat of terrorism back to them in a way that is meaningful to them, makes perfect sense.
.
Well, everyone seems to enjoy critizing the man. I am not fan, but he does go on to say :
"...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.”
I won't vote for him, but like he says, if he is wrong, (which I think so), give him a better alternative. I for one can't think of one, but hey, I'm not a politician.
Thanks.
K.
Whty is he "absolutely crazy," and his remarks "reprehensible." He is on the mark.
What is terrorism? if this statement was made by a muslim, we will all cry foul... and start hunting such for terror...Tom or whatver he is called is a terrorist by that statement and must be treated as such. This is a treasonable offence...Mind you I am a christian, a devout one.
Poor Tom, maybe the people of his state should put him somewhere where he will be safe from himself.
wow if this moron is elected prez i dont think just the muslims should revolt and kill us americans to you know the founding fathers warned us of this and cnn should censor this moron cause he will cause not muslimsradicals but countries against us also us cictens need to tell the wtold that these morons doesnot repersent us at all anyway ww3 will happen if this moron is elceted and the engliment era and revultion again should happen
John in Minneapolis:
"Obviously, by attacking our way of life for no other reason than it being different from their ways and beliefs, they care nothing at all about anyone but themselves."
No other reason? Jesus Christ people, wake up.
Tancredo must be out of his mind. Saying we should bomb Islamic holy sites as a deterrent to Terrorist. What dose he imagine will be the responce of the million of Muslims that are good people like you and me. Did he not notice we are at war with Al Queda, not Islam. If you don't know the difference you have no business in public office. How can people not understand that. This has to be the most ignorant statement made by anyone about the US terrorism problem. If he wants to be a Jesus warrior, why dosen't he start with all preists raping children and then covering it up.
How's Dip. 101 for his education?
oh, diplomacy i meant.
sounds like he's all prepared for another round of crusades.
i think this tancredo is a stupid idiot!! i dont see how he even got elected to such an important and respected legislative body!maybe he is trying to get some publicity for his surely losing cause to be elected as President.such hateful comments can only widen the gap between cultures and the worst part is some misinformed person might take it as an official position of the Government.this idiot has to be reprimended by the Congress!!
ps: is there anyway you can please forward this comment to him
This idea of bombing the holy site Mecca sounds like the dead-end road and don't guess me wrong but in term of deterrent policy it is the best message to our opponents when we mean business; I couldn't agree with Congressman Tancredo, however, I do believe the road we are on as far as fighting terrorism is still wide open of options available in term of foreign diplomatic policy, immigration policy, internationational financing policy, etc... Who would want to harbor terrorists unless the sovereign country itself is involving in terrorism.
Senator Tancredo,should have made the suggestion that worked for General patton. What Patton did was to bury muslums with pig entrails,that gets their attention.
What a nutjob. I hope he has a good golf course at his country club, 'cause that's all he'll be doing after the Election next November.
Even though I haven't attended church in years, I am still a Christian and I have to say that Tancredo's statement is absolutely the most disgusting statement any candidate has ever made. Bombing a Holy Site will only incite religious zeal and create fanatics and more martyrs. Holy Sites of all religions need to be respected and protected, not bombed in retaliation. Go back to your swamp and evolve a little more, Mr. Tancredo.
Bingo!! This guy has it right. We are in a holy war and the other side recognizes no boundaries. You don't have to weild a sword to die by one. Hoyner for President!
I don't know much about Sen. Tancredo's politics, but the idiot's at our state department are the one's who are “reprehensible” and “absolutely crazy.”
The Senator is absolutely correct. The Islamic world need's to be warned, if there is another major attack on the USA, then the holy sites will be completely obliterated.
If Islamic people in the USA are attacked, our police track them down and we prosecute them. We as a society prosecute them.
It is incumbent and about time that the entire Muslim world is told, " it's your responsibility to get your extremists under control! You are the people who can do the intelligence gathering in the area's where non-Islamic can not go. The moderates need to take responsibility for the extremists and discipline them!
We have alienated ourselves from the Muslims of the world for a few generations. Now, if this so called representative of the people of Colorado has his way, each one of us will have to defend ourselves anywhere we are in the world.
This guy is a freak. Good thinking buddy. Just another good ol' boy with a ding dong for a brain. God Bless us.
So you want to bomb a holy site just because someone in that geographic area attacks this country? You do not bomb Bethlahem because a white man attacked you. Sir, if you make the mistake and destroy a place like Mecca, I assure you, that that will be the last mistake you will ever make.
I couldn't agree more with this!! The reason America is not taken seriously in the Middle East is because we are too concerned with insulting anyone or crossing into their religious areas. Areas that they use for staging because they know we won't go there! The only way to get the ordinary people to turn against the insurgents and terrorists is to take the gloves off and hit them where it counts.
Bring our troops home and hit their sites with cruise missiles. You hit us....we hit you twice as hard!
o better deterent than that!!!!!
God Bless America!
We need people who aren't afraid of upsetting the terrorists. OOHh no the terrorists will be angry and bomb my shopping mall if I destroy their precious Mecca.. Lets just give them what they want and they will go away... NOT!
They want to kill us all. Wake up morons!
RIGHT ON , I AGREE AND CRAZY OR NOT HE IS RIGHT ON!!!
obviously this guy is not going anywhere... just trying to get attention by talking nonsense.
I cant believe that a person with such beliefs is even allowed to contend for our next president.
How different are you from the terrorists, Mr. Tancredo?? Fire your political advisor if you want to stay in politics.
You act like this just happened but this was a long, long time ago that Tom Tancredo said this. Personally, I think it is a great idea and that we should round up the ones here who are murdering people who own liquor stores and send them back home while we are at it. Search out and destroy all their little terrorist schools.......
I'm not so sure that bridge collapse in Minneaoplis wasn't a terrorist attack the they are keeping hushed up, either.
What a horrifying concept! Even more horrifying is the number of people who have commented in support of such a ridiculous, maniacal, and short-sighted proposal, claiming this small-minded puppet of the conservative GOP, who masquerades as a congressman and presidential candidate. Misquoting the Bible to rationalize this action not only doesn't give it credence, it actually does "embolden the enemy," as we are so often reminded by the ineffective leadership in the White House.
Amen!
another idiot politician in Washington. I suppose it doesn't help that he is Republican. I am truly happy to have left the US for several years abroad given the mentality of the current administration (and a good deal of Congress).
This is just clearly a case of another "elected" representative expressing his ignorance and lack of knowledge in politics, foreign policies, and understanding of a race and culture.
omg he's advocating terrorism, basically. what has this country come to?
i mean how can you be against terror if you advocate it against others yourself?
if anybody in the Muslim word is reading this, I apologize on behalf of all Americans and this great nation.
You gotta love how CNN is just another tool that politicians and lobbies use to reach their goals.
By saying insane things, Tancredo hopes now that Bin Laden or his assistant Al Zawahiri will mention his name in their next video clip...and that is going to make one hell of a campaign ad. It will go like this: (Tancredo...Bin Laden hates him because he is the best for America!!!)
People, by just suggesting attacking Muslim holy sites (or just featuring someone who wants to do the same) CNN is trying to make you familiar and accepting of other close but less insane ideas such as Israel controlling holy Muslim sites such as Eastern Jerusalem. Don't foget that Bush is pushing for peace between Israel and Palestine before 08 to save his Rep. party in the elections.
I can't believe this guy. There is nothing that the terrorists would love more than for us to make every Muslim in the world take up their cause. These places are holy to all Muslims, not just the crazies. So, why the hell would it make sense to piss off ever Muslim in the entire world, including all of them in this country. This guy doesn't deserve to be called a Republican.
Seriously, no thoughtful, caring person wants to destroy or hurt anyone or anything. However, in this case, Mr. Tancredo makes a valid point. I see nothing wrong in making policy that if our innocent citizens are attacked again by radical practitioners of religion AND WE CAN PROVE IT, we must permanently deny them the central focus of that faith by eliminating the source of their belief system, or things which they value highly. I see nothing wrong in destroying so-called Holy sites themselves, in the middle of the night, with short, advance notice, so janitors and others may be safely evacuated and the facilites reduced to rubble. Sure, it may be bad for a while, but then again, it may force seventh century thinking to give way to modern thinking where the rights of everyone must be respected. Diplomacy with people in the region simply does not work. Diplomacy is viewed as weakness. Only brute force or fear has any practical effect. A policy like this would force these folks to police themselves. And, in case of an attack, they would only have themselves to blame.
If having a democracy means allowing people to voice their ideas not matter how idiotic or reprehensible, can we please have an oligarchy or a monarchy?
I'm a bit confused, were these statements made by Bin Laden or Tancredo? Just amazing! Did the people of Colorado actually vote this guy in or did he just tamper with the votes to get his way into office? Instead of Congress, he should be working for the Bush administration. He'd fit right in.
It's about time that someone acted! We can't sit around so vulnerable as we are right now. We cannot succumb to the left wing political correctness as we have been. What's the alternative? Do nothing? Fight a stupid war in Iraq? We should hit the terrorists where they are and for whom they are.
I totally support Tancredo except that I would expand the threat of retaliation to all Islamic countries that that enforce Sharia in any way. And I would promise a nuclear response.
Absolutely agree, it's high time that we band together as the western civilization who is fed up with others who want to impose their way on us. How dare they think that they have the liberty to attack us wantonly because they disagree with us. It's obvious that these muslim killers have no concept of decency and will stop at nothing to kill children, women and anyone else who is not a fundamentalist.
another idiot who has no knowlegde of foriegn politics,will ruin this nation
that is a stupid thought. first al quida is not religious and just uses religion to gain support. Johnson's army tried to do that in Utah and failed. You hit a hornets nest and you don't destroy bees, you just get them madder. try to understand the religion and use a limited nuke on their location.
I do not think Tom has stated a guarantee that he would have these places bombed. However, an honest threat of retaliation/punishment may indeed be a good deterrent. It may also get assistance from others.
There are two motivations that can be imposed: a carrot and a stick. Many creatures respond to a specific one or both.
The terrorists tend to view strength in a more positive light and tend to disdain weakness. President Bush has stated that all options are on the table (which includes nukes) to prevent Iran from gaining access to nuclear weapons. Senator Obama has stated that nuclear weapons are not be on the table as an option. Which do you think is more intimidating? Of course, President Bush is a far cry (especially now) from President Reagan in his early years (where the Cowboy threat of attack was much more believable, and hence, unnecessary)
Hey I think that he is on to something here. I don't bombing Islam’s most holy site is too smart. A couple of mosques here and there wouldn’t be too bad, especially those that are allowing terrorist to hide out after attacks on our troops. Good idea Tom… Just scale it down a bit.
The lack of basic intelligence in this thread is appalling.
Islam wars on the non-Muslim world and most of you act like sycophantic lemmings willing to lash out at anyone you disagree with and anything you do not comprehend. When the next attack upon us happens, be hopeful it happens in time to stop us from being eroded from within by the "nice" Muslims you all seem bent on appeasing. Terrorism is the easy part deal with. Fools.
Tancredo got elected on his tired drumbeat against immigrants. The first commenter has it right- Mecca is in Saudi Arabia. Since they are considered an ally, they might take exception to Tom's plan to bomb their holiest site. Will he bomb the Vatican also because the Pope is against his war? The problem with being ignorant is that there is no incentive to deal with the truth because you get a lot of attention for saying whatever stupid thing pops into your head. Tancredo is an ignoramus; the current anti-immigrant atmosphere brought his air-headed campaign back to life. He is a disgrace.
Punishing all Muslims, by destroying holy sites, is only going to create more polarization between Christians and Muslims. These are historic sites that are important to our entire civilization, not just Muslims. I hope this spells the end for Mr. Tancredo's political career.
MAD worked once before. I personally do not want to be on the receiving end of a sick muslim terrorists idea martyrdom.
There needs to be some accountability in that culture where lies and hate are just part of the normal everyday life.
what a bloody moron!!! i'm surprised that this guy didn't suggest we bomb their schools and hospitals as well?? how did this guy even get elected!!
what the heck is this guy thinking. we bomb the civilians in retaliation for an attack on us. when has the united states sunk to the levels of the inferior terrorists. we needn't garner the further disapproval of the united nations and other nations of the world. i hope i never see the day when americans sink so low that they will bomb civilians in order to 'deter' terrorist bombings
Mr. Tancredo is probably the only "would-be-president" who's more crazy than our Mr. Ahmadinejad and your Mr. Bush...
at least Ahmadinejad doesn't have the capability to do what he says, and Bush doesn't have the time...
I remember the Clinton-Khatami days, those were the good old days...
Let me get this straight. I always thought what separates US (non-fanatics) from THEM (fanatics, in this case Islamic fanatics) is that they harm innocents, and we don't. Not intentionally anyway.
With this moron's idea we all go down to the same bargain basement level. Yup! GREAT IDEA Tancredo. Way to bring take us all down with you.
Your right, it would mean business. It would also mean total war, bring in the Saudi's and any other Islamic nation on the face of the earth. I could see the Islamic fundamentalists hitting their own holy targets and blameing the West anyway. Once again we have a politician opening his mouth without thinking through the consequences. That's how we have been lead for the past 5 years, it's time to stop. Oh where have the statemen gone? Evidently not in the United States Congress.
People calm down. The guy is a third rate politician who will never get elected. I have a better chance of getting abducted by aliens and anally probed then this nutjob ever getting elected president. If he ever got elected president, nah he won't,but just a hypothetical scenario, it will be they day america will be reduced to a beggar nation. Don't forget america is a debtor nation. All they have to do is stop the oil flow and sell their US treasury bonds. The world will follow and america will be carved up by the creditors. One other point to remember is that if the US ever attacked Mecca and Medina, Russia and China will not wait to be the next targets. They would preemptively strike. After all, if the US can bomb the holiest shrines of the 2nd largest religion on the planet, in their view whats stopping America striking them.
But as I said this moron will never be elected, so we can all sleep soundly. To all you buffoons that agree with him, go ahead and vote for him. No sensible candidate would want your vote. On a side note(to tancredo supporters), please go back to school and finish your GED and then go to college. Perhaps you might then start using some of that grey matter that you were born with. I am sure its depressing when a chimp can think better then you. Oh by the way, I need my sewer cleaned! Any tancredo supporters available?
Tancredo has got to be the worst representative ever. He should know better than to make such a comment. Not only is Saudi Arabia an ally of the US, but the cities of Mecca and Medina are holy to all muslims around the world. He obviously is not a qualified presidential candidate. Instead of trying to improve America’s image, he is making it a lot worse by making such an idiotic comment. It’s a good thing he is not the representative of my state, and I do feel bad for those people of Colorado.
It's a sad time in America when presidential candidates feel they can win votes by threatening to bomb other culture/country's religious sites.
What century is this?
What is he, stupid?!!
I am surprise to see that on one side we are calling people terrorists, extremists and bombing their homes and on the other hand people with same mentality are running for presidency. What a shame.
To Jason in Richmond ,Va
Don't ever forget your history. The germans were christians and they killed 6 million jews and millions of others. So should the jews now bomb every christian holy site?. That is the tancredo logic
It continually amazes me how some people think other people are cowards and will back down to a show of force. Did the united States withdraw from the middle east after 9/11? No. we attacked Afghanistan, and, wrongly, Iraq.
If we were to destroy Mecca, the muslim world would not back down in fear. They would recruit MILLIONS of muslims around the world, from EVERY country, including our own, to hit back in every conceivable manner. What's more, it would be a memory in the muslim mind that would not be forgotten for hundreds of years, maybe thousands. There would be no possibility of peace, ever. It would confirm every terrorists' accusations about the west.
Finally, someone who understands real life situaions and acts accordingly. The only way to stop a bully is to fight the bully.
Are you out of your mind! Why would you say something like that?!? And act like it's okay. I'm incredibly angry that someone running for the Republican nomination would even open his mouth like , the bigot he is, and spew hatred out. I'm personally a Christian, and I respect other's religious beliefs. To me that's an act of terrorism. To terrorize a large group of people with the same religion based on a couple of wack jobs in the mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan border. For all the times that some groups of so called Christians killed innocent people(Native Americans, etc) and enslaved others in efforts to convert them. As a God fearing and people loving person, I know, trust and believe that there is no one group of people who are evil. In the notion that God created all people on this beautiful Earth equal, that is a fact. So Muslims are not evil. In fact Muslims, Christians, and Jews have a big factor in common, we all believe in mono-theism(one god). Like some Christians, Muslims have a spiritual connection to the main land of their religion. Mecca, the holy city, is where in the direction they pray to. A symbolism of their god itself. Destroying that, is like starting a publicized official "jihad" against Muslims. That would quote, 'cause a worldwide economic collapse'. If someone blew the Vatican off the map, I bet Catholics would be pretty pissed off. I would! The next thing you know someone like Tancredo would suggest us assassinate the Dali Lama, to let Buddhists know we mean business. To me it seems Tancredo is a terrorist. Someone should test him for madness, to make sure he can continue his job.
I am surprise to see that on one side we are calling people terrorists, extremists and bombing their homes and on the other hand people with same mentality are running for presidency. What a shame.
Elected by rural Colorado, is all I can say...
I didn't/wouldn't ever vote for him. This representation makes me embarassed to be from Colorado...
At least we have Salazar!!
How do you stop Islamic madmen with a bomb? Everyday in the mosques in Medina and Mecca hate is preached against non-muslims all around the world. Attacking Buddhist in Thailand to Hindus in India with many more non-muslims slaughtered without mercy all around the world. So put that into context that the center of Islamic hate comes from Mecca and Mednia then it is a legit strategy. People can say this is silly now but will you say the same thing after several million American go up in flames. When you see American children with their skin melted off hospitals you may sing a different tune. When those mosque leaders after the attack say one thing in English about peace and in Arabic will say the kuffar must die. There is nothing sacred about Mecca. Live with it. He is (and I say this with all sadness) is ahead of his time. Self-Preservation always wins any debate in the end.
So I can only assume that if a group of Christian militia members blow up another federal building that Tancredo will advocate attacking the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to deter other Christian extremists. Fair is fair, right?
How can you Americans vote for a guy like this?
He is right, these guys need to be put in place and I would support strikes against their holy places, you mean to tell me that the WTC aren't holy places for Americans
This is the most ludacris thing I have ever heard. We are against "Radical" muslims and the like. Not Muslims in general.
And to think the Christian right is worried about Romney being a Mormon...
I thought of this 5 years ago, and everyone looked at me like I'd just landed whenever I tossed the idea out. They seemed to be concerned we would alienate the supposed peaceful Muslim majority if we did something like this. The same peaceful majority that sits and quietly relishes every Al Queda attack and refuses to verbally speak out against the insanity. So what would we have to lose? These are the same people that say we would anger the world. So what would be new there? They're all angry out of jealousy anyway.
That is the smartest thing Ive ever heard.
What have we become? We are a nation who claims to believe in religious freedom, yet some of our political leaders are advocating bombing religious sites.
Whatever ignorant men and women like Tancredo think, there are millions upon millions of Muslims in the world who don't support terrorism. To advocate destroying the most sacred sites of their religion because of the actions of a few is monstrous. It reinforces the belief of many that the US government is run by Christian fanatics who don't actually belive in religious freedom, but who only want to see their religion elevated above all others.
How is Tancredo different from a member of Al-Qaeda? His proposed action is as evil as anything Islamic extremeists propose.
I pray for the US...we are becoming a nation as mired in hatred and destruction as the Islamic extremeists we claim to despise.
Another absolutely scathingly brilliant idea by Tom Tancredo. I agree completely. The only thing these barbarians understand is violence and if they want to bring it, than they should plan on receiving it too. It is better to give than to receive. Up to this point, we have been just to darn nice to these terroists. I agree with Tom, make them think twice about it.
I think its a great idea, under the right circumstances. For all of you that paid attention in history class, its called Mutually Assured Destruction. Kept the whole world from being nuked before, why not again?
This sorry excuse of a human doesnt deserve to represent any single American. He has no respect, decency or shame to suggest such a reprehensible thing. He has no respect for any faith, person or religion. SHAME ON HIM!
Finally I guess, thats the only language this kind of people understand!
What is scary about this is, this .. There are others who feel the same way.. I would too if I were a 3 year old....
We have free speech in America UK...you liberal fool
I agree!!!
I agree with Tom. However, I seriously doubt that CNN will show that agreement.
Hey D. Simpson from Orlando, Florida, how about you think about it for a minute? If you bomb Mecca you are bombing your common man's holiest of shrines. Muslim America, not to mention Muslims in every nation, would never stand for such an outrageous act. You do not understand apparently that MILLIONS of Muslims live shoulder-to-shoulder with you in the United States and abide the Qu'ran's message of peace and good will. The people who struck America in 2001 are EXTREMISTS, just like Westboro Baptist Church. Perhaps you think it's useful to bomb Topeka, Kansas to stop them from protesting soldiers' funerals and calling for America's destruction?
He's got my vote! I've said this for the past six years. We are in a new kind of war. If Islamic terrorists attack our country or our people in other countries, they should know that they risk the destruction of their holy sites. They don't respect human life, but they sure fly off the handle if someone looks cross-eyed at a copy of the Koran. Taking out Mecca (and thrown in Medinah, too) would be great. Let the other adherents of Islam police their own people.
It's refreshing to see that most of the comments posted agree that Tancredo is in need of psychiatric help.
If we can level German cities knowing that we would be burning to death the elderly, women and children (given that most men were in uniform and away fighting) and in so doing destroy parts of our own culture to include cathedrals then we sure can level muslim holy sites. This is war and it is total war with a people that do not seek our surrender but our conversion or death! Remember September 11, or Beslan, or any other brutal act comitted in the name of Allah and flatten Mecca the next time a child, a cripple or hundreds of other innocents are murdered in the name of Allah.
It may be extreme but so are the threats against us. I applaud a public person who has the guts to say what many already think. Playing cat and mouse in the hills and desserts is "their' game ...level the field.
This is possibly the worse idea I've ever heard in my entire life.
Some of these individuals are willing to blow themselves up for what they believe in. You can't deter a *fanatic*.
There are thousands and thousands of insurgents in the middle east, but there are *millions* of peaceful Muslims throughout the world, and destroying their holy sites would hurt these people just to get at a vicious minority.
It's sad to see people mistake Tancredo's short-sighted cowboy bravado for "guts." Courage is a valuable trait, but not when it comes at the expense of reason.
Great idea. Next time a Christian person performs an act of terrorism let's bomb Jerusalem, the Vatican, Notre Dame, Westminster Abbey and some church in Colorado. That'll show we mean business. If a Hindu does it, we'll slaughter all the cows on the planet.
Yes, Tancredo is right! Terrorize the terrorists!! Bomb the holy sites, not totally but partially. Remember it is their goal to totally wipe us off the planet isn,t it?? Do we continue to wait to wait to be hit?? Like sitting ducks?? Millions of lives are at stake!
Not Naive!!!!
Everyone seems to be missing the point..... In the fanatical Mulslim Islamist mindset and the sworn doctrine they live by, they will not stop bombing, killing, or attacking us until there is world wide Islamic domination (by force or voluntary conversion). Hopefully, no where in the near future will an idea like this ever have to come to be, BUT I assure you if we do not find some other way, politically, or diplomatically, then this idea might actually be the only true deterrent to stop these crazy idealogical zealots!!
Nice to see this level of negative response, and then another Ticker article blasts Obama for saying that nuclear strikes should not be an option. Good level of consistency. Hillary will be proud.
It's politicians like him that make me happy I moved to Canada.
How about a happy bomb?
way to go tom! bombing mecca and medina is REALLY the solution to all of this! wow. what a freakin IDIOT! if a single bee attacks you and you go destroying the entire beehive, do you REALLY think u'r gonna be safe after that? NO. duh. vote for this peabrain and that will one of the biggest mistakes of American history. lemme not get started with a lot of other mistakes America has made. attack mecca and medina, and muslims around the ENTIRE WORLD will be ready to fight. not just muslims. also the sane non-muslims out there as well. so pretty much, the majority of the world's population–and not just the muslim terrorists, who by the way make up a very small fraction of muslims all over the world– will become a threat to America. and if that happens, then you'll have Tom Tancredo to thank. bottom line: do NOT vote for him!
I like Mr. Tancredo's enthusiasm, but that is the most irresponsible comment I've ever heard. Mr. Obama has not done much better by suggesting he wants to go to war with Pakistan, directly contradicting his YouTube debate statement that we should talk with the leaders of the world - a response that met with overwhelming approval.
Look, I'm not impressed by this one-up-manship. We have to find a way to live together with the peoples of the world in some sort of compromise. We need to escape the attack mentality and look for a world where we can build on our strengths and common humanity.
Dear Sir,
Not only you are right,but this is the best way to deal with the Islamic foundementalists.
If you need more ideas please contact me. I was born in Israel and I am very familiar with the middle east and its religious fanatics.
Sincerely,
Steve R Fuchs, Ed.D.MHA
Grow up Rep Tom. Don't play media stunts at the expense of innocent peoples' feelings and beliefs.
Peace be upon all,
I was about to prepare my lunch and then I read this and now I actually feel nauseous. I don't know if my feelings will be posted or even read but I feel like I want to cry out to my Brothers and Sisters in humanity via this global portal. As a human being, as an American Muslim... I feel a pain so deep in my heart right now that language simply fails to express. And YES, I DID feel this way on 9-11 and also when I read the death-toll updates on both sides of invasion of Iraq. Terror and error is not the exclusive property of Islam or Muslims. Statements like this are what cause some to demonize Americans in general and even white people in particular -but I refuse to fall into either camp on either side. Arrogance and ignorance are the Weapons of Mass Destruction of our times and I seek to join hearts with those committed to fighting the War on Error!
As a Canadian all I have to say is wow, just wow.
I concur with Tancredo, unconventional times call for unconventional solutions.
Brilliant! And the next time the IRA sets off a car-bomb in London, England should nuke the Vatican–that'll show those Catholic terrorists! The next time some white supremacist blows up a federal building in Oklahoma, we should bomb...er...Montana? Jefferson Davis's homestead? No wait! The Jack Daniels distillery in Kentucky! That'll deter some rednecks all right!
Idiot.
Ummmmbbb Mr. Tancredo should learn geography first. Does he know where Mecca is? It's not in Iraq, Sir! Beyond that, it's ignorant and arrogant. He must be kidding.
One other thought, Before you just toss out this man's statement as sheer lunacy, remember that one man started making inflamatory statements against the Jews in the early 1930's. Most of the citizens and the world wrote him off as delusional before he became responsible for the destruction of Europe and a large part of the known world. The citizens of this country and especially Colorado need to make it distinctly clear that we will not stand for such sewage spewing from our elected officials mouths.
Good plan. Deal me in.
Is that not a terrorist statement ? Sounds like it to me
I think this is the key to preventing any future unprovoked attacts on our soil. Making a list and publishing it to the Arab world. "These are the cities or shrines that will be destroyed the next time you let terrorist do something stupid." Any future attacks would prompt further sites to be destroyed on the list.
Kind of like Nelson DeMille's book "WildFire", but instead of keeping it a goverment secret make it public. Cold War part 2.
How is nuking a city that is holy for millions of Muslims that do not agree with Al-Qaeda going to help us? Terrorists incorrectly use a very peaceful religion to fuel their cause, why just add millions of people to their side in one stupid move? Thank god everyone thinks he is crazy
That has to be one of the stupidest, most bigoted things I've ever heard of. That would be akin to bombing St Peter's in Rome if someone who's a Southern Baptist or LDS was to do something similar. This man wants to be President, and he isn't even informed enough to know the difference between Islamic radicals and huge majority of Muslims who live in peace with the rest of us. What an idiot.
I completely agree with his statements. "Eye for an Eye"
i'm now "dumber" for having read this. We're in a lot of trouble if this guy calls the shots.
There's a story in the Quran about an arrogant people who attempted to destroy Mecca in ancient times. "In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 1. Seest thou not how thy Lord dealt with the Companions of the Elephant? 2.Did He not make their treacherous plan go astray? 3.And He sent against them Flights of Birds,4.Striking them with stones of baked clay. 5. Then did He make them like an empty field of stalks and straw, (of which the corn)has been eaten up." From Sura The Elephant. God is enough of a protector for the believers.
Unfortunately Mr. Tancredo is not the only one . There're several "Tancredos" and other xenophobics in Washington that dont't represent the moral values of this great noble Nation. A declared enemy of any kind of a comprehensive inmigration reform he reflects the personality of someone that doesn't represent the will and the greatness of the American people ... But he's there, in a privileged position and getting some fun with the money our taxes ... Or does he works for free?
It's not bombing them that will end our suffering, it's border control folks! Abolish the ACLU and get down to REAL business...racial profiling. Yes, I said it. If the threat to the US comes from middle eastern males between the ages of 18 and 30, have every one of them that enters the US strip searched, questioned and generally harassed about their intentions upon entering the US. It won't be long before the "innocent" men that regularly receive this treatment become fed up and convince their "not so innocent" "brothers" to leave the US alone so they don't get harassed by the security in the airports, train stations, etc. Or better yet, close the borders to people from countries with "extreme religious" groups until that country fixes the problem on their own or withers without US aid. TALK IS NOT GOING TO WORK PEOPLE!!! Oh, by the way, if you posted a reply and you're not from the US, mind your own business. We don't value your opinion.
Hooray for President Tancredo! He speaks the language they understand!
I am definitely a Democrat and definitely not in favor of bombing anyone else...
HOWEVER, Mr. Tancredo's logic is not completely flawed... even if his means are. Saudi Arabia and our other so-called "allies" in the region want it both ways – they want our money and military investment, yet they do not hesitate to stab us in the back and keep funding terrorist groups (or in the very least, do little to shut off funding and supplies from them). I really think there needs to be a complete evaluation of who our allies are and aren't, because if Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are supposedly our friends, heck, our enemies look like rabid bunny rabbits by comparison...
Saudi Arabia and the other Muslim countries need to be brought to task considerably more aggressively than the current and even past administrations have done. If it takes hitting them in the religious hoo-hah in some fashion to get them to wake up, that may be what it takes. But, I think there are better methods than bombing them that could be employed to accomplish the end goal suggested by Tancredo's logic.
If we don't deal with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan firmly and decisively, the terrorists will continue to get funding, they will continue to get supplies, and they will continue to be a greater threat to us. Iraq is in the mess it's in primarily because of their meddling... and it's only going to get worse if we don't put our foot down...
But, I forgot... the Saudis have us by the proverbial grabber... they've got something we can't live without: lots of oil... oh, just screw the whole argument... we're doomed...
Deterrent? A fine way to start WW3 maybe – but deter nothing. A politician such as this will never understand how to tackle a problem like terrorism – and that is at it's root. Accepting that a minority of Muslims want to bomb the western world is not the attitude to take, the world should be trying to harness their influences. And punishing the other 2 billion law abiding muslims by bombing what is their holy ground two would just put almost half the world against the US.
I'd like to say this guy didn't think before he spoke but it seems he didn't think at all.
"To tackle tthe terrorists you haveto take away their cause, their injustice, and there's a lot of injustice in the world" – Serj Tankian
I understand the absurdity of his comments, and logically it makes little sense; unless your desire is to inflame the entire Islamic world. However, where are all these peace loving Muslims? And what are they doing to deter the fanatic, fear-propogating fringe elements of their religion? Speak softly and carry a big stick!
As a resident of Parker, Colorado – I'm a constituent of Tom Tancredo. I support his view on what our reaction should be if attacked in another 9/11 incident 100%. We have to realize, that we are at war. We didn't want it, and still don't. To those of you who say "no" – what's your solution, let them bomb us with nuclear weapons, or chemical warfare – and just sit back? We are at war and should use whatever force necessary.
May God bless you Mr. Tancredo and .... go to the Church this Sunday and ask your pastor/priest/clergyman if he or she will find your idea is in line with Jesus' teaching. I think Jesus is crying now and the entire sacred souls are devastated by the idea .....
Wow this guy just doesn't realize the kind of hatred that attacking a muslim holy site would bring upon our people. The reason that muslim extremists hate America in the first place is our lack of respect for their religion and customs. Bombing their MOST holy site would spawn more terrorism than we can currently imagine.
Hooray for President Tancredo. He speaks the only language the terrorist understand. He is THE Man and has my vote.
Joe in Chicago
Finally, someone has the right idea! It's about time...
Not content with battling Latin America, Mr. Tancredo now proposes to take on the entire Muslim world. I'm sure his suggestion would really enhance security at the Vatican and Westminster Abbey. This man is dangerous.
SO it is okay for them to attack us and other innocent civilians due to our religious beliefs (since we do not believe in Allah we are the infidels), but we can not retaliate in kind. This kind of attitude will just keep us vunerable to attack. Don't you all get it that they know they can just plink away at us since they know most of us do not have the guts to fight back. Maybe if we bomd the crap out of them like they have bombed the crap out of us, this would be over. You can not fight a politically correct war and expect to win.
Terrorist states have no qualms about hitting our "holy sites" in New York, and Washington, D.C. If they wish to speak the language of violence: Lets send them a big shout out in terminology that they will understand.
The funny thing about this blog is how everone is completely overreacting. First of all the legitimate threat to a reveared holy site could be a great deterant. He never said "lets just bomb them first" he said we should bomb those sites if attacked. its a threat people. There are very few things in this world that are important to these radical muslims these cities being one of them... Essentially we would be using the destruction of those precious cities as bargaining chips. He is dead on right. About time someone has the balls to stand up and say what needs to be said
Also, I believe that the majority of muslims are peaceful BUT where are the peaceful muslims acting against the radical muslims. Its rare that they speak out. Condoning radicalism is just as bad as being radical.
What an idiot, does he want the entire Muslim community to backlash at the United States?
The funny thing about this blog is how everone is completely overreacting. First of all the legitimate threat to a reveared holy site could be a great deterant. He never said "lets just bomb them first" he said we should bomb those sites if attacked. its a threat people. There are very few things in this world that are important to these radical muslims these cities being one of them... Essentially we would be using the destruction of those precious cities as bargaining chips. He is dead on right. About time someone has the guts to stand up and say what needs to be said
Muslims; we will bomb Mecca and Medina if you don’t get your radicals under control.
Tom Tancredo is thinking outside the box. Maybe this is the guy we need to make the religious fascists understand that America is not to be messed with. A little bit of reverse psychology to make people think about the consequences of their actions. I like it. I like Tom.
Bravo. Finally someone with a spine who is not afraid that his comments might offend someone. If that is what it takes to deter these fanatics so be it.
I would actually be concerned about this policy if it was espoused by someone with a snowball's chance in hell of becoming President.
Even if bombing Muslim holy sites wasn't a violation of the law of armed conflict, it would be a singularly moronic idea.
The average eighth grader should be able to figure out that such a policy would overwhelmingly shift Middle Eastern sentiment against the U.S. for decades to come.
Regardless, one must give him credit for exercising his First Amendment right without fear of the repercussion it would bring him by being labeled a racist, bigot, politically incorrect, etc., etc., etc.
Just great! The Republicans have a crazy person trying to run for President. I think the Republicans should ask Tancredo to leave their party as quickly as possible.
Um, let me just add that this guy and any one who supports an action like this is just bug.****.crazy.
That is all.
Bomb them all, eye for and eye, no more of this petty crap. You strike the US first, we'll strike back in ten-fold. Unleash the gates of hell on all the middle east as far as I'm concerned.
I had same thinking 6 years ago with a nuclear bomb when a million of them are there
And when you're done bombing Mecca and Medina, then what? They will have plenty of targets to retaliate against. A better idea would be to boycott buying Oil from them. That'd shut 'em up real quick.
It's no wonder how Bush came into office...you people are 100% unapologetic for being uneducated and ignorant. You wave it like a flag. After reading the vast majority of these posts, I have little faith in Americans doing anything worthwhile in the world. Will you idiots please realize that foreign relations is different than football? Conservatives...yeah right. Using fossil fuels like they're unlimited and disposing of human life in war like they don't matter. Hypocrasy...blatent, classical, american hypocrasy.
Mr. Tancredo's suggestion is a step in the right direction but too laid back.
It means wait 'til we are hit-No –hit them first with Iran the first target
Why are we so so patient with terrorist
nations?
Great idea Tom! Can't think of any other way to deter our enemies...right..just the quality we need in our next president...when in doubt bomb! Of course, then no matter what Muslim country who attacks us or tries to your plan will make ALL the Muslim followers hate us for bombing mecca, right, Tom? Hey, not to worry Tom, you didn't say it but I'm sure your bombs will be Atomic bombs...or, better yet hydrogen bombs as they do much more damage. A few of those big thermo nuclear suckers and every last mangy Muslim man, women, child, fetus or transexual will be history....just a clump of ashes. God bless you Tom,you really do mean business...you'd make a great president!
Good luck!
P.S. Are Rove and Cheny advising your campaign?
I think this option is only a consideration if we truly believe in the premise that the religion of Islam is the enemy. That premise is what must be questioned and tested first, not the options that spring from it, should it be determined that it is true.
I absolutely agree with Tom Tancredo's remark. Muslims do not understand any other language. Infact this is what Mohammed would suggest
Tancredo represents the district just south of where I live in Colorado. I can tell you for sure, he doesn't realize he's no different than the Taliban in Afghanistan. It's a shame this country has become what it is now.
Is people like this mentally retarded congressman that gives the USA a bad name, please do not reelect this guy for anything. How can you bomb a holy place, this is the kind of racial profiling that we do not need. Mr. Tancredo you are disgrace!
Just proves that this is part a religious war anyway.How do crazies like this get into positions of influence. Drum him out now !!
I would definitely say punishing the other peaceful 99% of the Muslim population by bombing their holy sites is a solid move to win friends in the "war on terror". Living in Colorado, Tancredo has actually become a joke. I actually enjoy listening to him, as well as reading his comments, b/c it allows me to get a solid laugh out of my day once in a while.
It is disgusting and outrageous that someone would suggest something like this.
As it is, the US govt does not realize that if you add more fuel to a fire, it only gets bigger. Violence always leads to more violence, not less.
You only have to see the history of the middle east in the last 50 yrs, specially after the end of the 2nd world war to realize why we are in this state and this ideological battle today. No one and no religion or country is free of blood on their hands, wether christian, muslim or jewish. And its not about religion, its about politics and land that keeps these wars perpetuating.
AS it is, these extremists who destroy the name of our religion Islam are a fringe minority compared to the millions of Muslims worldwide.
Beware if you try to catch a monster, you may end up becoming one in the process. This battle against terrorism, in the end, will not be one by guns and bombs and spilt blood; It will be one by a paradigm shift in cultural mentality that will take decades and an end to war-mongering and arms perpetuation
I can not believe people actually voted for this lunatic Tancredo. Shame on the people of Colorado.
Regardless, one must give him credit for exercising his First Amendment right without fear of repurcussion of being labeled a racist, bigot, being politically incorrect, etc., etc., etc.
Well Mr Tom Casey, I would have to agree with Mr Tancredo on this one and I am pretty sure most Americans would probably agree also.
Listen people,..this may seem a radical idea to you but just how do you think we detered the Soviets and Red Chinese from launching a first strike on Washington DC, New York and the major cities of Western Europe during the Cold War ? It was done through a policy know as MAD – Mutual Assured Destruction,....the Soviet knew that if they destroyed our cities and people with Nukes that we could and would do the same to them. Brinksmanship for sure, but did you notice that Washington, Moscow, Beijing, London,..ect are all still here.
All of you Democratic Liberals need to remember that a Democratic president,a very brave and good man, FDR, was able to recognise the real threat to our world and had the guts to use the horrible destructive power of nukes and thus end World War II.
The liberals and proponents of appeasement in this day and age are the people who are refered to in the quote,.."Those who do not learn from the mistakes of history are destined to repeat them" -Abraham Lincoln (also Winston Churchill)
The real question we face here is....will the logic of a gun to your head work with these terrorists who do not play by normal rules.
Great! Sounds like a plan!
Now all the moderate and nonpracticing Muslims will be pissed at us too! Cool!
I think the real point this guy was trying to make was how do you deter people who are not afraid of killing themselves and taking you with them. If the only card in your hand is the religion card it's the one you will play out of neccesity.
The people on here saying Tancredo is crazy, that it would incite Muslims, etc.– they are *cowards*. I for one support the idea, hit 'em where it hurts! I'm ashamed of you wussies who call yourself "Americans".
Hey I like the way this man thinks!! We haven't been tough enough on them. I think we need to go ahead and tell them that's what we are going to do if the bombs don't stop in Iraq. Maybe we should give them 15 days to produce Osama or his body or we attack.
Dont bomb just Mecca.
Bomb Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina.
Let's be fair.
Tom, quit the race...trust me.
Are you serious? What is this cowboy thinking...better yet when will he begin to think? Why don't we just drop the big bomb and kill everyone would everyone be happy then? Unbelieveable is the only word that comes to mind when I hear statement like these.
Crazy as it sounds, if this is a deterrant, this is about the best idea I have heard in a long time. I would be sure that these extremist hear loud and clear that this could happen. I think some of you need to get your heads out of the clouds and get with it. IF we are attacked AGAIN, this should be considered. Some of us who don't have our priorities straight, need to grow a set. When someone in your family or someone close to you is killed in the next attack, maybe some of you will change your tune. Every time I see vidoes of the idiots praising 9/11, it infuriates me. If I found any of these wanted in a dark alley, I'd have a field day!!!!!!!!!!!
You go, girl!
That's like bombing the Vatican if Italy bugs you!
Just do it, and start WWII
All I can say is WOW!! If our choices of President consist of Hilary or this guy, then I would rather amend the constitution to allow Bush to serve a third term. What's the point in electing another moron that will do just as bad.
I'm moving to Canada if this guy gets elected. I won't let my family be hurt because of this stupid man who doesn't understand that not all Muslims are terrorists! How can he say something like that? Is this a joke, a ploy for media attention? Please god protect this country from people like him!
It's stupid comments like these that are going to fuel world war 3. its innevitable and this stupid politician will probably regret he said that.
After the "radical" Muslims explode a nuclear bomb in mainland USA it will be interesting to see how many of these comments about "crazy" will still be feeling the way they do. I am not in favor of bombing Mecca, but if a major "incident" happened in North America (such as a nuclear explosion set off by Islamists) I would be fully in favor of dropping a nice big fat bomb on Mecca. Saudis are our "allies" indeed... where almost ALL the 911 terrorists came from. Funny that!
Muslims are already attacking America because they see us as a country of sin and unholiness. If we attack their holy shrines, that will prevoke them to start a jihad with us, not scare them into stopping fighting.
1) Mecca and Medina are holy cities to more than 1 billion people.
2) He's proposing creating two nuclear fallout zones within one of our few Middle East allies.
3) Hitting Mecca and/or Medina doesn't actually impact anyone's ability to engage in terrorist activity.
4) I cannnot conceive of any one possible way to better galvanize multiple nations against the United States and make it impossible for our current allies to continue to do so.
Given these, it is hard to understand why Mr. Tancredo believes this even passes into the realm of plausibility. Just when I start to believe that we have plumbed the depths of foolishness, I am saddly surprised again. It is unfortunate that anyone gives Mr. Tancredo and his argument here even one iota of credibility, because neither deserves it.
Are you KIDDING me?!? I hope no one is taking this candidate seriously. Why can’t we look into the reasons why people would even consider an attack and what we can do as a society to prevent it from happening, rather than making bullying, negative threats?
Posted By Katie, Detroit, MI : August 3, 2007 12:57 pm
you MUST be a liberal. are YOU kidding? these fanatics don't sit down and talk with you, they are out for one thing...to make EVERYONE a muslim! if you don't believe or convert, they kill you! is that how YOU want to live? because it's sure not MY america.
I am a Muslim and i must admit that i was quite perturbed by the comments made by that man. I have never approved of terrorism when it comes to killing innocent people for the sins of a few idiots. I am however sure, like many others who have echoed here rightly, that if you are to bomb Mecca and Medinah, the moderate Muslim in me will never accept that. And if Saudi government were to ask for help, trust me, the whole Muslim world will come to help as you did not bomb the Saudis ... you bomb a MUSLIM's holy land, and that cannot be acceptable by any standards. I am not sure whether Tancredo KNOWS exactly how many Muslims there are in this world, but please tell him, more than 80% of Indonesia, 15% of China, 98% of Brunei, and many Asian countries, as well as people within Europe AND US, will not be pleased with him. If he has the 'guts' like what some of you are glorifying him with, that i guess what he DO NOT have is BRAINS ... cos obviously his maths is terrible enough for him to forget that his words will affect manay innocent lives, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Such irresponsible words cause so much damage, and I fear that if this story goes around, the damage might have started already. I feel so sorry for AMericans to have such a leader. I thought Bush was a mistake, but this man is the cream of it all ... sigh
Works for me.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo is absolutly correct!!! Are we supposed to just sit back and let extremist do whatever they please to Americans. I say NO!!! Smart bomb a couple of Muslim holy places and then let the extremists explain to the rest of the Muslim world how it came to that. It's time for the Muslims who say they are not w/terrosits to help out an put an end to religous insanity!!!!
Sadly, there are some people in the military (I'm a Muslim in the military by the way) who think the same way this crazy person does. These kind of guys don't realize the kinds of contributions and sacrifices Muslims make for this country.
This guy I think goes to college but never graduate or worse maybe he just forged his certificates. GOD!!
If any voters vote for him, lets welcome world destruction.
Finally, a politician we can vote for! Glad to see someone has taken off their rose-colored glasses and sees the world for what it is and not that fairy tale liberal perspective.
I will vote for this man if I have a chance. I am tired of trying to reason with insane terrorists who want to do nothing but kill Americans.
The terrorists and everybody else had better realize there is a growing majority of American people who are going to pick up a really big club someday..and it will swing a wide path.
spare me all the politically correct comments w/sensitivity towards Muslims...Muslims in Saudi Arabia would not think twice about bringing down the White House...Tancredo is making a great suggestion.
first of all all this talk will creat hate towards america and serves only that purpose. this kind of comments will make those with sick and upside down minds do soething crazy. i am sure that this guy is an idiot and i guess he does not even know what he is talking about.
now as a muslim all i have to say to him is these holy sites you are talking about we do not protect them but god does that and read the history about many many kings and leaders of the past time tried to do what you suggest and they got destroyed. finally i pray for you that god forgive you and give you guidance to the right track.
He demonstrated with such elan just how ignorant and uneducated some politicians can be. I guess he just got his 15 min. Say goodbye to Tancredo.
well, americans think their lives are somewhat more holier than those who get killed everyday in Afghnaistan and Iraq. Nobody finds out which innocent person dies under the veil of a terrorist. A stupid man, incapable of uttering a single coherent sentence, runs this country, and then even bigger morons come forward to ignite more hate and aggression. I simply find it what makes american so child like idiots. Hate is embedded in us, I think, but making such irresponsible statements would only bring danger, even when it was not imminent. He needs to know what Mecca and Madina means to muslims, who are not part of terror. If they ever think of doing anything like this, america will be wiped out by those who were not terrorist before. If I had any doubt beofe that americans in general were morons, I have none now.
WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA! Just bomb Mecca and Medina and hope all the Muslims in the world will shut up. Ok now for those of us who live in REALITY, if a cartoon caricature of the prophet set such a global commotion and outcry then bombing the 2 holiest sites in all of Islam will effectively mark the end of the world....its just that brilliant of an idea! Way-to-go! you have successfully managed to be the dumbest politician of our times.
I'm sure he was kidding.
This guy has same for brains as Bush.
this is exactly the kind of person we don't need as president of the United States!
Our state department invites terrorist to strike us anywhere they want by protecting the targets the terrorists hold sacred. rediculous
Nice job; he's suggesting just one more terrorist attack and western civilization will fall. That should act as quite a deterrent....what an idiot.
Tancredo's statements reflect an appalling level of ignorance on matters of foreign policy and national security. He is of course allowed to say whatever he likes, but taunting our enemies with these kind of threats only serves to feed the extremist propaganda machine, and seems rather self-defeating given his stated goal of protecting the United States. Furthermore, the idea of destroying the holiest site of any religion in retaliation for the evil actions of a minority group within that religion seems sadly absurd.
Say and think what you want – you bleeding heart liberals. But fact is – the policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) prevented World War III with the Russians. Extremists only understand one thing – and I see nothing wrong with making them understand the meaning of MAD. If you take us out, you also kill yourself – plan and simple – and it needs no translation.
Tancredo is an idiot and his ignorance is dangerous. His idea of attacking Muslim holy sites when "Islamic extremists" attack the U.S. is tantamount to suggesting that when fundamentalist "Christian extremists" shoot abortion doctors, we should attack the Vatican. Terrorists break the commands and spirit of the Quran and are NOT representative of Islam, just like right-wing American Christians have nothing to do with hallowed Christian sites like St. Peter's, Canterbury, Santiago de Campostella and Bethlehem.
Not to mention the Geneva Convention. I\Of course, when were modern U.S. Republicans concerned with upholding the Geneva Convention?
Great idea! Might deter these fanatics from attacking our "holy" sites...
Hate to think this way, but what other options are there with these irrational egoists?
What is so crazy about retaliating against terrorists, by hitting them the way they have, and continue to strive to do to us? The only point we've gotten across to these terrorists, is that we are playing a game of "you destroy, and we try to predict the next attack.' Attacks which obviously aren't hitting close to home! Something more has to be done. They target our national monuments, so should we.
I applaud his bravery and common sense. ISLAM has been the enemy for 1000 years.
Absolutely! Well why not? They are spying on US Citizens so which is more outrageous? Is "Shock and Awe" kinder and gentler than this?
Undoubtedly this is the correct answer, just as they assisted the Taliban in obliterated the largest Buddhist statues in the world just prior to 9/11.
I LOVE this idea. I don't like the thought of actually bombing these locations, but one of the reasons the war on Islamic Jihadists (my words) is so difficult to wage is that they have no specific country. This give us a location to say "hurt us, we hurt you."
For all of those who claim that Islam is a vile and intolerant religion, which promotes hate, I present a verse from the Holy Quran:
"Surely those who believed, and the Jews, and the Sabians, and the Christians – whoso believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good deeds, on them shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve." (5:70)
Who then, after reading this verse, promotes hate? We Muslims or those who want to wipe Islam off of the earth?
To begin with- I am a muslim and a moderate. This is my comment:
If the republican party keeps governing the US (i.e. another president of the kind of Mr. Bush) nobody knows what will happen to the world. Look at this other crazy maniac who is running for republican party nomination for president, and what he said again (threatening to destroy the holiest sites of muslims- of course he won't but this is just talk for local consumption meant to further accentuate hatred against muslims in an already emotionally combustible environment where everyone already discriminates against muslims everywhere). I am not sure what moderate muslim people like myself will understand or feel when they read such idiocies full of hatred and intolerance (i am not even speaking about the stupid, mentally-retarded, and criminal muslim extremists who are the cause of the insecurity in our respective coutries and who are waiting for a stupid comment from a high level official to further escalate their stupid, idiot, and criminal actions against peaceful societies- as if the world needs another religious crisis- truely foolish indeed).
Still layer-americans ask the question: why do they hate us? i lived enough to see that muslims don't hate americans; i personally don't hate americans (and i actually love america and american people because i had a chance to live in the US and know the american people that i consider my brothers and sisters), but it appears that America have a stupid kind of political breed that is truely going way out in labeling every muslim as a 'terrorist' until the prove of the contrary. I am totally disgusted. How can a politician have this whole idea of bombing innocent worshipers as a way to retaliate against 'ennemy combattant', knowing that the worshippers at the holy sites have nothing to do with politics? What he said is absolutely dangerous- a real bombing of the muslim sites will ignite a world war, and believe me America and the world will gain nothing from it except pain and casulties (is this the world that republican party is preparing us to live in?). Why this hatred? i just simply can't imagine someone thinking this way at this level of representation (i thought this kind of politicians existed only in 3rd world countries, but i think they are everywhere).
Please as Americans, save the world this kind of political crappies and new neonazis, and choose well when you vote for the next president (please vote for someone who will bring peace to the world, not war). This is probably the crappiest and most mentally retarded politician that your country had presented in years. I hope he does not win the nomination of republican party- i feel for CO people who have such kind of racist representative- a true pity indeed.
I think that he's very stupid and not capable of being a good president.
is he asking for 50 more 9/11's?
hahaha, I'm not sure who is the bigger idiot. Tom Tancredo or Toy Pearson, a DC judge who sued a dry cleaner for $65 million. What's wrong with America?
Being stupid is not a trait exclusive to the GOP. Based on his comments regarding Pakistan earlier in the week, Obama might just want to have the first bi-partisan ticket with Tancredo as his running mate. The Dumb and Dumber campaign.
Right On!!!!
It is a good thing that morons like this won't be elected into office. No doubt it will be a democrat taking office in '08. This guy is a disgrace to our country; it is ignorant and arrogant remarks like his that make us such a hate-target around the world. America is all about freedom of religion and protection of human rights. For a senator to say such things is really shocking. I just hope that his views are not shared by any other of our country's leaders.
I think he was meaning to come across as figurative versus literal..... Of course liberals can not distinguish this. He should issue an apology for insulting the non radical non militant Muslim community.
Seriously, he was most likely wanting the American people to think what can we do to make these radicals think twice? I bet he issues apology or politically hes done.
I can assure you that he has committed a political suicide by making these comments. In his desperation to win sympathies and votes of the american public, he has gone an extra mile to plant the seeds of hatred and anger. His strategy is going to backfire against him.
This is my man and was long before he made these comments. They just enforce my respect for the guy. GO TANCREDO! AND PUT DUNCAN HUNTER ON THE TICKET AS VP! YOU GUYS WOULD BE UNTOUCHABLE.
Mr. Tancredo is the only politician I've heard who has the guts to state such a necessary proposition. It's not reprehensible or crazy. The "kill everyone in the name of Allah" Muslims are the crazies. It is unlikely that anything else will deter the radical Muslim agenda to hit the west with a nuclear attack. I think the rest of the politicians aren't taking the Muslim threat seriously enough. It takes radical methods to deal with radical, brainwashed murderers.
Um, not all Muslims are terrorists, but moves like this one, and even him saying them creates more terrorists. What a moron.
Posted By Lindsey, IA : August 3, 2007 1:24 pm
This is good. No they are not all muslims anymore than you and I and 300 million other Americans are not personally responsible for the strife in the middle east. Will that fact stop them from trying to kill us and our families? Stop thinking about this like you're dealing with an enemy that is playing by the same rules that we try to. That's why we have this problem.
I agree with him completely. In the aftermath of another attack on our soil, I would fully support such a retaliation.
If I didn't see that this article came from CNN.com, I'd have assumed it was from The Onion.
This moron is our own home grown version of Osama Bin Laden. A home grown terrorist we should all be ashamed of. His statement is equivelent to Osama Bin Laden theatening to blow up Vatican City if United States were to attack Iran. Really, somebody tell me whats the difference?
I'll say this much, if a terrorist attack on the grand scale of 9/11 took place in the U.S. again, it might not accomplish anything to bomb Mecca, but I'd agree that it sure would feel good.
Bombing Mecca and Medina, sure that would sure as a deterrent – then would just hit back at more US targets and it would serve as a strong defensive for more muslims to wage Jihad on US soil.
That is the most rediculous thing I have ever heard. This man has said enough asinine comments to make an attack justified.
This moron is our own version of Osama Bin Laden; a home grown terrorist all peace loving American should be ashamed of.
This is just a horridly bad idea on so many levels.
Forget about the fact that the majority of Muslims in the world are actually quite peaceful and that such an act would anger the community, or the fact that those listed sites are in one of the few Middle Eastern countries allied with the US.
Such an idea wouldn't even prevent terrorist attacks from occuring. If anything, they'd lead to increased violence in retaliation.
And even then, such an act wouldn't even harm fundamentalist Islamic groups. These are organizations not run by religion, but by greed, power, and ambition. Very much similar to ultra-Christian groups in the US, these so-called religious fanatics gain power through the ignorance of the lower class in order to drive their own agendas. Destroying symbols of their beliefs will not phase the actual groups; rather, it will fuel even more violence.
This is a simple case of our policy-makers not knowing what is going on both around the world and within the country. Why can't we get someone at least with a few sane ideas in there?
Dear Americans,
Why do you elect such stupid people to office? Remember, its YOU, the American people of America who voted for George W. Bush.
It’s YOU, the people of Colorado who voted for Tancredo. YOU, Americans put these mental cases into positions of authority, so stop complaining. It’s YOUR fault! Congratulations for being the laughing stock of the world.
Just an intelligent thought from an intelligent Canadian. Peace
Not to say this guy isn't an idiot but we had better figure out what our response will be when WMD equipped terrorists kill 80 thousand or more Americans in one attack and destroy our economy. I hope we don't lock up a couple hundred yahoos at Guantanamo and call it even.
What is remarkable about this is not Tom Tancredo's comments, but the comments of all the Do-Gooders posted here who are so bleeding sympathetic to the entire muslim world.
You try being a Christian in Iraq right now, or most middle eastern countries and you will know what it means to get the rough end of the pineapple, and there will be no bleeding Do-Gooders over there to cry about your loss of rights, freedom and life.
The Islamic agenda needs to be shut down, by all means including deterrance.
Well, after the WTC and Pentagon were attacked, the US really backed off from the Middle East – withdrawing completely from the area and permanently shelving any plans of attacking Iraq and confronting Iran.
That is what happened, right?
But seriously, this guy is a tool – completely manipulated by his infantile emotions and unable to think more than fifteen minutes into the future.
I must say that I agree 100%. This is a war against ISLAM wether we want to believe it or not. Muslims will not stop short of global domination. Only the elimination of their backward religion can save the planet now.
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 Representative Tancredo wants to bomb Mecca and/or Medina as a "deterrent" to an attack on the US not in reply to a nuclear attack on us. What this shows is that the Representative from Colorado is a schmuck.
Words fail me. We would have a war on the scale of both World Wars combined. There are over a One BILLION Muslims in the world. If 5 to 10% of them were radical, that would mean app 50-100 million would fall in that group. It boggles the mind.
As the mosque in Jerusalem is almost as holy a site as the city of Mecca, maybe we should bomb Jerusalem too. Who cares if we kill thousands of innocent Jews? Tancredo doesn't seem to mind if we kill thousands of innocent Muslims who have nothing to do with terrorism.
If we're attacked again, we need to wipe out the terrorist training camps in Pakistan, and possibly the entire Iranian government, military, and infrastructure, if Iran is involved.
But bombing Mecca makes even less sense than bombing Dresden (not a military target) during WWII.
Tom Tancredo is an embarrassment to the USA, and to all real conservatives, myself included
Why is everyone so up in arms over Tancredo's statement?
I am actually of the opinion that he is being a little too conservative; the war on terror could be ended rather quickly if we were to immediately atomize Medina, Mecca, Mashhad, Qom, and Jakarta.
After all, radiation a common, effective treatment for killing cancer.
Just when I thought only common people are ignorant... now I know why Bush is the president in the first place....
He cannot be serious. What a moron. That will only encourage insurgents more.
As much amusement to kill innocent muslims bombing the holy sites would just enrage a large group of currently unaffiliated muslims. If we want to commit genocide the US constitution pretty much allows it. Lets not beat around the bush though if you want to kill muslims in "revenge killings" say it.
I have never heard anything more stupid than that. Okay, well if you bomb Mecca, then YOU are the terrorist. And then Iran will show you, that they "mean business" as well.
Instead of stopping any kind of war or attacks, America (which advocates Christian religion and "peace and harmony") does everything in an opposite direction. If Bush attacked and colonized Iraq only for his own financial reasons, Mr. Tancredo wants to attack Mecca...just because he THINKS it would prevent war... What can I say? He has to be in the mental hospital, not in the politics
Another idiot republican ... Who are these guys ?
I agree with Tom Tancredo 100%.
It is unbelievable that this guy is actually thinking of doing that. Oh yeah, since one terrorist attacks, lets retaliate on the whole religion. Haven't we learned people. No wonder he is low on the polls.
Tom Tancredo needs to be told that hate does not defeat hate – it only aggravates it.
Actually this is exactly what bin Laden and company would love to see happen. You think bin Laden cares about Mecca? What Osama wants is a war between Muslims and the rest of the world. Bombing Mecca would give him the perfect recruiting tool. For every Muslim killed at Mecca bin Laden would get 10 new recruits for jihad.
Terrorists have no love of life... I wouldn't be surprised if bin Laden himself bombed Mecca and blamed it on the U.S.. That's how sick terrorists are.
LOL!! This just proves what everyone already knows: when it comes to new ideas the Republicans are a politically bankrupt party. Unbelievable!!
Idiodic. An eye for an eye makes everyone blind.
I am a muslim .. dont even think of it. you can kill as many muslim as you people want any where in this world with out a reason but honestly when your turn comes just think that you deserve it for what you have done
Just another Republican extremist making an outrageous remark....Kind of reminds you of a young Hitler.....Looking at the comments on this blog, this guy definitely has a bright future in the GOP!!
I have seen this kind of attitude in the internet before,even worse. Well, will it serve the purpose? It will create more animosity, hatred and continuous cycle of violence and death. It will prove that the Bush's war is really another crusade. Cristian and muslim will be fighting for another 400 years, and the jews will be able finally to build their temple mount on the ruin of Al Agsa. It is easy to stop the war, get out of Iraq, Afghanistan and stop supporting Israel. Please, How strong can a man be? A mosquito could kill a king in a well fortified bunker. Human body is just a seat for the man's soul. Have you seen a dead body? It is just another fertilizer. Life is a gift, and we cherish and appreciate it. Let us live in hormany. But if Mecca is bombed then we will enter the unknown territory. Bless us all.
To: Bernardho, New York
They are called Muslims not "Mahommedans" so before you post any comment go EDUCATE YOURSELF!!! and that is valid for everyone who NEVER got to know a Muslim on a personal level, NEVER visited the Middle East, and NEVER took time to ACTUALLY read the Koran and see what Islam is REALLY about!!!
Please... This world would be a better place if we would all take the time to EDUCATE OURSELVES!!!!!!!
RAZ, Richardson TX wrote: "Truly spoken like an American."
It would be very scary if all of us (Americans) spoke like that! So SHAME ON YOU!!!
How can anyone dare to make a suggestion such as this one in public debate today. Yes, lets show the world that we care nothing about diplomacy and exasterbate an already volatile situation by bombing sites that the entire Islamic World (not just the extremists consider holy. I wonder what he would say as a Christian if someone intentionally bombed Bethlehem or Galalee....What an idiot. Hasn't he ever heard the saying that Violence only begets more Violence...Maybe some of the people in this country need to remember that....
The fact that a group of people, who call themselves Muslims, commit crimes against humanity does not mean that all Muslims should be blamed or their holy sites destroyed. This would be like labeling all Christians as blood-thirsty or calling for the destruction of the Vatican since "Christian" Popes and monarchs ordered the killing of thousands upon thousands of non-Christians, women, and anyone who disagreed with the Church in Europe and the Americas. However, we all know that most Christians are peaceful and tolerant people.
There is a group of Muslims who also advocate peace and "love for all, hatred for none" (their website is http://www.alislam.org).
P.S. I challenge anyone who believes that "Islam teaches people to blow themselves up or kill innocent civilians and that they will get rewarded in Heaven with virgins for doing so," to find where these claims are stated in the Holy Quran (where all of our teaching comes from). If you cannot find such a teaching in the Holy Quran, then remember that you will be answerable to God for all the false claims you make.
Someone look this up for me. Wasn't it Pres. Bush who campaigned in California prior to his first election, making appeals to the illegal immigrants to be able to vote with some kind of ID card. Do you think his train of thought then fueled even more the frenzy to have them cross the boarder. They are breaking our foundations, and Health care institutions. They either get legal and support our country as I do, or they get out.
This is sad, but it might be the only way to prevent ourselves from being attacked by radical muslims. I disagree with most of Tancredo's ideas, but he has a good point.
That is the most ridiculous comment I've ever heard. No wonder the rest of the world hates us – it's hot-headed, fundamentalist extremists like TANCREDO that fuel the negative sentiments against the USA. Bombing holy sites is the last thing that will "deter" the so-called terrorists from attacking us. If anything, that will simply fan the flames.
I'm ashamed of this guy – comments like that should get him ousted from public office. Those are hardly the view points of the constituency. What a piece of work this one is!
is he joking? bombing mecca? destroying innocence for the sake of power. disgusting. not every muslim studies terrorism. i was raised as one & know that we are suppose to practice peace. the word islam literally translates into "peace." stop blaming an entire group of people because of a small selfish bunch. i don't even believe these terrorists are true muslims, just some kind of twisted cult.
hello ww2 all over again. great job, mr. tancredo. i know i won't be voting for you.
To Truly Frightened Muslim in CT:
As a moderate Muslim, I am curious how you critique our government and blame this administration, yet have no suggestions as to how you and your moderate friends can control your end of the problem. I am tired of the comment 'why do they hate us' You, my friend, should wonder why you have lost control of your countries and your religion. I rarely see moderate Muslims protesting in the street when innocent people are be-headed, tortured or executed. As an American, who has traveled extensively throughout the world, I see why America is disliked: We are proud, free and we do not tolerate oppression of any kind. It is easy for you, sir, to blame this Country for your shortcomings and to blame this administration. I find it ironic that you condemn what Tancredo said, yet you tolerate what the leaders in Iran and Syria say about Israel. It is always easy to criticize your failures on others. Take care of business at home, sir, before you pass judgement on this country.
I can't believe someone who says things like this got elected to office.
Al qaeda would just LOVE for someone ranting fundamentalist like Tom Tancredo to actually make such an attack on Mecca and Madina happen. Every single male/female even those who have personally been victims of Al Qaeda in the Muslim world would embrace the Al Qaeda ideology that there the Amercia is at war with Islam and with their non-existent capability to hit back.. ANY means of revenge would be justified.
So Mr. Smart-a** Tancredo would not have deterred a terroist attack but spawned a million attacks. Let hope ppl like him only get elected to positions within the mental asylums where he belongs
If something like that were to happen, then quite literally, it would mean the end of the world...the end of life on earth as we know it.
Finally someone who's not worried about all this Politcally correct baloney. He's got my vote!
Just what we need, an escalation of what the Jihadists conceive of as a Holy War. I hope Mr. Tancredo's statement about bombing Mecca and Medina are not a sign of his inablility to compartmentalize and priortize just which group of people are threats to us. If I were Islamic, I would be highly insulted. Bombing the Islamic holy sites would be like the US bombing the Vatican because Pius XII possibly had a shadowy connection to Hilter.
Yes, Tancredo b/c that's what going to make everything go away and have less terrorist *eye roll* Is he an idiot? Wait, he is. He is totally warped and sadly there are people out there who actually would agree with his assessment and that's just disgusting.
Apparently he missed that day in school about religious tolerance.
No-one has gone more cuckoo in the GOP field as Rep. Tancredo.
It also shows how bad the GOP presidential field candidates are. If such a ignorant nut can even run and suggest such a move, what more can be said?
It's words like that that cause the bees nest to lash out at the poker! C'mon! I wouldn't touch Mecca FOR ANYTHING! It took one political/religious satire to make those of the Muslim faith extremely upset WORLD WIDE. Now he suggests blowing up their religious spot to keep an attack from occurring? By doing that he's ASKING for the attack! Tancredo should be forced to issue an apology for such horrible, distasteful remarks. I'm pretty sure he has already infuriated American Muslims.
Hooray! With that moronic statement, "presidential hopeful" Tom Tancredo becomes "presedential hopeless" Tom Tancredo. It usually takes those Republican candidates at least a dozen moronic statements to destroy their political careers... he should get some sort of prize for doing it with just one.
I guarantee you that terrorist orgs. to include al qaeda would love nothing more than for us to do such a thing. recruitment would be off the charts for them.
Wow this guy is a complete and utter moron. He is no better than the terrorists themselves. Mecca and Medina hold no threat to the United States. Just because a few crazy people want to distort a religion is no reason to bomb their most holy and sacred site. If anything that would probably make them more angry and more likely to attack us. I hope the voters do the right thing and put this idiot out on the street where he belongs because he has no business in politics making stupid threats like that.
How did this bigot found a place in US Gov?
So, if they kill US citizens, we kill CITIZENS of ALL the country in the world because MECCA and MEDINA are the most diverse place on the planet!
This guy is sick and should be voted into a mental hospital!
I heard a song a while ago and it said, you can bomb the world into pieces but you can not bomb it into peace.
There are nut jobs like Tom Tancredo out there and in my opinion there is no diference between them and any other crazy person such as Osama who would like to use violence to solve a problem.
There are a billion muslims in the world and statements such as these hurt all of them just because a dumb congress man can not seem to understand the difference that not every muslim is named Osama and not every muslim believes what he believes.
Get your head out of your rear end Mr. Tancredo and if you really want to prevent problems in future then find solutions that do not involve labeling every muslim as a terrorist.
Most people are taking his comments out of context. I agree with him, we should retaliate against the terrorists, but not by bombing Saudi Arabia,and Waziristan, Pakistan instead, where Osama and his deputy are hiding.
Crazy? Heck, he's the only guy making sense on this topic! Great idea Tom, sorry that you don't have a chance to ever be President, though. I've thought for years Mecca should be bombed to dust. Many people think this, but few have the guts to speak it.
Well, he's a republican. What do you expect? The party of Tush, the most worthless fool in modern history. This guy is one of Tush's understudies.
Stupid idiot.
Pretentious racism at its finest.
How complete uninformed and insensitive to reality are our government representatives? Who can possibly reason that killing innocent people and inciting hatred around the world will bring an END to war? Our we the victims or the monster in this battle against 'evil'?
One...how did this idiot make where he is today???
Two...WHAT??? ARE YOU NUTS???
************
This is eqivalent to a Muslim country like Iran dropping a bomb on the Vatican. Forget the extremists of the world... do you think any moderately religious Christian would put up with an insult to their faith and just sit back and not defend themselves? So why would any Muslim react differently. I wish this guy had the IQ to realize that this is an excellent way to convert more moderates into extremists.
God, this country needs a man like this, it is too bad we'll never get one.
what is this??...i mean..is he trying to fight against the terrorist or against religion?....this idea must be stopped..this decision would worsen the situation of terrorist........what on earth is he thinking to do???? this is absolutely crazy and stupid...
Finally somebody with a little sense! Whether the bleeding hearts of the world believe it or not this is the way we have to start thinking. Sad but true......
This actually proves that he was absolutely right to talk only about immigration to the exclusion of everything else. Too bad he didn't stick to his diet...
"
I think he was meaning to come across as figurative versus literal….. Of course liberals can not distinguish this. He should issue an apology for insulting the non radical non militant Muslim community.
Seriously, he was most likely wanting the American people to think what can we do to make these radicals think twice? I bet he issues apology or politically hes done."
-One day, conservatives will learn how to spell correctly. That day is not very soon.
There is NO excuse in the world that is good enough to rationalize "eye for an eye" punishment; there's a reason nearly the entire world has left Hammurabi by the wayside. It only serves to incite more violence and perpetuates the circle of hate. The only way to get the terrorists to stop is by not making their ideology appealing, and to do so through positive reinforcement, not negative. Learn some basic psychology and sociology, let alone political science.
How is he able to call himself a republican candidate for presidency for saying such nonsense??!! He obviously made this statement not using logic or a throught process of a formalized education. Furthermore, threatening to bomb a site of located in US ally's country prooves this candidate's lack of insight to foriegn policy. Anyway, I think what he's doing is appealing to his millions of pundits who are complete idiots and lack anything I just mentioned above. Unfortunately, there's too many people that are like that in this country. God save us if this man becomes president!
wow, he just doesn't get it does he?
Crazy AND Stupid. If a small vicious sect of Roman Catholics were attacking us would anyone advocate threatening to bomb the Vatican as a tactic. I don't think so.
Equally stupid to threaten Mecca insulting and radicalizing a billion Muslims (and fifty million Americans).
idiot!
With his horrid and violent threats, Rep. Tancredo greatly endangers our Christian "holy sites" – e.g. St. Peter's in the Vatican! Please, in the name of God's love and peace, stop this spiral of violence. Don't elect war-mongers and violent politicians!
As a resident of the Arab Penninsula and educated, in part, in the USA I would think that the leaders of terror will be extremely happy for Mr. Tancredo's comment.
You got their vote, Tom!
You should not be surprised if they send you a 24k miniature as your bomb hits the minaret, should you be pushed to do so in your future as US president.
Tom
Through history, Mecca was hit twice for a similar reason; a brawl between the good, the bad and the ugly.
Contrary to the infemous western, the good has always been a bystander.
Thanks for listenning tom!
signed:
A friend of Independance Inst. and an advocate to TAPOR.
Colorado Rep. Tom Tacredo's strategy of preventing attacks to his homeland is VERY, VERY ABSURD, CRAZY and RIDICULOUS!!
Instead of thinking how to get everyone from all sectors of religion on the table and discuss the ways and possibilities of defeating this terrorism.. he is complicating more the situation by involving innocent pilgrims of this holy sites.
I am a Catholic Christian and I abhor the treatment of people such as this threat coming from a too ambitious but little minded presidential nominee hopefull. I hope AMERICANS dump him to the trashcan...
It seems that bombing things has served us well thus far. Hows about we just level everything down to powder, stick the stars and stripes on top of whatever remains, and declare ourselves the uncontested victor in the "War on Terror". Mecca hates freedom.
Interesting "deterrent": threatening to spark an all out Jihad by bombing Muslim holy cities. Too bad Colorado couldn't deter him from becoming a Congressman.
This is going to start a war more like, muslims these days are so in their religion and If such thing happens then their will be a war.
Us muslims want peace not war and what Tom Tancredo has said is unthinkable and outrageous, If they attack the Mecca then USA will find them selves in a spot which they wish they were never in, After reading this I have been shocked.
this is a very smart man.
And thanks to CNN for putting this on the front page
It'd about damn time someone had the stones to say what I've felt since 9/11 without watering down their thoughts for fear of politcal fallout.
Tom Tancredo, you have my full support.
i offically have no idea what ideals and principles our government officials hold on to anymore. its like they run on their own constitution.
God help us.
Bomb Mecca? An incendary comment that can only offer outrage to the Islamic community! This is dangerous and foolhardy rhetoric! It can only incite the moderate Muslims to feel threatened. This is truly scary rhetoric! Bay, stifle this talk before we're in the middle of the 3rd Crusade!
After reading through about a hundred of these comments, I am convinced that most of the authors could not or would not fight for their country under ANY circumstances...and if they did could not escape a wet paper bag. Jack
The most irresponsible statement of an official ever.
Tancredo deserves a good lesson on diplomacy.
He must have forgotten that the root cause of all these evil is not the Muslims.
It is the continued occupation of Israel of Palestinian lands, killing of its people and destruction of their homes.
One question Rep Tancredo.....
Are you insane?
I totally agree.
To explain to everyone how important mecca is to the 1.5 billion muslims around the world.. Muslims pray 5 times a day, and to prey, it is a must to face Mecca whilstpreying. When every muslim is buried, they are buried with head facing Mecca.
If this bombing did happen, there will be no more moderate muslims anywhere, all will become "extremists".
Bombing their holiest sites is quite simply suicide, it will not stop terrorism, it will open the pandora's box. How will the US stop waves upon waves of millions of terrorists then?
This guy has lost his marbles completely, he's lost the plot! Quite simply, he's crazy.
Please vote. I read many of you will not give Mr. Tancredo your vote, thank goodness, but please regester and vote.I think it's great Mr. Tancredo has the freedom to speak his mind,and I think it's great we have a chance to influance politics.We need to do more, alot more, to get this country back on track. please regester and vote.please!
So when the Islamists come here with a nuclear device and set it off, what do we do?
And when they come a second and third time, with more bigger devices, what do we do?
And when there are millions of Americans dead, and the country has been turned into some super police state, what do we do?
MAD for people who could care less about killing us...my, my, my Mr. Tancredo I hope you had fun in Washington because your going back to whatever funny farm they found you in.
Tancredo is a lonely voice of common sense in a storm of other-worldly nonsense! His critics would have called the planned atomic bombing of Japan "reprehensible" and "absolutely crazy" if Truman had discussed it before sending the bombers and then, after causing enough public outcry to stop the bombing, would have blamed Truman for causing the loss of 3 million more lives (American and Japanese)through a land invasion of Japan. America the compasionate! Grow up people, you don't win wars or defeat an enemy using rocks when he uses bombs.
Bombing Mecca and Medina would bring this world back into the medieval era. BTW, the arabs are not Japanese; no way in hell would the arabs bow down soo easily.
It is amazing how little some Americans know about Islam. It is also rather obvious that Tancredo has never truly experienced fundamentalism, in any of its religious flavors.
As a Muslim, I can tell you what this would cause- the middle-of-the-road Muslims and moderate Muslims (Yes! we do exist, and in numbers beyond what most Americans dream of) would turn against the US. Most would turn to non-violent measures to condemn the US action; but a good percentage would have proof that the fundamentalists were right, and that Islam was in terrible danger due to US foreign policy. They would join their more violent brethren in the only measures they knew made an impact- terrorism. Americans don't like to think about it, but there are a large number of American citizens that are Muslim. Can you imagine if suddenly a large percentage of them lost the sites we hold most holy? Talk about encouraging violence on US soil. Anyone who has truly experienced fundamentalism knows that most of the time you cannot turn someone who is so entrenched in their beliefs; their minds are already set. This goes for fundamentalist Christians, Jews, Muslims, whatever religion you examine.
Bombing Mecca and Medina will only cause your strongest allies to turn away from you, the moderate Muslims who call for calm, and only inflame the fundamentalists to more heinous acts. Doing so is as good as putting out a banner ad recruiting for jihad.
Tancredo is looking for the magic bullet to fix a complex and thorny issue, because the public is looking for one. It would be nice to think that such a solution exists. But religion is not dissuaded so simply. If you think that issues laced with such emotion can be resolved by one single action, then perhaps we should have bombed the IRA, or the West Bank by now.
Not such a bad idea. Think about it. They attack the WTC because they believe we pray to our icons of capitalism. So we attack where they pray. Makes sense.
I think Tom T's idea is not a bad idea. From reading other comments posted here, it looks like a lot of folks don't like this idea because it will get the Muslim extremists angry with us. Oh gee.....let's not defend ourselves or disprespect their religion because we sure don't want to offend a band of people who's way of life dates back to the stone age. George Carlin said it best – "Man-made religion is stupid". All this killing because these idiots really believe that something good will happen to them after they die. Maybe if they knew that after they blow themselves up, there is nothing waiting for them on "the other side" because, there is no other side. I think it's time to stand up to these Neanderthals and if it means fighting dirty, go for it. Why should we respect their religion and holy sites? Do they show the same respect to the holy sites of others? And for any of you who think Saudi Arabia is our ally, wake up! They are nothing more than a business partner with the US. They are no ally of ours. If the US gets attacked or nuked by Muslim extremists, I am hoping we have someone like Tom T. in charge and not a bunch of pacifist whiners who think turning the other cheek is the way to go.
He might sound extreme but if what he suggests works perhaps we should consider it? If the terrorists will stop at nothing, including killing childen in the name of Allah, then we should every option on the table to deter them.
why wait? It's where we're headed anyway.
are you kidding?
instead of limiting the islamic enemies to fringe groups, this guy would legitimize armed conflict for the entire muslim world.
ignorant and INSANE!
A 100% certified nut
Amen, Tom. It's about time someone had the testicular fortitude to stand up and be willling to hit the radicals where it hurts. I would then bomb all of the major cities and not just "military" sites.
This is a perfect example of why the rest of the world hates the U.S. of A. Tancredo needs to hold his tongue, he just proved to me that he does not need to be president. Just the idea of something so cynical and not to mention coldblooded, amazes me. How can someone trying to run the US from the House possibly think this is a reasonable solution. If we damage mosques in battles the enemies we face there just use that as a rallying cry. Absolute lack of IQ on Mr. Tancredo's part. I don't think Bush would come up with something so pointless and potentially threatening to homeland security. As a US soldier myself, Cavalry Scout, this sort of thing is why I can't stand politicians. Pencil pushers who work 9-4 or so, think they can make claims to this and come up with, "amazing" ideas such as this one...us soldiers are the first one's to feel it in this day and age. Thanks Tancredo...you owe the world, the US, and the military who protects your bloodthirsty rear end, an apology. No better yet remove yourself from the '08 race...I personally don't want someone representing my country if his views are what he claims to say, rep. or dem. doesn't matter on this subject. You are held accountable for your words and actions...Good luck Tancredo, you'll need it from here on out.
Tancredo's comments are scary enough but what is worse as I've been reading through peoples' responses is there are a few others who agree with this type of insanity. Fortunately, Mr. Tancredo and those who agree with him are in the miniority.
An interesting proposal, Tom.
Personally, I'm not one to throw the entire idea out right away. On the surface, it does seem completely insane, but, as mentioned by others, you are dealing with completely insane individuals (terrorists). Perhaps this type of insanity might work. If not directly on the terrorists, but on all the muslims who protect the terrorists or supply the terrorists or support the terrorist.
The bottom line is, as crazy as an idea as bombing Mecca is, I'm not seeing any alternate strategies presented to deter further terrorist attacks. Our intelligence organizations are doing a decnt job so far, but they can only keep up for so long. And I am appalled by the erosion of our civil liberties the Government uses in the fight. Don't they realize that the Constitution IS America?? And every right you weaken means the terrorists are winning by destroying America??
So, as for the nuke Mecca idea, I think it might have been done with a press campaign that information is coming out that the terrorists are collecting parts to make nukes, followed by a ground explosion of a nuke in Mecca, followed by further "investigation" that "proves" alQueda was using Mecca as a lab to make nukes and something went horribly wrong.
Mecca gets nuked and instead of us getting all the hatred, the Muslims finally turn against the terrorists.
You just gotta think these things through, people.
Is this man nuts? And, of course, he's a Republican. Why stop with Mecca, huh? Why not just nuke the whole region and be done with it, huh? It's this kind of insane thinking that makes me glad I'm a Democrat.
WOW, don't know what to say about this guy! But.... ain't no one running yet I would vote for. The first one that looks like a Conservative Democrat gets my vote. I will never vote stright Republican or Democrat AGAIN!
I agree...I'm not muslim and I could care less. If they attack our country, then in retaliation, we should launch a thermonuclear strike on Mecca and Medina and totally wipe those sites from the face of the earth...we should have let the Crusaders and the Knights Templars finish their work during the Crusades and totally wipe out all the muslims at that time and we wouldn't be having these problems now.
Look what's happened to our country.
To our freedoms. We are now debating to abandon the principles for which we stand and countless have died to protect.
We are afraid of our own shadows.
Life will no longer be the same.
They have already won.
That's probably one of the stupidest thing to do!
Bombin holy islamic sites are probably what these extremists are secretly wanting in the first place. They'd just use this as the Trump card for a whole new level of violence & terror.
Even passive muslims, who are just minding their own business would most certainly jump onto the bandwagon, itching for war then.
He's got my vote!
Is this guy totally insane? Blow up Muslim holy sites to show we mean business? America, get ahold of your people!!!!!!!
However, the better thing is for America to simply and plainly obey the orders in all things, given by the Founding Fathers at the very begginnig! America, with its ever more horrendous and inhumane war machinery, it is now the insult to God of all times and a stab through the very heart of Christianity. The more bellicose America gets, the more America douses the world with gasoline as it were, sort of arson like, where is little spark from the nowhere my light planet earth into the infermo of all times. This war is evil, so, a little more evil as Tancredo says, really does not matter. Any Democracy that claims such while acting like and Empire is like a car with handbrakes on. Even Dwight D. Eisenhower was in full agreement with this words said so long ago: "Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inasuspicious to liberty and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican liberty". By George Washington. These words will forever haunt America while it has decided the same road as previous Empires! Only worse in its materialistic pagan ambitions, while with no shame whatsover in demanding God to bless America. My personal opinion. If guns were the solution, planet earth, should by now, be heaven like! But it is evermore like hell! Yes, and while America's bridges are
falling down!
I couldn't agree with him more. He is absolutely correct, and I would hope that we would absolutely destroy the Islamic holy sites if there were an attack along the lines of a major nuclear detonation in this country by a terrorist organization. Remember, he's not talking about a response to a car bombing, he's talking about a nuclear weapon detonation in a U.S. city by a terrorist organization, or similar scale attack. What other course of action would there be? Economic sanctions? diplomacy? A couple of cruise missiles to the desert? Destroying the holy sites would be the only way to effectively respond to an attack on our country of this nature. And anyone who thinks otherwise isn't willing to face the truth.
It's like saying, if one stupid member of family commits a mistake then his entire family, his home, his neibourhood, his country should be wiped off. What happened or where are the intellectual people of USA gone? save USA and bring peace on earth. Peace is never achieved with war and history and current events are proof of it.
The suicide bombers do what they do because they want to be martyrs for Islam. Destroying the holy sites would martyr these sites, and bring down upon us the hatred of the vast majority of muslims who don't hate the U.S. already.
Bin Laden unleashed 9/11 in a bid to foment a war between the West and Islam. Bush and Cheney have done their very best to give Osama what he wants. Bombing Mecca and Medina would remove any doubt in the minds of muslims that the U.S. is in fact engaged in a war on their faith, not a war on terrorism.
This is what we get when people vote based on soundbites rather than analysis
It's absolutely embarrassing to hear politicians talk like that. It is so shallow and has no essence whatsoever. What ever happened to diplomatic relationships? This to me is like going "an eye for an eye". What does that say about this country? Oh-let's bomb Mecca...... and this and that. It's "tit-for-tat". Such childish thoughts.
IS THIS ALL YOU CAN COME UP WITH??????
I agree this must be an option if Moslem governments make no effort to control this militant religion it will continue to have no regard for innocent human life. How can one stop a religion that preaches death as a path to paradise?
i think he is acrazy man
I think Tom has a point. These people don’t care about dieing. That is not a deterrent. We need to find a deterrent. Maybe destroying the one thing they care about will make them think twice. Why should we be the only ones that play by the rules or hold back because of political correctness while these people kill indiscriminately for
"As a Christian" this is reprehensible? Try "as a human being with more brain cells than fingers."
we will have a billions of Osama Bin Laden
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A US President that will be first to attack muslim holy sites as a deterrant will not only invite daily bombings to US interests worldwide, it would disrupt critical oil flow from the middle east WORLDWIDE, something that no US ally in Europe or anywhere else would accept. The result? A potential third world war. Even if terrorists initiated a large scale attack on US homeland, an irresponsible action like this would definately bring down the entire planet. Switch shoes for a minute, how would we react if the muslims were united and they were the superpower, abusing our resources and enforcing their cultural idealogy on us, and then when we cant take it no more and come up with a western form of resistance similar to al qaeda, we get labeled terrorists and their president bombs the white house and capitol hill. Think of that. Dont fight terrorism with bombs. Fight the foundation from which it stems its ideological energy. Bombing Mecca and Medina is definately NOT the way to go!!
At last someone has great IDEA!!!
I cannot even begin to express the disgust I feel at this point. How repulsive! This man is simply a fascist. As is anyone who agrees that bombing a holy site is a legitimate thing to do. Doing such a thing would only infuriate Muslims and show how disrespectful the attacking party is. Any person of any faith should find this suggestion utterly disgusting.
We should threaten the Saudi regime with physical retaliation if there is another attack on the US. This can be the best deterrent. With all OUR oil money they have the means, but still not the will, to settle things in the Middle East. But, you know, now they are Bush's "friends" so it won't happen until his term is up or he is impeached.
welcome to world war 3!!!
Wow, I mean WOW. It is my opinion that our presence in the middle east is causing more people to take up arms against us. Bombing a holy site would not deter anyone, on the contrary it would begin a full out war and the US would definately see attacks on our soil. What would you do if an army invaded your country?
The idea of "never" bombing "holy" Muslim sites is ridiculous! War in itself is WAR! NOTHING is sacred, nothing is safe. How many "churches" so you think were bombed in WW2? Does anyone honestly believe that the radical Muslims would NOT bomb a Catholic church or Jewish synagogue in a nano second? DUH to the American people for believing the ridiculous!! Radical Muslims would bomb ANY Christian/Jewish church/synagogue and be proud they did so regarless of who died. Have they not proved NO life is sacred? No child, no woman, no one, not even their own is safe from radicals! Time for America to "grow up" and face the REAL world and the REAL meaning of WAR!!
Tancredo' Comment:
"Better to say nothing than to open your mouth and confirm your idiocy to
the whole world."
This man is a War Monger and threat to the whole world. He should be barred from ever holding a political office in the US.
I was offronted the first time I saw this comment. that would turn a good chunk of the world against us. then I started thinking. maybe the threat of loosing holy sites would convince those "moderate" members of the "religion of peace" to control its fringe.
but let's start with the Dome of the Rock!
The screamingly obvious point that Tancredo and a number of commenters are missing here is that this is not a threat to these people. They're already blowing up mosques on their own! They would absolutely love it if we bombed mecca and medina, because it would "prove" that we are at war with Islam itself. This guy would start World War III!
God help us.
This post scares me 2 fold. Being from Colorado, I already knew Tancredo was supid. However, the Americans on here who agree (without considering the consequences) scares me far far worse. You would actually consider revenge? Look what happend last time we got revenge – we're stuck in Iraq! Cooler heads must prevail. For those people who agree with this nonsense – next time you attend Church or worship – ask God if He put us on this earth to destroy or to create. Those who agree should be ashamed.
Tancredo's suggestion to bomb Mecca religious sites – IF the United States is attacked by Muslim fundamentalists –is absolutely brilliant.
We don't enjoy it, but it's an eye for an eye. When dealing with terrorists, who bomb and then hide rather than fight as an army, striking Mecca's sites is the closest thing we have to a fair response. Give people a day to clear out, then let 'er rip. It's better than bombing innocent peoples' homes.
Are you serious? That's the most ridiculous comment I have ever heard come out of a republicans mouth – he is displaying the mentality of a 5 year old – all reason has left the GOP officially now..
I couldn't agree more. This is utterly consistent with the principles of deterrence that were so utterly effective during the Cold War. It is equally consistent with the level-setting carried out by the US and Allies in WWII. Short of it, all that we are saying is "if you attack anywhere in the US, we will not attack the real sources (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc.) and we will not attack in such a way that hurts deeply. We will simply respond in some fashion so that you can then attack in any way you so choose over and over again without any fear that we will respond in kind and more." Let no one pretend that this is not the right path. Mecca and the filthy Saudi regime should be disconnected from their oil revenues and hurt deeply.
Oh *great* idea! Let's destroy a **religuous** center to get back at the extremists' bombing of a **financial** center. I guess we Americans really do worship money. Let's polarize all the moderate Muslims so that the ENTIRE Islamic world will hate us. What do you think they would do then? What do you think would be THEIR next target? Can we think through before we say stuff like this? There is no "one" deterrent to terrorism but destroying Mecca would be "one" catalyst for a new era of warfare. ESPECAILLY since many AMERICANS are Muslims! Are you going to destroy a place that is sacred to AMERICANS? Did you even consider the American Muslims before you said something like this? How are they supposed to feel?
It made me happy to see that majority of Americans who commented on this item are of sound thinking, about ten percent or even less have criminal mentality like Bush, Cheney, Tom etc. There will always be people in human society with criminal mentality, their purpose is only destruction. These type of criminals can be controlled through ballet, congratulation Americans.
"The problems of this world are so gigantic that some are paralized by their own uncertainty. Courage and wisdom are needed to reach out above this sense of helplessness. Desire for vengeance against deeds of hatred offers no solution . An eye for an eye makes the world blind. If we wish to choose another path, we will have to search for ways to break the spiral of animosity. To fight evil one must also recognize one's own responsibility. The values for which we stand must be expressed in a way we think of, and how we deal with, our fellow humans."
This quote is from the Christmas message 2001 of H M Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Tom Tancredo needs to realize that we are all in this together. It takes real courage to help pull the world forwards and not push it backwards. Politically, our "business as usual" approach to our current problems must change if we are to survive.
I believe he is absolutely right! If the radical Islamic groups want a war based on religion and attacking our way of life, the only deterrent may be to threaten what THEY hold dear. To top it off, I don't think WE should do, I think we should just let Israel off the leash. They have wanted to do it for decades.
Is he out of his mind? Why in the world would an educated man even say such a thing? Just because radicals are making it difficult for people to live and are killing innocent people every day, this man wants to kill more innocent people and start an even bigger war. Not only a war but a holy war? This man should not be in office! You don't attack a religion if you are going to attack, you attack the aggressors! What an Idiot. I hope he loses any power he might have, this is how Americans die, with stupid comments from people in office who have don't have to go to the front lines and defend comments like this when things do happen. We have men and women EVERYDAY defending this country and what we believe in. I am one of them! Don't put us in harms way, as a representative of the state, you should be ashamed of yourself!
That is a mighty strong statement from someone running for a position that isn't supposed to take any hard-line positions on anything ever. I personally think that the threat of us attacking the capital of the group attacking us, Muslim extremists, is a viable alternative to getting blown up on a regular basis. Good for Rep. Tancredo for taking a stand that he believes in instead of being a flip-flopper like all the other candidates.
All these comments condemning Tancredo, yet not a single alternative idea. I get the feeling that all those who condemn him want to placate the Islamic fundamentalists by doing whatever they demand. But you forget that, unless you are a Muslim, you're an infidel and they want you dead. If the US leaves Arab lands, if we do everything the terrorists ask, they will still come after us because we are still infidel's and we deserve to die in their sick minds. Read the book "Londonistan".
While Tancredo's comments are a bit over the top for me, we better start thinking about what we will do if the terrorists nuke one of our cities. With the proliferation of nuclear technology, that is becoming a real possibility. What will you do? Run and hide? Negotiate with the terrorists? Become a Muslim so you can be safe?
I don't know a great deal about Mr Tancredo but bombing a holy site no matter what religion doesn't punish Islamist terrorists, infact it gives them the ammunition to state that the west does indeed have double standards and is anti-islam. It is a sad state of affairs when the politics in America distill down to who is the toughest, strongest, gutsiest against the Islamists. Mr Tancredo would surely be better served spouting out some serious policies, but I guess that is the real issue
I do think,if there would be an atack on the US,the plan of "Tankredo" would be the best counteratack,and this,the Extremist, would fear.
Tom, Tom, Tom, why didn't you just stay on message with your one good stance.
Why help them create martyrs?
this called true deterence. yes, it is could be viewed as outrageous and provacative, but the rest of the muslim world might turn against their brethern if there is the threat of their holiest sites being harmed. an attack probably will not create an ecomnoic collaspe, but it will certainly make me want to hurt their psyche as much as possible, consequnces be damned
About time a politician made sense. Fight terror with terror.
Who is this "nucklehead"! From his comments/suggestions it seems to me that this Senator has become a terrorist. "Loose Lips Sink Ships"
It is so very horrific that this suggestion sounds fair to me. What a world we have created here. This may be too far from the realm but the phrase "fight fire with fire" does have a real appeal.
He is 100% right! Good for him to tell the truth
Without a doubt hes right. It may be wrong, but hes right. Anyone saying hes not right is just a liar.
So Mr. Tancredo would kill completely innocent, uninvolved people and enrage religious and scholarly people all over the world (not just Muslims) all for what? To "punish" some extremists?
Something smells like terrorism.
These are the words of the Representative from Colorado? Well the only lesson here is, watch out for Coloradans.
Sorry...but I'll have to edit my own comments...This man..is a PRIME example why America is...hmmm crumbling...and that is not the word I want to use. Does this man even know that the true war is not the "west" against "muslims" ...but truly..muslim against muslim. There is a silent majority that is sitting back..and letting the raticals run the show...they don't approve of what these terrorists are doing in the name of "Islam" . So..just imagine for a minute if this guy things are bad now...when it's just a minority that is putting fear in the world..what would happen if that kind of act would turn the whole muslim world against the rest of the world.
I suggest people who are in power make educated comments..instead of ones that will insight anger and fear..and god knows what else. ( yes pun intended)
Michael Metelnick an Informed Canadian Living/working in Hong Kong
Right on Tom!
Good for Tom Tanreco! He's got my vote.
He is absolutely right, that is there language and its the only thing they will ever understand.
Mr Tancredo
what about jerusalem ? it's holly to the muslims as well ! or are you scared that israel will kick your butt?
If muslim extremeists attack the United States it will be because the muslim world failed to find and prevent the act. I do not see any of the muslim conservatives, if there are any, speaking out or actively trying to re-educate the terrorists. We have to motivate them to do so. One way to do that is to adopt a policy that will hit them where it hurts if they hit us first. I think Mecca is an excellent choice. They have nothing to loose unless we make it so. Perhaps the Muslim world needs to stop teaching their children that non-muslims deserve to die simply because they are infidels to them. Perhaps they should stop secretly funding the terrorists. Perhaps the muslim "culture" needs to actively create an environment of religious tolerance toward their fellow man, and leave the twelfth century behind.
Doesn't he realize that saying something like this would offend millions of Muslims in this country and elsewhere who are really not the enemy? This is absolutely ridiculous!
As a Muslim who lives and works in the US, and who fruitfully contributes to society and the scientific advancement of this country, to Tancredo I say: "So what next, should we start labeling American Muslims with arm bands so that the rest of us identify them?"
Are your ideas so weak that you can not defend them except with bombs? You are pathetic.
Why should we be the only ones living in fear? The threat to bomb their holy sites IF they attack us is a marvellous deterrent! No matter they are in Saudi Arabia, an "ally" Wahabi country that funds most of the Muslim terrorists against us. With the threat, even moderate Muslims may wake up and do something to stop their brethen frome extremist actions. Ah, and don't forget to destroy Iran's nuclear program fast, lest they become
"outraged" on the attack against
"their" culture....
This is insane. Could we play any more into the hands of the muslim extremists. This type of over-reaction is exactly what Bin Laden wanted and got (Iraq war) with 9/11. What could be a better recruiting tool for Al Qaeda to get the 99% of non-extremist muslims into wanting to attack us also. This type of Toby Keith "Boot in the Ass" bomb them all because they are all the same rhetoric is truely a short-cut to thinking.
Hello. Mr. Tancredo,
Your statement is very dangerous and thought provoking.
1. First of all have you travelled outside the United States. There is a growing sentiments against Americans all over the world. Because of our current administration's foreign policy, war in Iraq and Afganistan.
2. The war in IRAQ is unwanted. Bush-Cheney adminstration manipulated the pre-war intelligence to go to war in IRAQ. What is happening is there now is innocent people are caught in the middle of sectarian violence.
3. We need to get out of IRAQ and the middle-east. The longer we are there – more hatred towards Americans.
4. We need friends than enemies. By bombing Mecca would not acheive anything. Rather it would inflame more hatred towards Americans. We will be more vulnerable. American companies will lose billions of dollars in businesses as those countries will switch to other nations companies.
5. We will be the losers. Therefore the best option is watch your mouth think twice before speak.
6. What we need to do is continiue to work with allies such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, and Pakistan as to eradicate the radical Islamists and hunt down the Bin-laden and his deputies. If you bomb Mecca – all these allies will not work United States.
7. So before you speak – think twice.
-Independent Voter-
Jay
If Islamic fundamentalists had the means to nuke America, and for that matter the Vatican, they would. And without hesitation. Tancredo is 'thinking' like the enemy and that may be the a possible alternative to our current means of addressing Islamic fundamentalists. In other words, let Muslims control these fanantical goups. If all Muslims understand what is at stake, and what they could lose, maybe they will rise up and be a part of the 21st century. To date: Why have Muslims as a group took a stand against Islamic fundamentalists? Because every dead non-Muslim is a victory. And no, I am not a Bush supporter and I am not alligned with any political party. Lastly, I believe that invading Iraq was a total mistake.
He is either a stupid moron or a prejudist fanatic, or perhaps both.
It will not be a deterrent but an incentive for the terrorists like Bin Ladin, he will suddenly recruit millions, thanks to this sort of inconceivable idiocy, & he wants to run for president???
calm down people! like exxon would ever let this happen...
Oh really? bomb the muslim holy city? and what would that accomplish except kill millions of innocent people and bring us to WW3. The one thing commom with terrorist and republican Tancredo is that they both have radical ideas and think that they can and should kill anyone and everyone standing in their way of achieving power, with utter disregard for any innocent people. TANCREDO AND PEOPLE LIKE HIM ARE OUR OWN HOME GROW TERRORISTS.
I am changing my vote to this man Tancredo. I was going to vote for Obama, because he wants to invade Pakistan, which I think we definitely need to do, but Tancredo is even tougher than that.
That's about the stupidest idea I've ever heard in my life. Muslims get riled up if a mosque gets bombed much less Mecca. People think they hate us now, there's no way to explain how extreme the global repercussions of doing this would be. This guy is LAST person we need to be commander in chief of our armed forces... What a moron!!!
Who are 'they'? Terrorists don't represent a 'they', but are misguided individuals and underground organizations. You can't attack 'them' by bombing a holy muslim site.
The only thing reassuring about all of this is that most of the comments on here recongize that this guy is a certifiable loon, just as dangerous as 'they' are.
Tom Tancredo is the biggest dumb I have seen. He cannot be a president who has no knowledge of other nations and religions.
Hey Tom – did you take world religion class in the College. I bet you didn't. If you did take – you are not going to make such a dump statement.
Saudi, Indonesia and some of the Arab countries will react badly. Therefore it is a bad idea.
Fire your advisor. Is that he/she or you came up with this idea. If you did make the statement yourself, quit from the Campaign. Amercians do not want to select you dude.
Your statements is pretty much like what Bush said on the 2000 campaign trail. He said he wanted to go after Saddam. He said so as to rally the American voters behind him. Him and Haliburton former CEO making big profits from the Haliburton's rebuilding Iraq contracts and Oil profts.
Tancredo: Threaten to bomb Muslim holy sites in retaliation
This jerk does not understand that one fourth population of the world are muslim.
Take the fight to the enemy!!!!
Never surrender!!!
Preemption is our only security!
What this guy says fits perfectly with the Bush doctrine. This is the type of policy we should look forward to if anyone takes Bush seriously.
SHOCKING!!!!
IF ANYTHING, ATTACKING MUSLIM HOLY SITES WOULD MOBILIZE MILLIONS TO JOIN THE TERRORISTS.
THIS IS THE FUNDAMENTAL FLAW IN AMERICA'S FIGHT AGAINST EXTREMISTS. WE CONTINUE TO PUT ALL MUSLIMS IN ONE GROUP, INSTEAD OF ISOLATING THE EXTREMISTS FROM THE REST OF THE MUSLIMS.
That would make sense. I think it would show that we mean business. But on the other hand, some muslims are so crazy, you may have to blow them up right along with their holy sites. I believe all hell would break loose.
clearly it does not matter if you bomb them or not as the terrorists do no mind as they bomb them themselves.
How desperate are us politicians today to base their campaigns on topics like these. The rest of the world watches and laughs as we elect these idiots to represent our country. This guy should be banned from politics. He is a nut case.
Bomb Mekka or Madina, and the world will come to an end. Don't sleep on the 1.2 Billion Muslims in the world. People need to open their eyes to realize the reality of the situation.
This man is an idiot and those who think that same are idiots also. This is the same kind of thinking that is going to get us all killed. Bombing those Holy places will not deter anything, if anything, it will encourage. There has to be a time when you have to step back and look at things from a logical point of view and not do some showboating to keep from looking like a punk. Look at this fool we have now in office right now and his administration. A bunch of weakminded punks going around not completing or being honest about anything. We don't need another 4 years of this stupidity. You have to learn when to keep your mouth shut or think about the consequences of your before you spew them out of your mouth. The republicans seem to have a serious lacking of this skill.
this guy is an idiot and he thinks that bombing the holy site of mecca will fix problems? who elected the degenerate moron. his ways of thinking reminds me of Bush and do we want another idiot in office to bring our country more suffering and pain? the US is now turning this into a war with muslims which is not fair because us muslims must visit mecca at least once in our lifetime to meet the 5 pilars of islam and if the US attacks mecca how much violence and terror will that cause?
Mr. Tracredo's ideal is an option that must be considered. Given the right circumstances, it could be an appropriate response to an attack however, it would not be good deterrent as it would serve as common ground for Muslims everywhere . The best way to handle the threat is to let them kill themselves just as the "Blacks" in America are doing and the shiites and sunnis in Iraq.
The ultimate goal of the Islamists has no place for co-existance with other philosophies. In fact the liberal commentors here represent a way of life and thinking which is particularly repulsive to the Islamists. I don't know what turning Mecca into a glass lined hole would accomplish. I do know that the statement got the attention of those plotting against us. For the first time a meaningful negative consiquence to their actions has been presented.
In response one of the writer Andy –
In order to protect us from being nuked by Islamist Terrorists here are the following we need to take action on.
1. Increase the border secruity.
2. Inspect all cargos at all ports.
3. Inspect all vechicles entering from Canada and Mexico.
Because Canada seems the safe haven for Islamists because of their lax rules on Immigrations and tourist and student visas.
4. Gather information on the illegeal muslim immigrants. Because someone from inside must be feeding the terrorists outside.
5. Tighten the laws for religious freedoms in US, England and other western world.
6. Tighten the Asylum laws for immigrants from muslim nations.
in looking at the recent events in Engalnd and Fort Dix, NJ, it was planned out by muslim fanatics who either came as asylees.
Posted By Robert, Atlantic City, NJ : August 4, 2007 10:58 am
Its not his father land to do any thing .If he do he will face with US severe punishment.
wow, hmmmmmmmm instead of getting maybe 10000 to 50000 whachoe's against us hell lets try over a billion.... gotta love the S-T-U-P-I-D ppl. But, I guess special occasion it must be bring a retard to work day. no wait this is gov and serious MC'D will do
These people(terrorist/Muslim fanatics) have no qualms what so ever about wreaking total destruction on us(Americans),be it women,children the elderly ,they don't care.So I am in complete agreement with Tancredo.It is time to stop worrying about being politically correct or offending someone ,this is self preservation for the people of the United States and we must do what ever is needed to survive!
but,but...who is going to give me gasoline to fill up my suv?.
what the hell! lets bomb the whole planet,that will teach them a good lesson.
Please come to Mecca, and repeat your open-minded statement. I will pay for your travel fees.
If America were to hit the holy sites, then it would fall on us, even moderae american muslims to take up arms. What every fundementalist in the world has said would be right: islam is under attack. And, here is something for you dummies who are for tancredo, we people in the middle east have a high tolerance for this sort of thing than you christian softies do. Believe me, no mall, no school, no street will EVER be safe in the States again. This country will bleed like it never did before.
He's got my vote!
I don't know what's more surprising: Tom Tancredo's racist comment, or the fact that so many people here are agreeing with him.
Our war is not with Islam. Though, Tancredo obviously wants to turn this into an all-out holy war.
You people make me sick.
I guess what would happen to this great nation America if such candidate were to eventually become president (remember florida). I am really surprised that he is an elected representative. Imagine a situation if he becomes president of US and visits middle east for any business. That would be a fun visit wouldn't it be. I think there was even a miracle that he would have been nominated now even God Almight can't help him win a nomination.
Very stupid idea Tom!Don't mess with peoples religious beliefs!You might as well start WW3.You want to hurt them stop buying there oil,hurt them in there wallets!
As a Muslim who attests to the sanctity of Mecca and Medina, I absolutely condemn Terrorism. With that said, I believe that Tancredo's remarks demonstrate how an increasing number of politicians ignore the hard-working and loyal Muslim-Americans like myself who do not espouse any extremism. Instead of dividing Americans by insinuating collective punishment, Tancredo should set forth plans to promote and galvanize activism amongst Muslim Americans who can assuredly play a vital role in combating domestic terrorism.
and you expect your self to lead
As American citizens, we must not rule out any means of preventing further attacks on our homeland, including this one. Is any one of their holy sites more important than our World Trade Center? Is any pilgrimage location more important than our Nation's Capitol building is too us? Which of those sites is more sacred than the Pentagon, the center of the military that has fought to preserve freedom throughout the world?
If a sitting president of the United States makes it public policy to destroy Mecca if Muslim terrorists successfully perform another attack of 9/11 scale, then, the Muslim terrorists would be the ones destroying Mecca. And, an added benefit would be this: the Saudis would finally be motivated to stop supporting fascist Islam, and to capture Osama Bin Laden. It's a fundamentally moral question: what's more holy? Protecting pile of stones? Or, protecting human lives?
His comments are being taken out of context. Should he have used better restraint? Yes... However while I personally don't completly agree, with his point a view.
I think he has some valid point, most of the comments here on this board are missing the point and just goes to show how liberalism has certainly tainted this country.
We need a President that will fight back if we are attacked.
Oh... And know doubt about it, the bad guys will attack again. This time with a weapon alot worse than anything before. Lights out at that point. Then he can say I told you so, then we need to fight back 100 percent. It's coming down to us or them.
People were passive too, right before the bombing of Pear Harbor. Now that being said. Let's get the job done peacfully or nobody wins.
Go, Tom! That kind of plan has worked so well for Israel that everyone in the area now practically lives in an armed camp. Is that what you want for you children and grandchildren? Well, it's not what I want for mine. You idiot. It's people like you who have turned this country into a pariah among nations. As a country, we know almost nothing about mainstream Islam and its practitioners, and, so far, I haven't seen one administrative hand reaching across the bullets to try and understand and make friends with anyone but the most fundamentalist of all Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia. Now, you are even talking about fighting them, too! God, I'm glad you'll never be elected president.
Tancredo apparently thinks it's a good idea to punish all muslims for the extremists actions. He is willing to bomb centers of historic/religious/cultural significance because of a disruptive few. Just what we need: another person trying to continue the Bush Doctrine of American isolation.
I think this shows the fundamental ignorance in holding a religion accountable for actions of a handful of lunatics.
To tancredo & his fans who think its a good idea.
1- Meccans & Medinites have not committed a crime against the US. So you are basically comitting a crime worse than the terrorists.
2- terrorists are outlaws & fanatics, the US government should not be the same.
3- It would seem you are equating terrorists with muslims, would it be ok then to kill any muslim walking in the street anywhere just because of his faith?
A guy before tried in many evil ways to destroy followers of a faith & failed, his name was Hitler, as repugnant & vile he was, so is tancredo & those who support his stupid idea.
Another thing for those bigoted supporters, since you belive its a good idea to nuke civilians who did nothing, except being muslim, how do you feel when an american is killed abroad because of his nationality? if you think you are right in your approach, then i guess you must believe that they are right too, its pathetic what you have come to.
The bombing of Muslim holy sites would not be a deterrent...It would motivate would-be terrorists. If they attack us and we attack Mecca & Medina in return, Bin Laden would have what he has always wanted...full-scale West vs. Islam jihad.
I assume Muslim media is all over this story and using it to fuel even more anti-US sentiment. Politicians should be forced to appear on that tv show, "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" before they are allowed to serve. If they are not (smarter, that is), they are fired.
Are psychotic urges all that drive Republicans anymore? Do they not realize that doing that would only cause more problems than they would solve?
is this guy stupid or what?
im all for it that's the best idea ive yet.hit them were it hurts.
Tancredo is right , Even though his suggestion is a little Tame, America should have went in Hard at the very start of this conflict , its laughable that America has all these nuclear weapons it wont use, America's enemies now see America as a Tiger with no teeth.
What I think he is unaware of is that this is a war on terorists, not Islam. Bombing Islamic holy sites would, as others have said, lead to a "crusade" type of war with fighting between religions. While the terrorists hide in Islam they are the lunatic fringe of it, just as the abortion clinic bombers are the lunaitc fringe of Christianity. There is no deterrent in making such idiotic statements, it only drives a further wedge between the normal (right thinking) members of all religions.
This guy is a racist, idiot and should be banned from politics! He thinks all Muslims should suffer for a few crazy idiots that use Islam to make terror around the world! It's Nazi Germany all over again, only this time it's Muslims, not the Jews!
attacking those sites would only make the war of "armageddon" that's being fought now more hotter if not bring it to it's final stage of all out war,and would be hastening the doom and fall of this mystery babylon america,so clearly he's the wrong devil for president.
So typical of the GOPs, all guts, but no brain.
Does this guy has ANY Idea what he is saying?
What he is saying is going to create a war of the religions, He wants 2 billion Muslims as his enemy's ?
I agree and support Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo. This is deterrence and worked well during the cold war. The Muslim culture is at war with and wants to destroy Western Culture and values. This is a good defensive move to preserve our wellbeing and way of life. Protecting our own is the moral thing to do.
That's like bombing the Vatican because some Catholic somewhere in the world killed a family member of yours. It's completely insane to think of bombing an ancient holy site, sacred to over a billion people because a few nutjobs attack our homeland. Muslims are not our enemy, its extremism like Tancredo and Osama Bin Laden thats the enemy.
Although seemingly a ludricrous suggestion, the point is accurate. In a culture that encourages martyrdom, the only thing fundamentalists value is their religion, and the only way to deter an attack is to threaten that which they hold sacred. Otherwise we can thwart them, but not deter them.
I can't think of a better way to start WWIII...can you? Religion is at the core of someone's charecter, bombing Mecca will do exactly what fundamentalists want- unite the people of the Muslim religion. what they unite for will not be in the best interest of any American...or any civilization for that matter
i feel so diappointed as a human being that this came out of someone's mouth...we can strive for better.
This trial balloon by Tancredo may not be the optimum precision directed parry to the coming attack, but it is refreshing to hear that someone in Washington is searching for ways to liberate the strength of this nation from the Lilliputian bonds with which the liberals have strapped it down. The day is soon coming when the healthy people of America will have to rethink the blessings of the dominant mindset of effinism and weakness with which we have been so lovingly bludgeoned by the earthshoe elite. The questions come down to this: will we choose to live or die? Are we willing to do what it takes to live?
Wow, even Bush isn't that stupid.
It's interesting that we are appalled when we see propaganda pieces (such as this one) from Islamic terrorist organizations. However, when it's a US Representative, we're not so quick to call for the man's head.
When does this all end? They hit us on 9/11, we go after Afganistan and Iraq. They hit us again, we go after Holy Sites?
Destroying Mecca and Medina will achieve nothing. Terrorists follow an ideal, not a man or object or place. This act will only embolden them to do something more unspeakable.
The most irresponsible and arrogant statement I have heard. For people who think this is a great idea, I would like to ask how is this moron's statement is any different than for example Iran saying it will bomb and destroy The Vatican City if attacked by The United States?
What Terrorist Tencredo is saying is exactly the same thing. Think about it.
this guy is a lunatic
Im a democrat, Im a black man, I believe in the right to bear arms,Im a christian and I agree with him a 100%!
Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam. Can we bomb them too?
This guy certainly needs to learn a little about foreign policy. Why in God's name would you tip your hand as to what you would do in a hypothetical situation like that and encourage someone who has an axe to gring with the muslims to attack us in the hopes that we retaliate against Mecca? Meanwhile our country will suffer from even more big government Republicans and personal freedoms usurped in the name of security.
*******WAR IS NOT A SOLUTION******* Let's pray for a peaceful world
That would single handedly incite World War III–not only would every country in support of the United States be at war with every islamic theocracy, but there would an implosion of violence within any country where muslims are citizens.
This is not a good idea and Tancredo shouldn't have said it. I don't believe that the terrorists would care one way or another if Mecca was bombed, they aren't true Muslims anyways.
That said, I have one interesting thing of note: Notice how many Western and American people are outspoken about Tancredo in this blog? Why don't we see the same backlash by Muslims when their fundamentalist leaders advocate nuking the west and suicide bombings? Food for thought...
Too bad 2 Billion Muslims are on the wrong side of our secular state. I would not hesitate to bomb their holy sites if we are provoked again.
We have respected this religious gibberish entirely too much. We have paid for the most powerful military the world has ever seen, so they had better "prey" that we don't use it. Religious fascism/terrorism must end!
It is a shame that the Muslims have "cornered" people into thinking more of what not to do to Muslims.
They have stealthly planted fear in the minds of "Libral thinkers" of this world.
Accept it or not, If Muslim "Holy Sites" are attacked they will not be able to sustain a worldwide warfare.
Muslims make you fear what they dread, Besides chicken hearted people die many times before their death.
The earlier we stop "pleasing" muslims for fear of what we think they can do, the earlier we break free from their shadows of fear.
It is time to wake up.
Bombing Mecca with nukes during the hajj, will humble the fools that think that they are invincible.Besides force is the only thing Muslims understand.
Tancredo is exactly the kind of neonazi we dont need in our country. Its people like him who harbour terrorism. Can someone tell me why killing millions of innocent people, by bombing two holy cities, who have no ties to Al Qaeda is not an act of terrorism. This guy is not only a moron but a second comming of Hitler and probably a buddy of Osama Bin Laden, since they preach the same messege of hate and biggotry.
What Mr.Tancredo has said is 100% right. If these islamic jihadists are all up for killing us anytime anywhere, then we should not spare them at all.
I live in Tancredo's version of a Third World Country, Miami,Florida. Maybe he would like to bomb Miami right along with Mecca and Medina. This guy is an INSANE IDIOT.
aboslute moron...just like bush and all republicans who are destroying this country
Funny things is i don't see a problem with that. they plays by a different set of rules. We need to level the playing field. If they attack my family, I say attack theirs. If they attack my friends, I say attack theirs. Then we would see how quick this stiops. Ever heard, fight fire with fire, an eye for an eye? Let the liberals defend their families with hugs and kisses.
It is easier to sit in a secure place and threaten the world ,i think it will not be easy to attack Mecca and i don't really think that senator has the balls to do that ,They went to spread democracy in Iraq and now after so long there emotions have cooled down,the only man who is still excited about it is Bush or his General who is paid to support the president ,I think before attacking Meccca americans should go in Iran cool the anger of iranians with their blood and weapons ,then attack on Syria and feel good about it ,then comes Pakistan ,after that if they have any more energy left to threaten they should threaten India and China for taking their jobs ,but i think by that time greedy ,ignorant and racist Americans will have a miilion U.S dollar to a euro and they would start killing their neigbours for cash and will not have the energy to threaten any one else , Probably a super power china will provide a better leadership to the world than mean and greedy Americans.
Fisrt of all, as a Muslim, let's just say Mecca and Medina can be rebuilt. This will be the duty of everyone who worships the One and Only God. Thus in the end, Mr. Tancredo, you've accomplished nothing. Second, rather than deter any furture attacks, you've only increased them. This stupid idea of yours is really, in the end, a failure. Think you options through.
Sounds good but I'm not sure it would be very effective.
When dealing with someone who wants to blow themselves up It will likely be pretty hard to find something they care about.
Threatening to kick over it's water bowl won't deter a mad dog from attacking...
Fear in America has lead to such stupid statements! Call him what he is A Christian Terrorist!
How would destroying another religions holy sites stop terrorism? The majority of the people in Islam are NOT terrorist dispite what is seen on OUR media!
Americans need to wake up and educate themselves on other religions and cultures. Remember, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and the US bombed the hell out of that country. What good did that do?
This Terrorist should be removed from politics!
By the way, where is Osama and his people...those are the ones we should really bomb!
Is he insane? That would be like putting up an "open season" sign on schools, churches, and everyplace else that people gather. This would cause mass rioting across the globe.
Someone has to remain on the moral high ground...
He should stop reading out of the "Bush playbook" and start thinking with his head.
Horrible idea. If we resort to bombing their holy sites, we have sunk to the level of the Muslims.
I think most people miss the point here. Isn't the guy just saying no matter where you hide we will attack you. Who cares what or where the structure is. If a country wants to hide these cowards then certainly they are no ally to us.
We already know this guy is insane from the debates he has been in. What is more scary is reading the comments on this blog that agree with him. If you want to seal the downfall of the United Sates and its western alllies then go ahead and bomb Mecca. Let's see what happens.
You go go, Tom! But don't stop there. I'd be taking out full page ads in all the major newspapers in Syria, Iran and other terrorist supporting countries, and that ad would say, "Let your people know, the United States if America is here to be a peaceful international partner. However, any attack on the United States of America, its territories or its allies, will be dealt with a massive military response against Tehran and Damascus, regardless by whom the United States of America, its territories or its allies is attacked!"
He's wrong about bombing holy sites, but he has started a useful discussion about what would be a deterrant for stopping terrorists? What threat exists that would stop a lunatic group of Muslims from getting and detonating a nuclear weapon in a western city?
Sounds like a good idea to me!
What.
An.
Idiot.
Makes me wanna hollah!
As a Muslim and an American (born and raised) I am pleased to see so many of my fellow citizens as outraged as I am by Rep. Tancredo's statements. If anyone honestly believes that striking Mecca and Medina would any way deter these murderous lunatics from attacking America, consider Islam teaches that God the murder of one is the equivalent of murdering all of humanity such that deterrence from God is not enough. Instead, bombing the holy cities would do exactly what so many of you have pointed out–put the entire Islamic world of 1.2 billion believers at odds with the United States. While Representative Tancredo's visceral reaction might provoke some sympathy among the fringe elements in this county, no one should forget that hate begets only more hate.
Chris, Knoxville
"Republican's are stupid".
How about "Republicans are stupid" – no apostrophe.
Who's the stupid one here?
Finally .... someone in politics with some 'cajones'to tell it like it is. If we are attacked by any terrorist faction from any Muslim country, we should immediately destroy one of their sacred sites. Their hatred and their actions are fueled by religious fervor and fundamentalist religious zealots who will be stopped only when their own 'religions' are directly attacked. These vermin should be eliminated at their source. Kudos to Tom Tancredo.
These types of comments are reprehensible and shows an intolerance and inability to fully understand how the worl has changed. Attacking Holy sites will not deter anyone from committing terrorist attacks. If anything, it will create more violence. One Bush is enough.
The height of insanity! What arrogance! Attack religious sites that are revered by a billion people because a small handful are extremists? Let's turn the rest of the Muslim world against us. Such a tactic would have exactly the opposite effect than that envisioned by Tancredo: we'd be giving the rest of the world another reason to hate us. Is this any different than Iran bombing the Vatican? Or Westminster Cathedral? Maybe it's time that Americans (I am one!) recognize that our foreign policies are fueling terrorism. Our invasion of Iraq has virtually guaranteed a long line of volunteers at the terrorist training camps. Every atrocity, no matter how infrequent, like the rape and burning of that Iraqi girl, lends credibility to the claims of the terrorist leaders. Our only hope to stem the rise of terrorism is to come to grips with its root causes, and take steps to alleviate the anger that drives it. Everything else just fuels the fires.
I always thought he was crazy. Now he's given me proof.
Absolutely correct, radical muslims have made this world one giant killing field and it's to the point where we need to start taking drastic measures. When you're dealing with individuals who live in the sewer, sometimes you need to get into the gutter. At the same time, it's a double edged sword, because most muslims are decent people but they need to stand up and denounce these attacks! After all, it is not Christians or people of other faiths that are responsible for these deadly and horrible suicide attacks!!
For those who are quick to point out that the US is kiling people in the Iraq War, civilians do die during wars. Over 60 million people died during WW2 and a good share of those were civilians. Fighting tyranny is not easy, for anyone.
However we, as a country, do not engage in 'Total War' anymore, the US Military has gone to great lengths to insure that civilians are safe!
I agree with Mr. Tancredo. There are no rules to war. Such a threat, if real, is a significant incentive for "moderate" (if such a thing exists) Muslims to place pressure on the extremists. That is where the battle lay.
I'm 100% liberal and I have never voted for a Republican in my life. Yet this idea is exactly right in my opinion. I don't respect religious garbage and I don't know why we have not already bombed those sites.
We shouldn't be threatending to bomb anyone period. It's like playground banter with these people: My fortress is bigger than yours. I'm better than you. The people who run this country should be acting like adults not babies. And might I add: racist.
If I didn't share the planet with all the pro-nuclear warhawks on this board, I would hope they get their wish just so they could completely comprehend their own stupidity. But I do.
Thank God it's not up to them, or we would all be dying of radioactive fallout. Is that the fate you all want? Because that's what you're trying to push on everyone else.
If you want a fight so bad, put down your mouse, pick up a gun, and head on out to war. Go fight like a man. Or are you such cowards that you'll have someone else nuke the world on your behalf? You sound like cowards to me.
Tom, you're wrong, and the best deterrent is to get people like you out of office.
Proud Parent, USAF
I am amazed Mr. Tancredo reached a point where he is a presidential candidate. What happened to America and its ideals and laws. This arrogant Tancredo should be booked to a mental institution as soon as possible. He needs to understand that muslims civilized humans and are also part of the American demography.
Anyone who recklessly takes out innocent lives is an idiot and can only expect extreme payback. If this ever happened, our country (The U.S.A.) would be a much more dangerous place to live!
When will people learn it's safer to make friends instead of be the bully.
IM REALLY ASHAMED OF MY COUNTY FOR HAVING LUNATICS AS THIS FELLOW RUN FOR PRESIDENT!! TANCREDO YOU AINT GETTING MY VOTE!
Seems pretty practical to me. Surely if there's something to deter an extremist Muslim from launching another attack like 9/11, it is the bombing of their most revered sites? We have the bombs to do it without causing too many casualties. I say thumbs up to this idea. Hit them where it hurts and show them we mean business. They want to screw with us, they'll regret it.
Of course, this also means that if anyone wants to attack a Muslim holy site, they just have to stage an attack against the U.S. and make it look like extremist Muslims did it, forcing America's hand to do what they want (attack those sites). Gotta be sure about who did the attacking before we retaliate as such.
how did this guy become a congressman,? i've never heard something so outragious and ignorant. being a muslim i find it appauling, does'nt he realize if such thing would happend, it would only make things worse?? I would like too see the immediate removal of Tom Tancredo from office.
Absolutely stupid and ridiculous – Tancredo needs to read Ron Paul's book "A Foreign Policy of Freedom"
This is a bad idea, because it is such a strong message. Even if we were attacked again, striking suck holy sites would only further strengthen the Extremists' resolve against the USA, and perhaps spark a violent holy war. Therefore, bombing Mecca wouldn't be in our interests. therefore is it not a credible threat, and thus an ineffective deterrent.
Tancredo for President
This is not a crazy idea. It would result in minimal loss of life if done with surgical strikes and it would have maximum deterrent effect. Since we value human life ( abortion notwithstanding) that is what they seek to hold hostage by their campaigns of terror, human lives. We should hold their holy sites hostage since that is what they value. Call it a jihadist version of Mutually Assured Destruction. It is MAD but not crazy.
Another case of lumping all Muslims as radicals.
I suppose that had he been around in the 70's and 80's, he would have advocated nuking Rome and the Vatican the next time the IRA blew up a shopping mall in England?
Mecca and Medina are cities within Saudia Arabia, the same country of birth of 15 of the 19 9-11 hijackers. Ally or not where there's smoke there's fire. You can't solve a problem if you ignore the source of the problem.
Sorry everyone im not suprised at all. Little Tommy just said what many of them are thinking and saying to their buddies. He's a conservative. So is Bin Laden. This is a conservative mind set. The party of hate. I don't think the KKK is liberal. I guarantee they would agree with little Tommy. They are conservative. I don't think terrorist are liberal, they hate change. They are conservative. This is the mindset. If you don't believe watch the comments of those who consider themselves conservative. They will prove me right.
Small pockets of fanatical muslims use questionable interpretations of hadith to justify terrorism. Attack Mecca and unite the entire Muslim world against the attackers. No questionable interpretations. The Quran is clear.
OK. Why don't you go ahead and do it????????? I think you imagine it's very easy.!!!
I ABSOLUTELY agree with Rep. Tancredo's assertion that bombing Mecca and Medina would be an effective, acceptable deterrent towards Islamic Radicals and their twisted beliefs. I'd consider my political views to be that of a slightly left-leaning centrist (mainly due to my intolerance for religious fanatacism and the seemingly infinite number of contradictions inherent to it), but my rational side tells me that fighting fire with fire is the only way to stop these animals from causing further damage to our country. Thankfully, I'm honest enough with myself to admit that I could not care less about the plight and struggle of Muslims.
I am not a person that advocates war. But his idea has merit. We MUST find a way to deter another attack. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.
"Terrorists" would be thrilled if we bombed a holy site. It would almost instantly achieve their goal of rallying the entire Muslim world against us.
Alas, when they show their true selfs intentions.
Yeah, that sure worked on us. They bombed a major city and we didn't respond at all. Nope. No outrage at all. We pulled all our troops out of the middle east. Brilliant deterrant. Next thing you know, he'll suggest putting out a fire with gasoline.
Re Steve NY "As a Christian, Mr. Tancredo’s comments are absurd and disgraceful."
Actually as Christian statements they seem perfectly in keeping with the treatment meted out to those who make distinctions between whose side the "invisible men" are on.
Oh, stop whining. Bombing mecca and medina can't make muslims more angry at USA, they are already operating at full maximum hate. It can only make them fear us. Thats the point of a deterrent. Duh
what a crazy loon.
Absolutely brilliant idea!! I think it's terrific that someone is FINALLY thinking outside the box of political correctness.
Actually I think it is a good idea. If
THEY are willing to "blow America all to hell" (ally or no ally they are all
ARABS), then perhaps THEY will see that
WE mean business and not just playing around anymore. TOO many AMERICAN lives
have been lostto all of those JERKS! I say "hit them where it hurts"! And that
seems to be their "RADICAL RELIGIOUS" idea is to FORCE ALL OF THE WORLD TO BE
MUSLIM OR ELSE!
We should drop leaflets ant tell them that we are going to nuke the sites, Then nuke them.
The non crazies would leave ...
After a couple of hundred years of having nothing to orbit around the whole religion would disappear. Nobody would miss it.
Hey Tom, you could drop a million nukes on mecca and medina. When the dust clears i will still go for hajj.
What an ignorant fool.
How did he get elected in first place.
i didnt think there could be anyone worse than bush...
good thing the GOP has no chance in 08 or we would be in some serious trouble!
Hit Mecca! this shows how desperate are some people to get elected Tincredo is just one of them
Absolutely Crazy is exactly right! Someone remove him form office before we start the freakin' Apocolypse!
Tancredo is right on target. We only invite attack when we do not retaliate. It encourages these Muslim maniacs when they get away with their missions of destruction without suffering any punishment. This administration has been inept at punishing these Muslim terrorists. We should have bombed Pakistan into a parking lot years ago for harboring this Bin Laden and his legions of brutality. Tancredo and Hunter are the only two candidates that have shown they have the courage to lead a nation.
This man is a sick, twisted retard in a business suit. Lots of them. Idiots who never developed the ability to actually think about what they observe. I wouldn't be surprised if this idiot watches cartoons, or the adult equivalent. He's what the term "reactionary" best describes. The clown finds it impossible to figure out that bombing any religion's holy sites doesn't deter them, it makes them angrier. The idiot doesn't seem to realize that there are plenty of Muslims worldwide who would react. This jerk is a perfect example of the "feel-good", pain-oriented, simplistic approach to handling problems–he has no ability to think beyond one or two steps, no ability to extrapolate consequences.
MR. Tancreso, show ignorence about islam. Islam is relation between the self( moslim beleiver) and his God, and this has nothing to do Mecca and Madena. He Should know that before the end of life ( day of jugments), God told the moslims that Macca will be destroyed and Isalm will stil excist for enternity.
Why Not????? Are they willing to attack us? Yes. Hit them where it hurts. I am reminded of the 1969 bombing of Hanoi. If we had kept it up 1 more week, Hanoi would have capitulated. They use their religion as a tool against us, and everyday American boys are dying to stop them. I think you will find that a lot of Americans agree with Tancredo. Its a new world and we need to protect ourselves in ANY way we can.
Saudi Arabia isn't much of an ally. If all the truth came out, they would be seen for the hypocrites they really are. Tancredo is right on, and he has the right ideas on illegal immigration also. Too bad he does not have much chance at the nomination. This country needs more like him.
It's been widely rumored for years that Bush has made this threat explicitly. Similar threats were made against Pakistan in order to secure cooperation in the Afghan War. And frankly, even if he hadn't made the threat explicit, I am quite certain that another major terror attack on US soil would bring our nuclear deterrent into play–what on earth could such forces be meant to deter if not a large-scale savage attack on our country. I for one have wondered ever since we took over Pakistani airbases to attack Afghanistan how long it would be before we used Afghan airbases to attack Pakistan.
The Quran is filled with passages that talk about waging war against non-muslims. The most famous is 9.29:
"Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." (YUSUF ALI Translation)
The other translations are the same. Some will say I am just cherry picking but not one of the major muslim groups on this planet disagrees what this means. It is the duty of all pious muslims to wage war (Jihad) against non-muslims until the submit and pay the jizya (if they are Jews and Christians). If they are not Jews and Christians kill them. Now not every muslim understands this phrase nor is every muslim really pious. The fact is the less pious a muslim is the less dangerous he is. The more pious the more dangerous he is to non-muslims.
The only place Tancredo gets it wrong is that he would wait for an attack on the USA before he’d attack Mecca. Uh, why wait??? I’m all for a PREEMPTIVE obliteration of Mecca. Just do it. Now. Seriously, nothing would put a bigger grin on my terrorist-despising face than to wake up one random day, turn on CNN, and see TOP STORY: MECCA FLATTENED. Just imagine the joy of seeing a giant black pane of sandy glass, stretching for miles, lying where Mecca used to be. I never liked the look that hideous giant black cube anyway, that pile of garbage that these insane radicals walk around in circles, for hours at a time, like zombies from Night of the Living Dead. Ahhh, I realize this is only a dream for now. But you just wait. Have 1 or 2 more WTC-type attacks in the country, and what you may think is a dream now will indeed make sense to all of us, including our President, regardless of political party. Just you wait.
As another ashamed Coloradan, and to answer the question of why this guy represents this state, I can only offer the explanation that Tancredo hails from the 6th District, which is a largely-rural-though-partially-suburban and very conservative area. In Colorado, most of the more educated population resides in Denver/Boulder, with the exception of some of the mountain resort areas. Note the correlation between the posts here that agree with Tancredo and numerous misspellings, grammatical errors, and generally adolescent reasoning.
Tancredo is right! these muslim radicals will not rest until they realize that their precious holy sites are in danger. The U.S. is our holy site and we cannot keep living in fear of being attacked. That is crazy! 1.2 Billion muslims should realize that they have to make those violent ones realize that the west is capable of doing such things and that the moderate muslims are also tired of them. This will not create a worldwide holy war because the west is capable and the fundamentalists are a minority whose powers does not match to Western powers.
I love Tancredo's comments. It's about time we stop worrying about being politically correct and kow-towing to Muslim sensitivities, or any other sensitivities.
Yes, we need to be compassionate, but we can't be weak.
If they want to continue to engage in attacks aimed at civilians in any country, then I have no problem with taking whatever measures are necessary to deter that action.
What kind of ridiculous crap is this? Islamic fundamentalists hate America because we support Israel. Bombing Mecca is not only completely un-American, it is the one thing that will completely solidify the resolve of those fundamentalists to cause America harm. Tancredo is free to have whatever opinion he wants and to share it, but I sincerely hope the voting public in his district banish him from public office.
This is the most closed-minded and stupid option ever suggested. Or should I say re-suggested. How does this idiot continue to get public attention and support? How can he possibly get elected, even to the House? He's obviously trying to incite a World War.
"Ding…ding…ding.
We have finally found someone who would be a worse President than Bush."
Hear hear! Tom Tancredo is a crazy person and it's about time other people are recognizing it. Of course he has no chance of winning the presidency, but he shouldn't be in Congress either!
not all Muslims are terrorists thus they should not have to suffer the destruction of their national shrines for the deeds of a few
How would Mr. Tancredo handle the situation if he knew the terrorists intended to instigate a US attack on Mecca?
Also there is a reason why people are worried about an Islamic nuclear weapon. If you are a true follower of Islam then when read a phrase like Quran 9.38.
"O ye who believe! what is the matter with you, that, when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, ye cling heavily to the earth? Do ye prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the Hereafter." (Yusuf Ali)
What do you think it means to you? Remember these folks think this is the word and LAW of god!
Tom Tancredo's idea of bombing Mecca is the most insane idea I have ever heard. I used to respect Tancredo for some of his conservative views, but this is just madness. I will do everything in my power to make sure he is never elected.
Destroying Mecca will create a global jihad on a scale that would simply be unimaginable. Imagine our current problems multiplied exponentially. It could possibly mean the end of the United States.
Don't give terrorist actions legitimacy!
I support Ron Paul.
This "person" makes me sick!!! He is worse than the terrorists.
It won't work. The terrorists aren't really "religious." They just use Allah and religion to suck other people into their cause.
No wonder ‘War on terror’ is increasingly viewed as ‘War against Islam’.
Yes we should bomb mecca , every chance we get that where all evil started anyway
I couldn't help but laugh! To think how excited he must of been, assuming he found the perfect solution. WHAT AN IDIOT! Besdies laughing, these comments and ideas put worry in my heart. We Americans are the most hated people around the world. I would always say, "we're misunderstood." But, now I see what evil exists within our own beautiful country.
bomb em all let god sort it out nuke em obama
I firmly believe this is not a deterrent. Muslims do not worship cities, be it Mecca or Madinah. We worship (hold as holy) Allah alone, and Allah is indestructible.
The suggestion is thus nothing but a clear expression of hatred (and ignorance, of the fact above). Someone (Tancredo) was sincere and honest enough, and had the guts, to express what he thinks and how he exactly feels towards Islam and Muslims.
Clarity of intentions, and clarity in expressing them, is nice and good.
What an idiot. Just by saying such a rediculous statement he is going to stir up anti-American fervor in Muslim communities around the world. This is why we need to revamp our sorry education system – so fools like this don't ever rise to positions of power.
Brett Lambert of Baltimore
They hate you because you are a non-muslim. The same reason why they hate Hinuds, Buddhist, Atheist, and amyone who does not follow the one true path.
"Alif Laam Raa. A book which we have revealed to you (Muhammad) so that you may lead the people from out of the darknesses into the light by their Lord's leave to the path of the All-Mighty, the Praiseworthy." [Qur'an 14:1]
Unless your are muslims your are an inferior human and must submit to the will of Allah. That is why they fight us, India, Thailand, Sudanese Africans and yes Jews in Israel.
Don't you guys get it...Its a religious war. It has always been a religious war. Like it or not.
This is the most irresponsible statement any American politician has issued for many years, many decades. I'm afraid some damage – just his saying these things – has already been done. This will confirm in the minds of those predisposed to believe that the US is anti-Muslim.
I'm also astounded at the ignorance of some of people here commenting. No Muslim would be deterred by destroying Mecca or Medina; on the other hand, violence would rise to a level not seen since WWII, and it would all be directed at us. What then: more nukes? Such idiocy.
Really now....Does anyone really think there is such thing as a 'moderate' muslim. Read the Koran word for word. Then, and only then, will you understand their intolerance for others (especially jews!). And yes, this guy is nuts....but just fed up with bending over backwards for a religion that is wholly intolerant of others. The topper is when muslims seek the protections of civilized western societies from their own backwards countries- then preach for the downfall of the west in their newly adopted countries! These guys are equally nuts!
I have been saying this for a while, actually, and I believe there is a lot of simplistic misinterpretation. We avoided nuclear catastrophe in the cold war largely through the reality of mutually assured destruction. We are now faced with an enemy that is stateless, fanatical, and could possibly attain nuclear capability. A new doctrine of mutually assured destruction must be erected, and Islam is the one unifying element of the enemy we currently face.
This guy is insane....
To even think of bombing these two sites is like revisting the Crusades, you cannot punish a whole religous group of people for just a few people causing problems. Not to mention the historical importance of these sites is critical. Whats the next step, Dome on the Rock. This man is just not playing with a full deck and needs to be sat at the right side of Jerry Falwell at the idiots table.
Tancredo's only role in the 2008 election is to make the other Republicans look relatively sane by comparison. He's taken over the role from John McCain, who is now so broke and politically ruined that no one pays attention to his rants anymore. Tom, thanks for taking one for the team.
Tancredo makes sense. After all it is Saudi Arabia that has promoted and financed radical Islamic terrorism for the last fifty years. Wahhabism is dedicated to the eradication of all non-Islamic believers that wont convert to their form of insanity and that radical religious belief is endemic in the Saudi ruling elite.
A few cruise missles aimed at their proud new skyscrapers,and mecca would certainly temper their haterd for the rest of mankind and possibly force them to moderate their hateful religion,and join the 21st century.
This is such an insane comment to make.
This is totally a cowards point of view and so stupid. Don't you think if the US were to take this kind of a stance in dealing with such things that there would be retaliatory actions like bombings of holy sites throughout the middle east, not to mention the Vatican and various church bombings in the USA? What an idiotic thing to say. Where do we find these politicians? Literally scraping the bottom of the barrel. We're Americans for goodness sakes can't we come up with more responsible and respectable solutions? Not very diplomatic to say the least. I didn't think that the republican party had anything worse to offer than what he have now. Apparently that's not the case.
great idea tom......... if you do that more than 5000+ nuclear icbms coming at you from Pakistan..........
Without a doubt, Mr. Tancredo's comment is the epitomy of "the ugly American." To think that the government would even consider bombing a holy site, without respect to religion, is unthinkable. I have always believed that America is THE standard of decency, morality, freedom, and most of all – justice. To denegrate American ideology with ignorance will continue to erode the foundation this country has stood upon. We are better than this.
Wow... he obviously thought this one through because we all know the fundamental Islamists are going to stop their terrorist attacks immediately after a threat like this... "Gee, they really mean business, let's stop the bombings and look for peaceful alternative solutions..." ... the only morons who think like this and support this position are not really different from the terrorists themselves - they may not have started bombing yet (oops except for abortion clinics) but given the time and chance they would really really love to do so.
Wow this guy wants to target the whole Muslim religion because of what a small group of extremist have done. If this is not discriminating at its finest then I don’t know what is. I can’t believe he actually thinks this will stop all the problems going on in today’s world. Presidential hopefully? I don’t think so; I think would rather vote Paris Hilton as President then this guy. Muslims believe in peace and have respect for others. The religion tells Muslims to respect everybody, which includes Muslims and Non-Muslims. Attacking innocent people is against the Muslim religion and no where in the Koran is attacking of innocent people justified. It is considered a sin in the Koran to attack anybody just because you don’t like there religion. People cannot discriminate against the whole group for what a small group of idiots have done. If this guy wants to attack a place where a lot of innocent people worship there religion; then what makes him better then any of those crazy radicals?
There are many different ideas and philosophies within Islam as to when jihad is or isn't called for. However, there there is no disagreement on one thing: jihad is always called for when attacked!
Attack Mecca or Medina and watch all the currently peaceful Muslims in the world turn militant. Literally, EVERY MUSLIM ON EARTH WILL TURN ON US. Attack Mecca or Medina and watch ALL of our allies turn their backs on us. We will be alone, with a billion Muslims ready to kill us.
Hundreds of millions of Americans, including myself, will protest this and refuse to fight to defend this government if it follows this path.
I honestly believe it will destroy America.
This article gave me a totally different view about Americans untill... I read the comments. Greets from the Netherlands.
Republicans always accuse democrats of aiding terrorist because of the comments they make, but infact people like Ann coulter, Rush, Sean hannity, bill orielly, michael savage and this idiot are the ones who are really aiding the terrorist for making such folish cmoments.
A classic case of a tadpole in a well.Is he for real?.
I honestly believe that the behind the scenes plans in Washington are far more evil than anything the terrorists could even imagine.
They don't hate us because we're free; They hate us because we've been in the Middle East for the last fifty or so years meddling in their business, all to protect our oil interests. It doesn't take a genius to understand that our horrible– And most of the time non-existent– Foreign policy is at the root cause of this mess. If we weren't constantly inciting coups and bombing those we deem a threat to our oil interests, then we'd have very few of the problems we have today.
Anyway, I'm nothing but shocked and appalled that there are actually people who agree with this guy. Right now we're at 'war' (And I use that term loosely) with Islamic fundamentalists. Attack Mecca and/or Medina– Even as a retaliatory measure– And suddenly you'll find yourself at war with all of Islam.
The thing about Islamic fundamentalists is that they don't care who they hurt in their quest to kill the 'non-believers'. Any kind of attack aimed at Muslims as a whole would play right into the hands of the extremists. They'd never have to recruit again. Ever.
Thank you, Mr. Tancredo, for being played like a fiddle.
Anyone in support of this idiot is an ignoramus hellbent on wanton warmongering recklessness! Real political "nuts" indeed. IGNORANT!
Yes. Let's fight torture with torture. Terror with terror. Then call ourslves different. If you really believe in the American way of life, as I do, you have to stand by it even in the tough times.
at the very very least it is militarily out of proportion. medina and mecca would be closely followed by the vatican and all of israel.
this guy is clueless, lets hope we dont see him golfing with bush next week.
About time someone spoke up for America. This is a war of ideologies that will destroy our country and our way of life if left unchecked. I fully support the concept of leverage and deterence.
Civilized countries shouldn't destroy non-military targets in a "tit-for-tat" strategy. Our war strategy centers around the idea that extremism indescrimately destroys people and infrastructure in order to achieve its political aims. We don't follow that inverted thinking. As an example, when did Al Qaeda ever hold a trial for its militants who killed indescriminately? Such a trial would run counter to the "principal" Al Qaeda pushes. Tancredo probably isn't aware his thinking is right in line with the terrorists he wishes to thwart. All the same, quite visibly, Tancredo lacks the mental capacity to be President.
Tancredo is talking about an act of violence that by comparison would make 9/11 look timid. Can't you see that we're becoming terrorists ourselves?! We're throwing away everything this country is supposed to stand for!!
People here are talking about bombing civilian targets are firing missiles at skyscrapers! This is madness! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!?!?!
This is completely unacceptable coming from an American politician. His extremist views are completely against everything that America is about. Unfortunately, his views are accepted by those who are just as ignorant as he is. This is very sad.
Its a great idea! Terrorist must understand that there will be consequences for their actions. The U.S is not able to pin point where each attack is based from. The only threat that covers all muslims is the threat to destroy Mecca.
There once was a man who advocated preemption in the name of national security.
His name was Hitler.
M.T.
"It is considered a sin in the Koran to attack anybody just because you don’t like there religion."
Nonsense. Read 9.29 of your Quran. Read the various hadiths and Quranic versus that support attacking non-muslims. The word "innocent" does not mean the same thing to muslims as to non-muslims. Just saying something bad about Muhammad makes you guilty and could warrent your death. A woman not wearing the proper Islamic dress means they are an enemy of Islam. Also most of passages that talk of peace in the Quran relate only to muslims. It does not relate at all to non-muslims. People of the book (Jews and Christians) get better treatment then pegans but even they are put into a dhimmi status which means they have no rights and are treated as inferior humans. Remember Islam is not an individual faith but a community or collective. Nation states don't mean anything to a pious muslim. Islam is also a way of life and government.
Pious muslims must establish and fight (Jihad) to establish the will Allah (Islamic Law) on the whole world.
"Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah. (Sahih Bukhari, 1:2:24 [see also 4:52:196])"
You Americans sound like Nazi Germany now .
You go Sentor.
I agree. Great idea
This comment is very disappointing, thank God majority of americans dont think like this man
This man disgusts me. The actions of few Muslims should not bring punishment to them all.
I don't believe in any higher power but at moments like this I wish I could find comfort knowing this man has an eternity of punishment awaiting his evil choice.
You nailed it right on the kisser! That is the only language they understand.
I don't know what worse: that Tancredo made these comments, or that he ripped off the idea from Nelson DeMille's novel "Wild Fire".
Beware of stupid fanatics like this idiot. He probably used to get picked on as a kid.
How would bombing holy sites possibly deter future attacks agains the US? Wouldn't it simply escalte tensions in a region already teeming with violence? Woult it not ensure an attack on "western" holy sites (Jerusalem, the Vatican, Fatima, etc.)? For once I would like to hear a politician suggest a way to defuse widespread hatred for America instead of insiting more hatred.
Dirty minded Mr. Tom Tancredo can't think anything else to protect our country. In fact he is trying cheap shots to gain the votes of conservative voters. Different poles show he is not even close to other presidential cnadidates for 2008 US election. We as American already facing lot of hate and opposition all over the world because of our failure of foreign policies. Attacking any religious sites is not a viable option. From his statement it seems to that he is running out of options right at the start. If want to be the president of great nation he should remove crazy ideas and need to be open minded about other religions
Unfortunately, such statements these days no longer surprise me.
What is surprising is that a State Department under an increasingly psychotic administration wouldn’t have readily incorporated such wacko options into its already pathological “diplomacy” rather than finding it reprehensible.
The Bush administration’s longstanding contempt for the differing lives on this planet is the breeding ground for such destructive ideas.
How did this retard ever get elected. How can someone even think of such nonsense. Who really is Tancredo trying to gain support from? Is there such a sentiment with among the U.S. population?
Well now that Tancredo cannot make illegal and legal immigrants scapegoats, as the immigration issue has been put away the strategy is to say outrageous things as such to garner some attention.
Unbelievable. That might be the best idea I have ever heard. We can't even control Iraq, and he thinks America can control the rest of the middle east? Not to mention all the other Muslim-dominant countries. The political ramifications in the far east with Indonesia, and in Europe. After a 7 year search for a guy who's more dumb than our President, at least we know his thoughts now before we elect him. However, I remain with the fact that Bush is still the idiot in Washington. Even more so than his little pet, the Attorney General Berto.
It makes sense coming out of the mouth of a high school student, but not out of a representative of our country. There are always options and each one should be considered depending on the circumstance. But threatening a potential attacker is not the way to soothe religious and cultural tensions, thus he is as crazy as a potential terrorist himself.
"I guess bombing Mecca & Medina would be one way for us to turn all the Muslims in the world against us and turn this into a full fledged Crusade, though."
This is precisely what the politically correct liberals of the world would have you believe, and what will put the United States in the dismal cowering state that Europe is currently in with their hostile Islamic population. Europeans have been thoroughly intimidated into silence by the politically correct who castigate their press for using the word "Muslim" to describe suspects, label reasonable cautious actions "stereotyping," and by those who would refuse to use the word "terrorism" to define the acts of violence against innocent subway passengers, etc.
Jihad against the West has deep historical roots that go far beyond events of the 20th century, and to be ignorant of that fact is suicidal on the part of every American.
Listen to Ayaan Hirsi Ali on YouTube. Read "While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within" by Bruce Bawer. In other words, wake up America.
ALL THE PACIFISTS IN THE U.S. BETTER GET THEIR COLLECTIVE HEADS OUT OF THE SAND. THIS T5ANCREDOS STATEMENT IS JUST PERFECT. THE ONLY WAY TO DETER THESE COWARDS FROM ANOTHER MORE SERIOUS ATTACK ON THE U.S. IS TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE ATTACK A MOSLEM HOLY CITY AND DESTROY IT.FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO WILL DECRY THE INNOCENT DEATHS FROM THIS THEN TOO DAMN BAD.
I strongly condemn the disgusting comments made by TOM.
This clearly shows, extremists existing in every religions, which has no reflection or relations to any religion.
Every individual across the world with right frame of mind will condemn TOM for such comments.
There should be some federal law to discipline to punish individuals that promotes hatred between communities.
Mr. Tom Tancredo, Impossible is the word for you because you failed to catch a little poor man called as "Mr. Osama Bin Laden" and proved yourself of being incapable forget about bombing the holy muslim sites its byond impossible,,,,,, It give a very clear picture that, America under their irresponsible and nonsense leadership cant achieve anything
Does he not see that bombing a holy muslim site will only cause them to bomb holy christian sites around the world? I love how were still right in the middle of the crusades, but instead of swords and sheilds we have guns, bombs and George W. Bush.
This is the dumbest idea I've heard. These are holy cities that millions of Muslims visit every year. The majority of Muslims are good people. So why destroy something that is very sacred to them and take a "real good chance" of turning the good Muslims against us. We need all the help we can get in keeping the peace. This isn't a way of doing it.
What a retard. Screw him and all those who agree with him. Another reason why christians suck.
This is rather disturbing. The US Presidency is the most powerful position in the world. Mr Tancredo's disturbing comments about bombing Muslim holy sites is completely out of line, and certainly does not befit a future US President.
Clearly, Mr Tancredo is not fit for the Presidency as he has made it quite obvious that the first thing he'll do once in office would be to blow up Mecca and Medina, just to 'deter terrorists' and to show that 'America means business'.
The Middle East already has enough problems (Iraq and the Palestinian question, among many other things). We don't need to add Muslims angry at the US over blowing up Mecca and Medina to that list.
It doesn't matter if Mr Tancredo just said this to look like he has a tougher stance on terrorism – but the fact that he has openly threatened to attack a US ally clearly indicates that he is not a rational thinker, and essentially will not be a good leader of the free world (saying that he wouldn't be a good leader would be an understatement).
I agree with Tom, he has the guts to say what many people feel - if they are religious nuts in favor of destroying us in the name of Allah, then they should taste the same medicine.
It's a wonderful idea. But I think he should give some time frame like a week so that innocent people can move out of the site.
I proudly claim Tom Tancredo as my Representative from the 6th District of Colorado. Please note that Rep. Tancredo has always stated that an attack on Mecca would be considered if, and only if, an Islamic terrorist comitted an unthinkable act of a detonation a nuclear weapn against a US city. Then, and only then, the terrorists must think about the horror of losing their holy city in retaliation. However, we must show compassion and give the residents of Mecca 48 hours to clear out before a retalitory attack. We cannot keep letting these terrorists have the upper hand on everything. We MUST win this war.
The key detail many on the left are missing here is that Tancredo is not calling for using nuclear weapons upon the cities of Mecca and Medina, but he is calling for the consideration of that action if the radical Muslim right, *unchecked by the silent and essentially approving world Muslim majority*, nukes western cities or succeeds in mass murder.
The United States subjected the German culture to mass murder for their supporting a hate-based leader during WWII. The United States threatened the Soviet Union with the same actions for decades. Both of this action and threat of action had retaliatory foundations, not hate-based initiatives.
Those who find Tancredo's statement unreasonable are essentially refusing to admit to themselves that if prodded enough, the Western world might find itself in a scenario where it might have to wipe out much of the Islamic world in reaction to an unchecked radical attack. Such a terrible day would be only retaliatory, a detail that Osama bin Laden and friends really do not want the Islamic world to focus on.
To ignore this potential is to not be responsible.
Isnt Mecca a holy site for christians as well because Prophet Abraham built it as a place of worship and that was way before Islam and Christinity. If such is the intelect of this man makes way for people to believe that USA is a unruly and religiously corrupt nation as they do not care for any religious site in the world. SO What will he Bomb next Jerusalem and kills all the Arabs and Israelies living in that region. Maybe we should tie this guy to a space shuttle and make him discuss his wise plans with the Aliens. The world is better off without this nut case.
Finally someone who says something right.
Why should we not threaten when we get threatened. why don't all of you liberal, tree huggers go spend some time over there and let us know how you feel when you get back.
The comment and concept of attacking a known place of worship and a place that is known to be Holy is just WRONG.
We will never win this war. I hate to say it but America has become complacent, the slow decent into irrelevancy has begun. We have not followed through on anything since Vietnam. Soldiers die fighting for what they believe in and the citizens back home tell them they died for a pointless war. The soldiers return home to find everyone against what they valiantly fought and just to feel normal, to feel like they belong they take up the fight against, what only months earlier, they would have died for. When will nationalism die? We claim to be christians but when American troops go to help nations that are opressed and try to liberate cultures that are on the brink of genocide we say "This is not our war, we have problems of our own." Whether we like it our not as the most powerful nation in the world we have a responsibility to our fellow man. At no point in history has a nation stood up for the plight of the citizens of other nations. The eye of liberty is going blind, and I can see myself as a child with so much faith and hope in The United States turn his back on me tears in his eyes. I hope that one day we will realize that we can not turn a blind eye toward atrocities in other nations, just because some American soldiers will die, believe me they will have died doing a nobler deed than you or I could ever hope to do. Yes, mistakes will be made and yes it will be a long road, but we must stick it out. If we continue on our current course of not following through because of support at home, we will no longer be relevant o nthe world stage.
Sounds like a witchhunt to me.
Racist and prejudice against a religion so they throw them all together and burn them. Haven't we learned anything from the inquisition?
We're supposed to be an enlightened people, not backyard hillbilly yokels.
Yes. I will vote for Tom. He has the correct solution. We need to teach the Islamic fundamentalists that we will no longer tolarate their crap.
The better deterrent is to go ahead and queitly start burying small, tactical nukes in Damascas, Rhayd, and Terhan. It might just slip out as a 'rumor' that one move to toss NBC weapons on us, and somebody is going to pull the sting on those suitcase sized 'crowd pleasers'and most of Islam is going to have a 30,000 year half life before anyone can step on the 100 foot thick glass that used to be sand over there.
Yes – definitely – let "the games" begin! I am a Christian and a liberal and even I am fed up. Drop a nuke. As if those radical Muslims are playing nice & fair. Ha!
Tancredo's idea makes sense only if we're prepared to follow it up with a "final solution" type genocide campaign against arabs, persians and all other historically muslim ethnicities. Because if any significant muslim populations are left alive after we destroy muslim holy sites, they'll be after us until they kill us or die trying.
Stupidest idea EVER. If terrorists blew up Mt. Rushmore, do you think we would be scared. Hell no, we'd be pissed off. Same goes for them.
I know that Tancredo will NOT get my vote, and I'll inform everyone I know of this idiocy.
Ron Paul for President!
There are a few things I'd like to say about this. Fundamentally this guy is correct. The only thing that this religion understands is a strong hand. When Saddam was in power, he kept everyone under his control and his religous party was in the driver's seat. Its the same way in Iran and Syria. The U.S. came in and upset all of that. Now we have to stay and get things back in order. I don't agree with bombing Islamic holy sites, but the extremists need to see, in some way, we aren't going to stand for any of this nonsense. I see some comments on here about a few bad apples in the religion. But my question is.. The 'good' apples in this religion know who the bad ones are and do nothing about it. If they really wanted to move forward and have peace, they would have done something by now about all the upheaveal in their religion. Also, these radicals don't care about any of you. They'd rather see you dead just because you aren't part oftheir religion. I'm a live an let live kind of person, but if anybody has that kind of attitude toward another person, I'm guessing these people need to be taken care of in one way or another.
WOW talk about IGNORANCE what a hateful man, so you are saying if the next terrorist attacks are donr by Jews you will bomb Jerusalem? and if its done by a christian? than what man resign you dont make sense
u bomb mecca and medina, that will mean u'r all dieing muslims won't leave u they'll kill you all, all around the universe there are more muslims then u..... than i think he should think again becasue his going to die soon if itz going on likt this his a right morran
This war now upon us is a relgious war. Throughout history Islam has warred against all not moslem. They continue this now, wherever there are significant numbers of moslems they do violence against; Christians,Jews,Hindus etc. We now face a generational religious war. It will get more and more bitter and brutal. One or the other will win. We indeed will someday destroy their religious sites, they would do the same to us if they could. God or Allah will prevail.
Potentially replacing one foolish person in the Whitehouse with another, any wonder why the world no longer looks to the USA as setting 'standards'.
The comments of the congressman, is a last
attempt from him to get some publicity from the media
& get some loony support among the right – wing.
Just another nazi + fascist soooooooooooooooo.
terrorist attacks happen only because of people like Tancredo
What would you left wing socialists do to deter a terrorist nuclear attack, send an
urgent letter to the UN begging for help?
Tom Tancredo is a certified nutcase. Hey, Tom, if we bomb Mecca, someone's weapons of mass destruction will be aimed at the U.S. and I'm not willing to take a bet on their accuracy.
Tell ya what, go over to Iraq on a visit and tell the natives that.
Okay people, why are you electing these reckless, idiotic, crazy politicians? Surely there have to be knowledgeable, intelligent, reasonable people out there who aren't wearing combovers or toupees.
Since Tancredo has no hope of becoming pres, he says things that will be attractive to whomever it is that he will go to work for after his political career hits the skids. This is shameless ALL AMERICAN politics at its worse. Mark my words, the moment he is out of office, which should bee soon, he'll go to work for some defense lobby group or something. Scum. To my Muslim brrothers and sisters: Don't worry, we had an insane inept and fundentalist president once, I doubt it will happen again for a while. But then again, this IS america, anything is possible!
Following this logic the US would bomb the Vatican if some wild Catholic group attacks the USA...
while it might, might be a good deterrent for some, some Islamic fundamentalists what about everyone else that is a good Muslim...i'm sure that would tick them off and they would want to attack the USA and with no other holy sites to lose what do we threaten them with next....carpet bombing their mosques with pig parts...?
this is some of the stupidest stuff i've heard someone say in a while...
Absolutely unbelievable. You would think he is working with the Bush Administration. Thank both God and Allah he'll never get the nomination.
This worked against the Russians durring the Cold War why shouldn't it work against the terrorists. Such a counter strike might help to invalidate extreme forms of islam which hold that islam should be forced on the world with the sword and that the holy sites in Medina and Mecca can never be destroyed. Destroying those sites might cause them to rethink their position. Threatening to destroy those sites just might prevent them from attacking us in the first place. I think that Sen. Tancredo is the smartest person running for office on this issue because he understands how the enemy thinks. Those who criticise him are not only ignorant but are encouraging future attacks by making us appear weak.
How could this lunatic even stand for presedency,doesnt he know there are over a billion muslims. does he want a worl war?
I know it is a radical idea, but i have to agree with Tom Tancredo. To beat terrorism, we have to think like them AND retaliate like them – INDISCRIMINATELY. Eye for an eye. There are too many bleeding heart liberals in America – enough is enough.
Tancredo is insane. Genuinely certifiable. Anyone running against him in '08 should give serious thought to using his mental health as a campaign issue. And if treason is defined as "aid and comfort" we should probably consider bringing him up on those charges, since comments like these are perhaps a bigger propaganda bonanza for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, etc. than the Morgenthau Plan was for the Nazis.
He's absolutely correct. Western governments should have already quietly made it quite clear within diplomatic circles that any attack on high profile landmarks like the White House, the British Parliament, St Peter's, Versailles, etc will bring a swift response this time.
Islamic terrorists set the Standards on 9/11 Farrukh ,Sir
Why are so many people surprised by this? War is the only political platform the republicans have.
If I knew someone down the street from me was going to attack a country I hated I might let it happen. I would think differently if it was clear to me that any attack would lead to my country being attacked as a result.
Assume, there is an Earthquake and Mecca destroyed, do you think, that is the end of terrorism? Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan are also fighting with these Terrorists. Whether there is Mecca or not, still 1+ billion people will be praying five times facing the direction of Mecca. You can flush Quran in the toilet or burn, but still Islam is the fastest growing religion and its not because of these terrorists. If there is another Columbine school or Virginia Tech happens in America, should we destroy their properties and execute their family members? Eye for eye am I right? On the contrary, what did Amish People do to their killer's family in PA? They brought tears in our eyes and opened our eyes in those difficult times!!! Peace!!!
Since CNN saw fit to remove my comments, here they are again:
"Oh, *great* idea! Let's destroy a **religious** center to get back at the extremists' bombing of a **financial* center. I guess we Americans really do worship money. Let's polarize the all the moderate Muslims so that the ENTIRE Islamic world will hate us. What do you thing they would do then? What do you think would be THEIR next target? Can we think things through before we say stuff like this? There is no "one" deterrent to terrorism but destroying Mecca would be "one" catalyst for a new era of warfare. ESPECIALLY since many AMERICANS are Muslims! Are you going to destroy a place that is sacred to AMERICANS? Did you even consider the American Muslims before you said something like this? How are they supposed to feel?" In addition, Representative Tancredo, all of us born in the country are Americans, regardless of our religious beliefs (mine are Christian). Set religiosity aside, places like Mecca and Medina are historical landmarks. You shame those of us who would never dream of harming another religions' sacred sites. I am glad that I no longer live in Colorado. We love you anyway, Sir, even if you spout hatred.
I agree with the Congressman.
If this is a contest of wills, perhaps we had better get with the program.
If those people can put a Fatwa on Salman Rushdie, they can put one on you and me, for speaking our minds in a free nation.
I think I will vote for Tancredo for President, since Lou Dobbs is not running.
That's like someone saying we should bomb vatican city if attacks on abortion clinics continue. Perhaps Mr. Tancredo should take under consideration that the pilgramige to Mecca is all about being in harmony with the rest of humanity. Oh, and essentially everyone there is a civilian.
Oh you nutcase. You must be crazy. This is the House of God, Mecca, Kaaba. Don't even imagine in your dreams. You definitely need some help. This could be the end of the world if you ever imagine of doing evil such as these. Vehicles in America is running because of Saudi Arabia. Don't you want people in America to drive their cars instead ride on bicycles. huhhhhh. You know what 1.6 billions in the world are laughing at your comments.
Great Idea! Yeah, that's going to stop them from hating the USA!!!
Finally we have a politician who understands what the terrorists have known for years... it's us or them.
This is one of the most irresponsible and inflammatory statements that I have heard a politician make. That a public figure can make such a statement speaks to a level of ignorance that borders on recklessness and incitement that is unforgiveable and requires a statement of apology. I hope other public figures willl renounce this remark. THe revered and holy sites of a particular faith are not the property of the radical and fundamentalist fringes of that faith. Should we attack Jerusalem considered holy by 3 faiths? Holy sites are revered by moderates as well. TO attack a holy site is to attack the faith and play into the hands of the terrorists who will undoubetedly use this for anti western and antiamerican propaganda to inflame passions and accuse the west of a modern day crusade. Moreover, how does this solve anything?. We ought to be supporting moderates of islamic and other faiths and not undermining them with type of illconsidered rhetoric.
Sharia law will prevail if I have anything do say about it.
Looks like Ron Paul just got another few hundred votes for the Iowa Straw Poll.
Good going there Tank, keep tooting the neocon bullhorn.
I'm a Democrat. I love this country and I support our military. On the face of it, Rep. Tancredo's suggestion may, in fact, be callously reprehensible but I don't find his suggested targets totally off bounds. Depending on the nature of a terrorist attack, say... a nuclear weapon, biological weapon or similar device, I would whole heartedly embrace an unfettered response regardless where either site is located. Thinking back to those gut wrenching events and my personal feelings on 9/11... I would have nuked both of those sites into permanent oblivion in a heartbeat. Islam must rein in and purge itself of their cancer or Islam must face the prospect of paying a very dear price for its failure to find, track down and neutralize those fanatics who threaten the lives of the innocents who die by their hands... just like the innocent who died for no rational reason on 9/11. Spain, England and the rest of the world can respond as they see fit; as for the USA, we must keep all options on the table and the prospect of retribution in their minds.
Miles, they hate us anyway, simply because we're Christians.
They will cut your Childrens Heads off if don't stop them now.
Aaaah, luckily Mr. Tancredo is not going to win the premier otherwise ... can't imagine having a president who does not even know geography. Mecca and Medina are located in one of our allies'!
A more civilized, cultured and well-educated candidate, pleasssseee!
Ignorant people like him will be the reason if we get hit again!!
The idea is obsurd and repugnant, plus it would never work. I think he's just saying this as a means to get moderate muslims to finally stand up and take back their religion. In his opinion, they would do this if they felt their religion was threatened by extremists. As a whole, muslims don't do enough to reign in terrorists and it ends up as a defacto means of supporting them.
It seems candidates have the notion that whoever is more radical is going to get the votes. Let's elect the most extreme candidate!
everybody who agrees with this man fails to realize that mecca is in saudi arabia.
saudia arabia is an "ally" of the united states of america.
try thinking of more creative, less idiotic ideas than bombing some of the only support the united states has in the middle east.
-gotta love middle america
is Tancredo seriously trying to start world war 3?
I agree with most people in this forum that Tancredo's proposal is absurd. However, I want people to propose an alternative which would protect us from Muslim extremists. Not negative whining like "this will earn us even more hatred," but a positive suggestion like "Do this, do that, etc." I wish I had some positive ideas.
Such an act would be absolutely guaranteed to turn all the Muslims in the world into the terrorists that Tancredo is convinced they already are.
Osama bin Laden's stated purpose with the 9/11 attacks was to provoke the US into a war in the Middle East that would turn moderate Muslims against us. Thanks to Bush's stupidity, the plan has succeeded beyond bin Laden's wildest dreams.
Now Tancredo wants to escalate. If we did this, then the entire world would unite to wipe us out, and WE WOULD DESERVE IT.
Thank the gods that Tancredo has zero chance of ever becoming President. But I fear that, deep down, Dick Cheney might agree with him.
Do you people understand what he's saying? You're acting as if he would bomb Mecca and Medina without prompt. He's saying that THREATENING to destroy those holy cities as a result of a NUCLEAR ATTACK would act as a deterrent... and it 100% would. Are you liberals really this stupid?
Here is a politician that does not understand the difference between a Muslim, a christian, a skin head, or a radical terrorist. These are the politicians that I fear the most. For they are the ones that feed terrorism. I hope all of you out there will read this, take heed, and vote accordingly. This man is insane to have these thoughts.
Well, it seems there is really someone out there worse than Bush. This comment was pure suicide for his political career. This type of reaction would give a better cause for these terrorists. I really don't think this politician has a grasp on what a terrorist is. They are NOT real Muslims, they only use the name. With remarks like this, I am actually ashamed to be an American. Thanks!!!!
Well, the muslim terrorists bombed innocent civilians on 9/11 for no reason. I don't see why anything would deter them.
I'll pretend for a few moments your comments are not a publicity stunt to get your name on the radar screen (Tanc-who?) and share a couple thoughts for the sake of discourse.
Congratulations sir, you have fallen into the precise trap that Al-Qaeda has set for you. Your proposed solution will not only fail, but have the exact opposite consequence it was intended for. This idea will not deter, but rather re-enforce the cause of Al-Qaeda. It will become a rallying cry for millions. If anything at all, it will cause the millions of peaceful, moderate Muslims in this world and in our country to unite against us. A terrorist group like Al-Qaeda is scary and should be eliminated, but hundreds of millions united against the U.S. is an unconscionable idea that I'd rather not think about. I can't help but to pity you, and truly do feel embarrassed for you – if only this wasn't a publicity stunt that is. Good day, sir.
Finally somebody who wants to level the playing field.
Political correctness only serves to repress people, Mr. Tancredo seems to know fighting a war in PC terms is ideotic and foolish.
Do not forget, they atacked women and children and will again.
People, please keep in mind that he's suggesting the THREAT of this as a DETERRENT to another terrorist attack. This is only snippet-quotes of what he said, my money is on him saying this about a NUCLEAR attack in the U.S., like he did in 2005. He wasn't suggesting this for just any terrorist attack. I will agree it is an extreme idea, and if it ever happened it would be the "point of no return" with the muslim world. For everyone that thinks he's a total idiot, what would your opinion be if a nuke went off in the U.S. killing possibility hundreds of thousands of people, or more? What would YOU do after that happened? I personally would be OK with nuking most of the middle east if this ever happened. And he said he's open to suggestions, so what would YOU do? Instead of calling him an idiot, why not propose solutions to a potential problem?
Bay Buchanan is his Senior Advisor so this warped policy shouldn't surprise anyone. She's a bit coo-coo & he must have some Bush blood in is family. What a pair!
"You can the world to pieces, but you can't it into peace,"
Michael Frante and Spearhead
Tom Tancredo is perfectly correct. This would be the equivalent of the MAD policy (mutual assured destruction) that effectively kept the cold war from becoming hot.
This is truly an asinine idea. I don't think the word "deterrent" can be used to describe this action. A more appropriate term would be "provocation". What do you expect will happen by doing something as stupid as bombing Mecca or other important muslim holy sites? You'll be creating more terrorists and widening a conflict that does not have to be. The candidates need to remember that only a very, very small number of the world's 1.3 billion muslims want to do harm to the U.S. and the West. I think a better idea would be to find common ground with muslims and enlist them to help fight a minority of extremists.
Tancredo's suggestion is simply stupid and shameful and should not be considered to be serious. It is sheer lunacy.
Wake up America. Our country is burning and the arsonists are in charge of the fire department!
This is same king of extremism's we talk about when people blow them self. Look like Tom Tancredo is no different than these people he wants to kill thousand of people just for the sake of bombing Muslims.I am glad he will not be elected President.
This warrants his instant impeachment or recall for his jingoist racist ignorant incitement to further bloodshed.
Mmm, This guy is a complete and utter moron. That's all I have to say.
To think that even threatening to attack the two most holiest sites of 1.5 billion people would deter ANYTHING is naive, ignorant, and just plain crazy. This man shouldn't work at McDonald's much less hold political office where he makes decisions that affect people. What a loser. He doesn't speak for any real American with brains.
From an American Muslim Thank you for all the comments that counter this rediculous ideology. It gives me hope to know that you all are not against us to this degree anyway...
What a stupid man! Now i do belive that Bush is not an accident, because America full of such stupids, and americans are electing such stupids than how crazy they must be?. He is insane thinking that by evil deeds they can stop evil!
DEVIL: Ha, Ha, Ha!!! keep it coming, Dude!
If we were hit with nukes by terrorist where would we retaliate?
During the Cold War we had an answer. The Soviet Union.
But now it's like World Wide Guerilla Warfare. Some countries pose as friends during the day, and enemy at night.
Most of the foreign fighters are from Saudi Arabia.
Well if anything he has people thinking. How would the US respond?
You know how you stop terrorism on US soil? You stop letting people into this country. Of course that means the end of free trade and international commerce...
He's got an EMPTY brain! Waste of US taxpyers' money on this stupid guy!
Sure...we can go ahead and bomb Mecca and Medina...but I'm sure that if we do that, we're looking at WW III. What people like him fail to realize that it is not a problem with Muslims, it is a problem with a radical religious faction of that religion. Not all Muslims are like this. If all of the Middle East were Catholics, would we set out to burn every Catholic church in the US or even destroy the Vatican? Would we blame the Pope for everything? Probably, but how could we if it's out of his own hands? It's not his doing, it's someone else's who uses religion as a means of causing and creating havoc.
Where is this guy's email...I want to tell him how stupid he is myself. This is such a childish and unprofessional decision...and to think...someone actually elected this guy into office? Next thing you know, these terrorist will think of innovative and never before thought of ways to get rid of what means the most to us. Yeah...real smart Tancredo...real smart...
His comments are dead-on. We listen to threats daily from Muslim extremists threating our way of life and it makes me sick. The US Government is so damn worried about fighting a 'politically correct' war so the world does not see us as 'barbaric' that it's preventing us from making any real progress. What a joke. Look at where it has gotten us in Iraq. Ask the US soldiers what they think about being politically correct vs winning a war any way possible. I'd like to know the opinions of those same people who say his comments are reprehensible if there own families were killed by these extremists. People need to realize that an attack is coming, it's only a question of when. There are already counter-measure plans drawn up also, but most people are either so arrogant or blind that they just don't see it coming.
As usual you liberals are hammering a statement from someone who is not for simply dropping bombs for the bleep of it, but if we are attacked AGAIN.
Read slower to understand his words.
Now that you can see this is a response to the next attack (sorry Alice and wonderland believers, there will be another one), if he is so wrong about what we should do, please enlighten us on what the right way to respond would be?
One of you pacifistic geniuses instead of saying wrong, wrong, wrong, must have a solution?
We wait for your guidance and more enlightened approach.
I do not know whether or not Tom Tancredo knows anything about politics. If a crazy catholic man or men were to attack the country would he bomb Rome? Does he not know that muslims number over a billion? If he were to attack holy sites, he would incite a real holy war. This war would have very little support because he would be attacking what is dear to a sizable part of the world. What he or any leader should do durning an attack, is attack the threat. For instance, when our enemy was in Afganastan we should have continued the attack in afganastan and not opened up a new front in Iraq. Just the same, if an attack were to come we should find the source and not blindly attack muslim holy sites like a bunch of Nazi punks. If this poor excuse of a presidental canadate wins, I only pray that he does not go through with his short sighted, poorly thoughtout plan.
So let me get this straight. According to him, if we bomb sacred Muslim sites, the Islamic fundamentalists would say "Oh wow I didn't know you would retaliate. I give up because that sure taught me a lesson". Is this guy snorting cocaine? I'm pretty sure the Islamic fundamentalists would have one more reason to hate us. What a moron.
I actually went to my country last year and proudly bragged about Ameraca and America's fair trade in everything, now thnx to Tancredo for making me look like a fool to my people.... thnx to CNN for helping me choose to vote................ everyone out there should know that I my self as a muslim speak that there is many many muslim out there who loves American, I my self do too, but you should know its not the muslim to blame, its the person who you are inside that makes you bad or good........... i love islam but i respect good people muslim or not....
I wouldn't want this guy to pick up my garbage, much less be a member of Congress. (It's his 5th term, I am afraid.)
He is not a lawyer, but rather a TEACHER. I surely hope he is not teaching what he is preaching...
If this guy is a true example of a republican, I'd rather be Socialist.
What a total MORON. I imagine Colorado will re-examine their support for him, next congressional election.
I have Muslim friends, and they don't like BinLaden anymore than I do. Don't blame the Muslims, blame the BinLadens !!
What Tancredo is advocating is called "Terrorism", plain and simple. You would think as victims of a terrorist act, we Americans would be less inclined to use it as a weapon, but I guess since we no longer have the moral high ground to Al Queada it's all tit-for-tat now.
I saw Bay Buchanan defending this man.
I wish Buchanan and Tancredo were in Germany. There, these two Neo-Cons (READ NEO-NAZIS) would be arrested and we would be spared their insanity.
My question: Why isn't he talking about what to do BEFORE we're attacked again? Another fine example of ... logic? Right up there with "Saudi terrorists nail NY; let's get Iraq."
BTW, I think the kid that just got 110 years for rape and murder was a "Christian." Just in case the terrorists use Tancredo's logic, the churches better be shoring up. Who cares that it's just one guilty snot-nosed kid. Nail all of the Chritian places of worship; make sure they're full of an abundance of grannies–for effect. Yeah, right. Great logic, Tancredo.
And to the Muslims who are posting, thanks for doing so. I lived for several years in the Middle East and know that the terrorists don't represent you or your religion. People who think like Tancredo are bigots, and you can tell by the nearly 1000 posts here that most people are not bigots like Tancredo.
Let's see if I understand this. We deter people for whom martyrdom is a virtue by creating more martyrs. We deter people for whom destruction of Sunni-held holy sites is part of tactical and strategic military doctrine. And let's deter Bin Laden and company from attacking us by attacking a regime he has already targeted for destruction via drastic measures. Smart, real smart.
Atleast Tancredo has a set of balls unlike Obama, Kerry, Kennedy, Edwards and Hillary (although she may have Bill's set in her purse). Muslim extremists don't care if we kill them, hell they kill themselves regularly. What do they care about most. Mecca and Medina. During the Cold War with the Soviet Union we has MAD:Mutually Assured Distruction. The Russians knew that if they attacked us with nukes, we would respond in kind and we would all die. Well, the radisal islamic fundamentalists need to understand that if they attack the U.S. again, especially if they use a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon, we will respond in kind and destroy what they cherish most, Mecca and Medina. If that's not politically correct. So be it.
What happened to human decency when someone is willing to stoop to the same level as the terrorists? Tancredo is exactly what we do not need from our elected officials. I cannot believe anyone would agree with this nonsense. We deserve leaders that will respect a person’s faith (uphold freedom of religion). Tancredo and his Republican followers should take the time to get educated about religions to avoid making the same mistakes history has already taught us. Bombing sovereign areas has not exactly helped achieve successful determents, and you do not have to look that far back to see proof.
There was a time when I had a great respect for Bay Buchanan, but now that I see who she is backing, that respect is a thing of the past.
US has been exploiting several countries for several years by playing political games and starting cold war. My friend who works in UAE has told me about the tension in the people when US got involved in gulf war. The question is – Why Muslims never attacked US,and not any other countries.
I see only 2 possibilities either its an inside job (BUSH might really be a good candidate for that) or there is some unknown issue with America and that country. I believe there has to be a reason they selected ONLY US to do holly war with as they say. Oh yes probably US has some of their religious stuff. Besides there is no guarantee that destroying the holy sites will make things better. It might become worst, probably this guy might be the first one to run off.
This policy would cause exactly what Tancredo is trying to deter. If we were to bomb Mecca and Medina we would have the ENTIRE Muslim world set against us. Those sites aren't just important to the Islamic fundamentalists... They're important to all Muslims.
But, what makes me so incredibly angry is that he would even consider bombing something like that! I'm angry about the lives that would be lost, but also about the culture that would be destroyed by this poorly thought policy.
An eye-for-an-eye only causes more damage and hatred.
Mussolini incarnate is at least thinking in the right direction; but he should begin at home and shutter all mosques and gatherings of maniac mulsims in America.
And the valid excuse would be real simple as the one used to put the communists out of business: Insane islamists support a violent ideology (islam) that promotes attacks and threats on Americans and on America.
And we should have no problem leveling mosques and eliminating all signs and symbols of islams; just be sure to empty the mosques first. There doesn't need to be any attack upon the humans, just the islamic insanity; it needs to be eradicated because its lessons in vengeance and violence is further poison to weak/evil arab/muslim minds
This man is truly insane. Thankfully he hasn't a chance in hell of being elected.
Does anyone not realize what is being proposed here is a war crime? Targeting religious sites is a direct violation of Part II of the Fourth Geneva Convention – international law that the United States is signatory to – and as such per Article 146 of the same ALSO a violation of the laws of the United States as well?
Why should we have any expectation of being able to live in a secure world free from terrorism when we propose a policy of committing war crimes?
"Since Tom Tancredo is the only one with any guts on this issue, which is the primary issue of our times, he gets my vote for president.
Posted By C Glenn : August 3, 2007 1:04 pm"
He's the only one who apparently actually understands who we're up against. It's obvious most commenters here have no clue, still wanting to play nice with radical jihadists who will smile at you while cutting your throat.
Bigots indeed. Wake up people and understand the enemy.
To Those who believe unabatted military power solves anything:
1. Iraq had nothing do do with 911 and yet you attacked and made the world more dangerous.
2. Mecca, a religious, cultural and historical site, has nothing to do with the proliferation of extremists.You need to look in the mirror and see a large part of the cause of what you are facing.
3. You have treated the Middle East like a chess board arming which ever side met your economic interests and screwed it up every time from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. You are the largest arms dealer in the world. Now you are arming Saudi Arabia and the Sunnis in Iraq who were the supporters of Saddam Hussein.
4. Your insistency on spreading democracy has given increased power to Hamas and Hezbollah. Your occupation has caused the lose of lives of so many innocent people, destroyed their homes and villages, and caused 2 million refugees and 2 million displaced people in their own country.
5. You profess to be Christians but I know what Christ would be saying and promoting.
6. You have built your economy on the backs of people all over the world creating untold misery.
7. A segnment of your population are among the most intolerant, hate filled
people of the world and for that I have great sympathy for the decent, thoughtful citizens in your midst.
You have greater chance of dieing from your crumbling infrastruture, your reliance on HMOs to determine life and death or by the cheap goods your corporations promote, make and purchase that threaten yourself and your children so Walmart can become your largest employer than you do from any terrorist attack. You have a mounting debt, your bankruptcy rate is staggering, you middle class is shrinking, you believe ill informed myths about other countries, cultures and religions. You can't even run a fair election where voters are confident their votes are being counted. Yet you believe you are the You are ruled by a dynasty of two families, and senators and representatives who have been reelected year after year. Yet you believe you are the greatest democracy in the world!!
Your system of government makes youvirtually powerless to get rid of an incompetent leader, every project you undertake is steeped in corruption, you can't solve your problems with health care, poverty, social security, the list goes on...and yet you criticize everyone else...you should build your fence and stay home and fix your own problems. I wonder how long you would last as your "prosperity" depends on others...who more and more distrust you and do not respect your leaders or your moral standing.
I know these comments are going to draw the usual wrath and bs...but quite frankly most of us don't really care what you think...
Peace...
Uh...yeah. Great idea there, Tommy. Let's go ahead and bomb Mecca and Medina and get the greatest bloodbath in the history of the world rolling. Hang on kids, Armageddon here we come!
It sounded like a great deterrent. But I think the radical Islamists would use this as a tool to create more hatred towards USA. They do not care about other Muslims. They are only interest in the pursuit of their own agenda. Bombing Mecca and the likes would only incite a worldwide Muslim hatred towards America. And that’s what the terrorists want to accomplish. By bombing holy sites, we would help the terrorists meet their goals.
Besides we are not at war with Muslims. We are at war with radical Muslims who want to kill others in the name jihad. This is not a war against a country nor a religion. It is a war against a group of extremists.
I do like the concept of retaliation and deterrent. Perhaps we should consider nuking a whole city where we know the terrorists are hiding. This is where we should be daring. The collateral damage would be unfortunate. But it is similar to a Chemotherapy for cancer. It kills a lot of good cells along the few cancer cells, for the benefit of the greater whole. This is much like what we did in Japan. A lot of innocent people died…but we just have to believe that many more would have died had we not done so.
Tom, as an American Muslim, I cant stand all those terrorists that killed innocent people here or anywhere. Your idea is Terrorism at its pure worst.
I am glad most people can see through your insanity.
Comment 1001: While we're picking targets, don't forget Qom, the holy city in Iran, which we should've nuked after the hostages were freed. What's gonna happen if we do– get sued in the World Court? BFD!
Sad, irresponsible, pathetic, fascist,... all of the descriptions of this idiot that you guys posted are correct. But one thing that caught me off guard is that some people couldn't understand how this guy ever got elected in the first place.
Are you kidding me? Why would this surprise anyone?
We're living in a country whose leader ignores international laws, preemptively attacks another country, exploits all of our fears, attacks dissent as unpatriotic, illegally spies on us, and condones torture and other crimes against humanity.
After all of this our country re-elected him. I'm kind of surprised Tancredo isn't all of the sudden riding a huge wave of popularity.
It seems they don't screen for bigotry before allowing someone to run for office in America.
He is right on. It's about time someone said it.
Robert Mayer is dead on. It's about time we started rounding up the Islamo-terrorist here in the Homeland, too. If not re-education facilities, then pack them all back to where they came from. My next-door neighbor is from Pakastan, and not only do they take lousy care of their lawn, but anytime people aproach them they start right up talking about the 'Great Book'. Why do we let this garbage live among us. Round them all up now! Give them what they deserve!
Come on people – the winds of change are
finely blowing – Barrrock the vote !!!
Impeach this Racist Moron. He's a good-for-nothing nincompoop!
Osama or Alqaida, a terrorist and a terrorist organisation, do not represent Islamic World.
Mr. Tancredo, unfortunately represent American people but hopefully not for long.
There are only a bunch of Islamic exteremist we are dealing with now. Comments like Mr. Tancredo's is only going to increase their numbers.
Nuts like him must never be allowed to come out of the case.
Deterrent?
That looks more like an incentive.
To all who consider Tancredo insane, stupid, criminal, etc.: If US would be attacked with nukes by Islamic terrorists, what the US should do?
Any intelligent suggestions? That is what Tancredo is asking.
Hey tom, congrats you just got the vote of every american citizen who did not graduate from junior high and those who have never traveled outside their small hometown of about 50 people. Take a vacation, go out and visit foreign lands and foreigners. have some soft tacos or a gyro. and take your meds because any more statements like that and its back to the looney bin.
This is the single most Hitler-like statement I have ever heard coming from Washington.
Even the Israelis, who have far worse problems than we do, wouldn't consider this option.
This comment just surpassed President Bush's "Bring It On" statement that invited terrorists to take their jihad vacations in luxurious Iraq. Its outrageous statements like these that is like candy to the criminally insane.
Assalm ao Alykum
I am so glad that he made such a comment and the Great American Nation has express thier feelings and call him Insane and a great Nut Job and all other kind of titles after reading the comment from the people this Nation has made me more proud then ever thier comments and the reaction to this stupid shows the Greatness of this Nation and also shows to the world and to the people among them selves that our Politician do not represent our true feelings trust me people, We as an American Muslims will defend our Country as much as an any other country man and will sacrifice anything that this country will ask for it and they are so many of us against so little of Nut job Muslims who do not represent all Muslims in the world or this country's Muslims this is a promise from an Patriot MUSLIM American Soldier, May Allah bless this Country, and this Nation and protect us from all the enimies and our own Politicians.
SALAMS
Tom, Let's please just withdraw from the middle east. We can take large amounts of money and drop that instead. And, we'll just leave a note saying 'we're sorry, but please just leave us alone- we've got dinner plans this weekend'.
What a great idea!
The first thing we should have done after 9/11 is make Iraq into a glass parking lot for the middle east...
I support the congressman for his words. we in the western world or to precise Christians are being treghtened by muslims with their violence and thus we are being squeezed by our Govt. who do not or feels dont want conforntation with the Islamic countries but words like this will make even saudi arabia to think of the same pain that their religion and people are causing to them also. Thanks for your bold stand
Fundamental Islam is against all Muslims and humanity at large . Islam has to deal with thier islamic problems with the help and understanding of the West;excluding Mr.Tancredo help.
So let's get this straight.
If we invade Iran then the Vatican gets nuked in retaliation? If N. Korea gets uppity we just nuke some Buddhist holy sites and call it a day.
Vote for Trancredo – or we'll burn your church down.
tom tancredo and osama bin laden can be best friends if given a chance.see both of them get a twisted kind of pleasure out of destruction and violence and both of them are full of nonsense!
Whos side is the State Department on anyway?
I belive that A graet country like America , with it's " in God we trust"
Will never think of doing that . This graet country has great respict to all religions , espically Islam . I think this guy is traying to increase the hatered of the Muslims against America , he likes to see a rael ware between the muslims and the Americans. That will never happen because we respict America and trust the wisdom of it's people .
This is the most ill-regarded statement ever made. If you use the N-word on tv you get fines, fired, and ostracized from society but yet stating that the US military should blow up the 2 most important religious sites for almost 1.5 billion people is perfectly fine. All of you who agree with Mr. T's statement have no idea about the world around and still beleive that Iraq had WMD's. these "Islamic Extremists" represent at most 5% of Muslims...furthermore only about 13% of Muslims worldwide are actually Arab..the rest come from mainly south east Asia. So you want to take the moderate 95% and do the one thing that will turn them all against you...how is that smart. Not only will all of the Muslim world turn against the United States but other nations, Russia, China, The Koreas, Britain, Canada..and almost all other nations will definitely will also not agree with this...America will be a lone duck yet again, a black eye of society. What those of you who agree with this statement fail to understand is that if you give the extremists reason and purpose to attack you they will never stop.
As a Muslim person I am completly against terrorism, it goes against everything in the Koran...Jihad appears in the Koran 24 times, and only 4 of those can be interpreted as a holy way against society, the other 20 refer to an inner Jihad as muslim has within himself(his willingness to be muslim and to follow the beleifs and teachings). Suicide does not gaurantee Paradise, instead it is the most certain way to go to hell. And as for those 72 virgins thats not true either...I looked into it!
We need to fix the problems, we need to give Iraq back to the Iraqis, and America needs to return itself to the quasi-neutral mediator of middle east peace that it once was. Islamaphobia has to stop, but calling all of us terrorists its disheartening since most of us are on your side in this fight?
That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Attacking the holiest muslim sites in Saudi Arabia will cause a World War and there will be absolute chaos. This man is a threat to world peace and making comments like that can be dangerous within the U.S itself.
This is not news:We used this same strategy in WWII
Tom is simply re-using a winning strategy from long ago. Put our enemies on notice that their actions will result in the complete and utter destruction of the one item they venerate. If those here are so critical of Tom for repeating a winning strategy, then what do you say about WWII, hmmmmmmmm? Would you say that FDR and Harry Truman were also 'crazy in the way they prosecuted the war in the 1940's against Fascism?
I thought not.....
Everyone loves enjoying the fruits of being a free people but nobody wants to be a part of the ugly, violent work that it takes to secure those freedoms.
Almost as insane as his attacks on illegal immigrants. Maybe we should just bomb Mexico, China, and all of Eastern Europe? That will take care of the illegal immigrant problem. You mean there's a district that actually elects this fool?
what? he hopes to be the US president?
with that kind "ideas", the word 'hopeful' is an overstatement.
We have to go wherever there are terrorists and kill them and destroy their infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia is not supporting us and all targets should be in consideration.
Using Mecca and Medina to motivate others to do the right thing is not that insane to me.
Tancredo is an idiot and his comment is completely irresponsible, as is his advisor Bay Buchanan. In my mind, his comment is so irresponsible he should remove himself from the presidential campaign.
Tancredo is probably the Republican candidate I despise the most. I have often said if you combine the hawkishness of Giuliani, the fundamentalism of the late Jerry Falwell, and the rabid xenophobia of Pat Buchanan, you get a crazy little fascist named Tancredo.
Recently Tancredo re-iterated what he had very controversially said in 2005: Bomb Mecca. I thought, well not surprising. This man is a right-wing extremist. He has also called China a “growing threat”. Hey America, you thought Bush was bad, meet Tancredo.
Tancredo’s main issue has been his virulent hatred toward immigrants. It is very clear he is a racist and xenophobe. Why else would be willingly attend and address a League of the South meeting, singing “Dixie” in front of portraits of Robert E. Lee and Confederate flags? The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization which tracks and fights against racist, xenophobic and homophobic groups and individuals, called the League of the South a “hate group” in reference to Tancredo addressing the group.
Or who could forget the time he referred to Miami as a "third world country". Tancredo insulting an American city. And he wants to President of this country.
An official at the State Department called his comments “absolutely crazy”. They are. As much as I dislike our alliance with Saudi Arabia, they are our ally, and to bomb Mecca and Medina, would be an attack on them, a provocation of war. Could a Tancredo administration really afford to fight so many wars at once? Supposedly, if Islamic terrorists attack us, we should bomb Muslim holy sites, because it would send a “message”. Yes, it would send a message. That message would be: time to destroy the United States of America.
What he’s basically saying is that it is reasonable to hold an entire religion guilty for the actions of terrorists. This will only make America more of a target for terrorists. Has Tancredo addressed Christian-based terrorism? That of Eric Rudolph and others who have attacked abortion clinics and gay nightclubs? Of course not. He would never suggest that in response to Christian terrorists we should bomb Christian holy sites. Hell, for all we know, Tancredo might privately sympathize with those Christian terrorists.
An attack on Mecca and Medina would mean the ultimate global descension into chaos. Let’s hope Tancredo doesn’t become President.
If anything you're just asking for more
I think this is a great idea. I don't want anyone killed but If the next time we are attacked I hope the people that are against it are the one that pay the price for their stupidty. I beleve the Bible says somthing about an eye for a eye?
most americans are just trying to act morally correct. for goodness sake, do you think the terrorist give a damn if u treat them nice?
They only have one objective, that is to convert the whole world to be the same religion as them. If not you are clasified as infidels, and you are justified to have your head cut off or murdered.
get real, Tancredo is doing u guys a favor
Way to preach peace you hypocritical bigot.
Americans are a very very dangerous adversary. If, or when, we finally accept that our very existence is threatened with annihilation, God have mercy on the antagonists. Nagasaki and Hiroshima are proof that we are capable of any outrage and will use any means at our disposal to relegate our enemies into historical oblivion, to trample them into dust under our feet. The truth be told, we aren't really looking to deter our enemies; we are hungry ravenous wolves drawing their arrogant offensive bravado into an awaiting Hell they cannot imagine. The fools have ignited our Blood Lust which will not be assuaged until Arabic joins Latin and Sanskit as dead languages.
Steve Savage "King of the Beasts"
Some of the people posting here are just as bigoted as he is. There are over a billion Muslims worldwide. Indonesia has the highest per capita of Muslims than anywhere, the Middle East does not! To damage something that is sacred to all Muslims for the actions of a few is irresponsible and reprehensible, and would set off Muslims from the Orient to the U.S. not just a few fanatical morons from the mid east. To compare these few (amongst billions) to the entire military of the Japanese is misleading because they are not a legitimate military, they are NOT "Islamic" terrorists as the media insists on calling them because they are going outside of the religion to do what they do. Most importantly there are believe it or not large Christian and Jewish communities in these countries. In Syria the Christians with the support and protection of the Islamic government still speak the original Aramaic of Jesus. But if we bomb Mecca and Medina (both are in Saudi) those communities would be put in grave danger of being the nearest available for retaliation. This is politics for these terrorists, it is agenda driven, no matter how they use their religion, but if you bomb the Islamic Holy sites YOU make it about religion, and that is a place no one should want to go, since the terrorists are bullies they need to be dealt with, but not by alienating over a billion peoples who should be our best allies in this. One person said it right, the middle east wants to be able to live their lives without our interference and telling them what and how to do it. We didn't care what Saddam was doing to his people for years and years, it is all about Oil. Don't believe it, then tell me where is Osama Bin Laden?
For Seth Hill who asked a legitimate question, if not then what? what do we do to stop the terrorists. Understand WHY!! Why do they do what they do? because the U.S. continues to interfere and oppress (through the support of the dictators who run those countries) their peoples all for the control of the oil. We trained Bin Laden and the pakistani/afghani mujahideen to fight against Russia, we promised to help them rebuild after it was over and we didn't, we left that country in bombed out ruin and wide open for the warlords to take over and then the Taliban. We created a hatred towards us ourselves. We took in the Shah of Iran, we harbored a man who was three times worse than Saddam, and refused to send him back to stand trial in his own country like we should have, it was their right!! but he was our 'friend'. We aided Saddams rise and supported him as long as he fought against our newly minted enemy, Iran, not caring what he did to his own people. You have seen the pictures of Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam. We even returned the dictators of Kuwait back to their country once we liberated it from Saddam, and when a Saudi attacked this country on 9/11 what did we do? We sent his entire family home on a plane, while all others were grounded, and did nothing to Saudi, made no demands of Saudi to get Bin Laden and do something with him, we did not use diplomacy to get him from the Taliban, (which they were willing to do) we attacked an already dirt poor afghanistan and bombed it back into the ice age. It cannot even list itself as a third world country now! We mourn over a few thousand American dead, and yet keep silent over hundreds of thousands of Iraqi innocents, men, women, and children who are coldly labeled as "collateral damage" and dismissed as 'accidental' bombings, because their lives don't mean anything to us, and you seriously don't understand why they hate us?? Yet, if you were to go to Jordan, Syria, Iraq, or Iran, you as an American citizen would be treated with Unbelievable hospitality, because the people outside of the governments are really wonderful people and that is how they were raised to be, and they really do think we are a great nation. They hate our government and what it represents, because it has meant nothing but pain and suffering to them. Our government and their ignorant foreign policy is what got us into this mess and if there is another attack, and one poster assured those in "wonderland" there will be, it is because of that Foreign Policy and our meddling where we ought not to, and our total disregard for the sanctity of their lives, the lives of those who are innocent.
This is the problem with single-issue (and just single-minded) candidates. When they open their mouths to discuss topics outside of their core issue, they sound like dummies.
Kucinich is the same way on the other side. His response to economic questions is always, "Hey if we weren't spending so much money on our military, we'd have tons of money."
Tancredo is an illegal immigration wonk, but he evidently hasn't spent a lot of time on other issues.
It's still early, but eventually he's going to have to stop wasting our time, so the adults can have an adult conversation. The same goes for:
Gravel, Kucinich, Tancredo, Tommy Thompson, Brownback, Gilmore (I think he already pulled out).
I personally think things could even be MORE reasonable if Richardson and McCain would both give it up as well, but that's just me...
Clinton, Obama, Rudy, Romney, Biden, Huckabee, Hunter...those are the only current candidates that I could ever picture being president anytime soon, and I'd rather just hear what they have to say (yes I left out Edwards–I simply don't like the guy, at all).
Other than Fred Thompson and AlGore, anyone else is going to have to come from a "third party" or independent to even add to the debate, much less be a serious contender.
If Tancredo hates Muslims so much, why doesn't he forcibly evict Muslim residents from Colorado then?
Why does he continue to support Mujahideen-e-Khalq? He refers to them as freedom fighters even though they are considered a "terrorist group" by the State Department.
And those who agree with his comments, I dare you to express those comments in front of a group of Muslims and see what happens to you. It's easy to be a warmongering bigot behind the safety of your computer, but in reality are nothing but spineless bastards.
I'm in DFW, try to evict me you cowards. I'm a proud Muslim American and will be until the day I die, so you cannot take that away from me at all.
The war in Iraq is a cold war against
the Saudi Arabian sunni faction that
committed the 9-11 attacks. Saudi Arabia
could not be directly attacked due to
our nation's need for crude.
This guy is no different than the terrorists with these types of comments.
There are over 2 billion people of the muslim faith that would immediately go from being suspicious of the US to looking at our country as an "enemy". That includes American Muslims as well.
I would be embarrased to vote for a clown with that type of rhetoric
try that and you will see what would happen to the world...
Well, every election needs its crackpot to keep things interesting, I think the jocker just revealed himself. Doesn't he watch the news? Look what happened after the bombing of the Golden Dome Mosque in Karballah and that was just a minor place of importance, imagine the response to Mecca and Medina being attacked, this guy is such an idiot, obviously he can't put things together in his mind. Its amazing that these kind of people are elected in the first place but he might have been sane then.
What on earth is the Republican party thinking? I thought Bush was a bit like Hitler, but this guy is just plain scary. We don't need to start something so big that every single Moslem on earth hates the US. There are many good Moslems. If one were to take statistics into consideration, you are probably talking about a very small percentage that train as terrorists. Why on earth would you want to kill many innocent people to seek revenge against such a small minority...only furthering the hatred and difficulties we would endure as a result. Clearly, some people in Washington have no foresight as to what the world could become. Iraq was insane enough, this is just plain mindboggling. The reference to 911 and THEY that caused it in the mosques just shows how misinformed some people can be; and therefore how scary the world can be due to ignorance. I am all for getting those that committed such mass destruction on our soil, but even our government made mistakes and many have lost their lives due to our being in Iraq which had nothing to do with 911. We lost sight of what we really needed to be doing when we started that war and took our focus off of Afghanistan and Bin Ladin.
Bomb Mecca and Modina. No more moderate Moslems. Churchs and the Vatican, better watch out, Tancredo, has set you up for Jihad. Boy, you think Iraq is bad now...
Wow, that is the dumbest thing that I've ever heard!
What the terrorists want is total war between the west and the Islamic world. If the US were to bomb Mecca, that would be every radical Islamic terrorists' wet dream. And you can't destroy Mecca, dummy. Turn it into a crater, and the crater becomes a holy site.
Tancredo joins Obama in the looney bin of the most bizarre of presidential candidates. And Bay Buchanan is the binkeeper! How do these people get elected to Congress? While 'holy' anything is a myth, it warrants more respect than 'idiot.'
This man will most definitely have EACH AND EVERY MUSLIM- fundamentalist, moderate or non-practising destroy USA.
He doesn't realise what he is saying. oh wait! Isn't that a definition of a mad man?
It's like when extremists bombed the World Trade Center and Americans stopped being capitalists.
This "guy" is somekind of loon, for sure, when he "demoted" Miami as a third-world city. Now we have this "representative" talking about an absolutely insane retaliation (even if we knew who were responsible, that wouldn't justify this kind of action for said "cell"-terrorist activity)... no doubt he'll loose this presidential bid. He should realize how lost he is, indeed "RESIGN" and apologize for his mis-conduct. The Islamic World Reads, and his statements are surely just stoking the fire. We don't need his kind, to help promulgate a new crusade, or to define the clash of "culture".
I agree with Tancredo. There is a Fatah that permits Osama Bin Laden to kill up to 10,000,000 Americans.
During the Cold War, we had thousands of nuclear warheads tasked to Soviet targets. It was called MAD (mutually assured destruction)
It worked; there was no war
The nuclear option would specify an ultimate price to be paid by Islam for wanton death brought about by fundamentalists acting in its name; Islam might then consider leading its militant followers along a more enlightgened path.
He makes a lot of sense to me. Babies aren't off limits to the Islamic animals, so why should their holy sites be off limits to us?
Hmmm... so what he is saying that if we bomb Muslim Holy Lands then all will be okay? Where has this guy been? Hasn't he heard of Palestine and Israel? Enough said.
I think he knows that he is not going to win(not even close) and thats why trying to put fire in his campaign.
I cant believe that he is runing for a President a fanatic president HA!! or Ah!!!
His comments and ideas are no different probably worse than terrorist. He made USAMA look better.
Is this fellow a senator and running for the presidency of U.S.A. ?
God help us.
I'm ashamed that he's from Colorado.
Tom Tancredo is not fit to be US President. Futur US President should have positive mind set and lover of peace then complete world will be at peace.
Where did they say the terrorists came from?
It's amazing how this man has succeeded in beginning to tear this country apart on this issue. BRAVO Tancredo!
For any intelligent person that went to school and was taught RESPECT and HISTORY learned that acts of GENOCIDE (yes, that's what he's doing) is WRONG – can spot a man like Tancredo from a mile away.
For every other person that got high during class and agrees with Tancredo, all I have to say to you is that you people are no different than Hitler's followers and no different than Osama's followers ... You people are becoming the TERRORISTS!!
We should not confuse the jihadists with the Muslims. Most Muslims are peace loving people. Threatenting to bomb their holy sites in response to a threat or act from a very small segment of Muslims (who are really not Muslims) would make enemies out of the much larger, moderate group of Muslims. Does this man hate all Muslims? What an idiot.
If we bomb their holy sites I suppose we should prepare for them to do the same to ours. Oh yes, right, that is why the Christianists are so supportive of Isreal, because the Isrealies protect our sites. Never mind that the Christianists think the Jews are going to hell anyway because they killed Christ. What a bunch of hypocrites. Isn't there something in the Bible about not worshipping false idols, wouldn't that include religious relics and sites. We should not be worshipping things.
Obviously, the republican party is completely demoralized. The party for wingnuts and other crazy people.
His approach is a bit irrational but does merit some discussion. The Saudi government which is the largest recipient of US dollars for oil and supposedly a friend of the United States is also built on a foundation of Wahhabi Islam. The Saudi family's ability to rule the arabian peninsula is the consequence of religious/ideological support from the Wahhabi clergy that dates back over 100 years, possibly longer. The same Wahhabi ideology is spread with support from the Saudi government and the royal family in the form of madrassas and mosques built in many places around the world (including US and Europe). The ideology taught to those who attend is an intolerant one that has no place for any other religion or ideology but islam. So the focus should be on Saudi Arabia, the royal family, the clergy and the funds that flow from the Saudi government/royal family to those who wish to remake the world into what they wish it to be (a(n) (sunni)islamic caliphate). If this indeed is the goal of the clergy that populate the Saudi Arabian peninsula and the cities of Mecca/Medina, should this option be ruled out?
Truth Alone Triumphs
Everyday people in America get upto, Good Morning America and this is pleasent to everyone in the world. launching attacks of Holy Cities,Mecca and Medina would be suicide. Muslims fromall over the world will slay each and every non-muslim and the whole is to suffer. if people think this is a joke, then fine US is to make its keys allies like Saudi Arabia and pakistan its worst enemies. US would be NUKED and life would be terrible.
would Christians like it if the Vatican City was to be bombed?
Thinks again, it is a poor move and move to provoke the inside beast which when unleashed could mean WW3.
“USA should use nuclear bomb against the Muslims holy sites (MECCA AND MEDINA) to stop the terrorism.”
When Ottoman Imperia decided to dismiss then actual military system and to introduce regular army (Nizaam), nobody in Bosnia wanted to go to that new Army. Then they choose a group of soldiers, dressed them in nice uniforms with turbans and put them in a line just before Gazi Husref Bey Mosque in Sarajevo. People, not knowing what that new military is, started to gather and ask what is that? Then, they heard, “This is a new Army which will protect Holly Mecca and Medina if they are attacked by non-believers”. People which refused to go to Nizaam, when heard that, instantly started to apply for Army because that was the highest possible honor for every Muslim, to protect Holly sites. In short time, the Bosnian contingent was full. Hamdija Kresevljakovic has mentioned this last in his famous book about Bosnia history. I thought about this story when I heard that somebody thinks he may bombard Mecca and Medina. I simply cannot imagine, at the first place, how somebody could even think that such the act may resolve the problem of terrorism. This would produce mega terror where ordinary people would like to revenge on anything what has western sign. Just wanted to share this anecdote from Sarajevo with you, so I cannot conclude the possible consequences of even such the statement and, as itself, such the statement makes serious harm to the peace, making average Muslim hard to fight against radical elements (mostly created by the West during the war in Afghanistan).
How is he even considered a candidate? Bombing Mecca and Medina would probably the worst thing anyone can think of. Another politician scoring points on what the [ignorant] people want to hear.
It seems no one else has suggested an alternative idea to deter the Islamic Fundamentalists from detonating a nuclear device on American soil.
Please remember that these people are FANATICS, and understand only one thing- force. Yes, not all Muslims are terrorists, but so far all the terrorists have been Muslim.
nip this devil in the butt or it will become monster and get out of control. no one has attached his religion or even talked about it.
Tom Tancredo is crazy.
wow woooow What an idiot. I mean what a stupid thing to say. As an American Muslim I take great offence, not that he threatened Mecca and Medina, but that SOMEONE actually elected this bigot to Congress. If the smallest of bombs went off in Mecca or Medina It would be open season on anyone non-Muslim,Jews, Christians, a bomb under the pope's sheets. Not saying that, that is right aether, but wow. That is what would happen. 2Billion SUPER angry Muslims who would be happy to die for their religion... Can you say... End of the world?
What many posters are ignoring is that Congressman Tancredo recommends a RETALIATORY nuclear attack on Mecca IF and only if the US were to suffer a nuclear attack that is connected to Islamists.
This policy would leave it to the Ummah to stop their crazies who are trying to trigger WW3.
BTW, if Saudi Arabia were truly a friend of the US, Saudi troops would be fighting along side of American troops to capture Osama and the Al-Qada – but Saudi Arabia is NOT.
Quoting Chris Clifton, NJ : August 3, 2007 1:09 pm: "100% agree. If these nut case islamic fundamentalist want to even think of attacking us we should make it perfectly clear to them that if you even attempt to attack us and suceed, we will turn all your holy sites into a super sized craters.
I suggest we wait until they are all at Mecca then bomb it. They showed no mercy for us on 9/11, so we are just returning the favor."
But, mind you Chris, the most populous time is when when Muslims worldwide congregate in Mecca during the Hajj season. Well, you may eliminate 2 million Muslims and create a gargantuan crater in Mecca and Medina. But simple maths will say this:
Total Muslims 1.302 billion.
Eliminate 2 million, and you get one third of the world population attacking the U.S from the north, south, east and west. They will come with ill-equipped molotovs and also well-prepared nuclear and super-ionic bombs and missiles.
What you give, you get back.
Posted By Chris – Clifton, NJ : August 3, 2007 1:09 pm
Well, Let us ponder on certain things before we discuss what Tancredo has said.
"History is written by the victorios side"
That means those who win wars also write the history books that others study.
The good points of the loser is wiped out and his bad policies are reflected and along with that the victors bad policies are ignored while the good ones are highlighted.
Think what we would have read in the history books if Germany and Japan would have been victors of World War II.
What I intend to say here is not everything about the victor is good and loser is Bad, but it depends on how it is projected.
These are injustices every victor keeps on doing where by all the grudges of the loser is accumulated till it forms some form of protest.
The Muslim relegion was created to protect the "have not" from the attrocities of the "haves" and thus Jehad was a term coined to fight againts the injustice caused to the "have nots".
Therefore this relegion was accepeted initially by millions of "have nots"
Clocked moved on and the central theme was forgotten, because the relegion was then spread using force by the Muslim rulers who fought against the "haves" and established there regimes.
A look around the world will show that the muslims also forms the bulk of the worlds poors who also feel the developed countries are enjoying all the good things when they don,t have a good days meal. Thus the anger in them leads them to support there feeling of injustice whenever there is even a single case of "percieved" injustice by the developed world especially there leader "America"
Now coming back to Tencredo's statement.
Being a US elected representative, he should be careful about his statement in Public because in any case he will not be able to do that even when he is made the President of US as the consequences would be a full fledged was WW III where US will be precieved as the aggressor without thinking.
He may personally think anything, but as a responsible person, he sould know that no relegion preaches violence. So hitting at the highest level of muslim holy site will make US as a villian in the eyes of BILLIONS of peace loving muslims around the world who may be sympathatic to US causes at present. A handful of the Muslims are terrorist now and they are also disowned in Public by there reletives if found to be involved in any case of terrorism. All of these Terrorist will then become legitamate Solders and will get open support from from the Muslim world.
and THIS IS A MAJOR GOAL OF THE TERRERISTS, to get full fledged support from the Muslim world in the cause of JEHAD.
And Mr. Tancredo, you are helping them to achieve their GOAL.
So go on and bomb the holy site and make US a site of WW III
If Japan could bomb Pearl Harbour in 1941 so Terrorist can do much more in 2007. 9/11 may then be like a Trailor.
Look at the foriegn poliy:
Are all US foriegn policies politically correct?
Are they making friends or more enimies?
Are they doing anything for the "HAVE NOTS" or adding more to the kitty of "HAVES"?
and then fight the US Presidential war based on the Policies that a US President will follow to make the world a safer place with more people accepting US as their leader.
Notice To All Muslims! Please do not worry as Allah has clearly stated in the Quran that Allah will protect the two holy cities and retain the Quran in it's original state until the end of this world. You (the Musilm) should follow the sunna of Mohammed PBU strive to better yourself (towards Islam) and rise above all the ills of this world. You have nothing to fear – Allah is our protector. A word to the leaders of all Musilm countries – wake-up before it's too late – your neglect to your public is the cause of todays situation. May God help us all live in peace for life is too short – I belive religion (all religions) is NOT the cause of any violence it's the politicians who use it in any way they can to save their postion or to get votes. I am sure that this guy will not gain control of the USA since most USA citizens do not think like him... The best way to stop any kind of terrorist attacks is to find the root cause and work towards fixing any issues as best possible... I think it's wrong to refer to terrorists as Muslim Terrorists (ones having a muslim name) since no other such people are named in same way (IRA was never called Christian Terrorists). These so called Muslim Terrorists even attack Muslims (similar to what IRA did)... UK sorted the IRA problem and I think UK should lead the way to help sort out current situation and bridge the gap between Christians and Muslims.
The United States no longer has the appetite to fight a war to win. We are only willing to fight wars in a manner that is politically correct. That is why we have not won a conflict since WWII. So no matter what the size or magnitude of a terrorist attack on our country, we do not have the will to do what is necessary to respond in such a way that another one will not happen. The only acceptable way to stop terrorism is to surrender to the terrorist demands. Everyone must convert to Islam and allow Israel to be totally destroyed. Then the terrorists will be satisfied with us.
Quoting Gem Bara, Langkawi, Malaysia,
You say there are 1.302 billion Muslims.
Please consider that there are 5 billion NON-Muslims. Many of whom live in highly advanced technological societies, societies that put men on the Moon and returned them safely, societies that placed remote controlled rovers on Mars, societies that defeated nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Predominantly Hindu India almost had a nuclear war with Pakistan over Kashmir. Thankfully that never happened.
Please don't make the mistake of doubting the resolve of 5 billion NON-Muslims.
As far as I'm concerned, the US has been fighting with one arm tied behind its back too long. A nuclear attack on the US would be the straw that breaks the camels back.
I think it was very wise of Mr. Tancredo to voice the possiblity of a retaliatory strike at the heart of the Muslim world in response to any nuclear attack on the US.
This is a high stakes poker game and I'm placing my bet on the West and like minded societies.
Well,guess what, Mr. Tancredo is a genius - he says something completely idiot and ignorant and in return he gets tons of free publicity! Cheap trick and all of us are buying it?
I reckon this is a record high for AC360 blog with more than 1600 comments. Ignore him!
it's an idiotic statement by a nobody from the far right, but if a nuke goes off in times square and a million americans die you can be damned sure alot of people in this country will not be too upset if we do what he suggests.
you guys have no clue what you're talking about. Tom Tancredo knows what hes talking about.
Guys we are dealing with blood thirsty terroists who do want to nuke us, and if they do get a nuke they will use it.
Tancredo is smart, the only way to stop
these terroists from bombing the us is to use agressive deterrent talk by saying if you bomb us well bomb your holy sites, so in the end the probably wont bomb us if they think our president is being serious.
WW2 was the last honourable world conflict that America took part and since that, America has been led by idiots, morons, jokers, thieves, skirt chasers & cheats.
I thought Bush was the father of all idiots and cheats but Tom Tancredo beats him to it.
C'on America, wake up, be counted and return back to the days when you were respected – not feared!
C'on Americans, be true blue Americans and set things straight again. Make the White House whiter than white with honour, respect and transparency.
If I had it my own way, Id gather all the racists, extremists, KKKs, idiots, morons, cheats and allow them to be pioneers on the moon and elect Bush and Tancredo as President & VP!
Our world will be a safer place for our children!
Saudi Arabia pretends to be our friend so we will protect them and buy their oil. We pretend that they are our friends so we will have an uninterrupted flow of oil, and so the Saudi's will continue to insist on receiving US dollars, which conveniently props up the US economy.
A more likely target will be Tehran and the Iranian Holy city of Qom, from which they expect to see their Muslim "Madhi" rise from the well in that main Mosque in Qom.
It is not contradictory for a Christian to say they will nuke a muslim city, the President of the United States of America has a fiduciary responsibility to protect this country. Saudi Arabia continues to fund Sunni extremists, and promotes the Wahabbist sect of Islam, which Osama Bin Laden is a member of. So they are only friends to us out of convenience.
Having said that I would threaten to bomb Tehran and Qom if we received another attack on the homeland, and also if they do not stop interfering with us in Iraq.
Now you see this is why the world hates you guys ... I suggest you strap this guy (and his pals) and shoot him into outer space.
Now, that will help to lessen the states as a target ...
Well i guess a new terorist is in town..a congressman gone crazy. He wants to fight fire with fire, common we all know what's the end of that!
Hello Mr Tancredo
You are a hero. Yes, I agree with you that there is no other deterrent to fight these radicals. These islamofascist are there to kill us and get their 72 virgins. You mentioned that about 10% of muslims are terrorists. I like to disagree with you on that note. I would say its about 40%.
Yes striking them in their heart will do it.
I hope you win the elections to become the leader of the free world and spread freedom and democracy throughout the islamist world.
God bless you and God bless America.
Reuben R.
What an IDIOT and a total MORON. How the heck did he get elected to Congress? What he's saying is lets drop down to the terrorists level. And just an FYI, TRUE Muslims are not terrorists. Those who kill innocents are not part of our religion unless they sincerely repent and are forgiven by the family of the deceased. Furthermore, bombing Mecca and/or Medina will only do one thing: it will turn all Muslims against us and will only show that we are as low as terrorists by bombing innocent civilians. Oh yes, any of those who follow your logic will definitely need to be mentally examined and put into a psychiatric ward with you in one with EXTREME security.
Tom Tancredo was elected by the majority of voters in his district. Its called Free Elections.
You see the US is not Cuba where Fidel has been Presidente since 1959. There have been 10 different MEN electeted Presdient since 1959 but only ONE MAN, the SAME MAN, Castro, who for 48 years has been the ONLY Presidente of Cuba. And now as a literal dictator, Fidel is too weak to be Presidente, so his BROTHER, ANOTHER Castro will take over the family business.
As far as Mecca and the rest, their fate lies in the hands of TRUE Muslims who want to preserve Mecca, the Kabba, and are motivated to stop, disband, destroy al qada and similar Islamofascist criminal gangs.
<Is this guy on drugs, or something? He wants to attack
Saudi Arabia, because some 'unknown' attacks the U.S.? Does he understand first, that that would be wrong & second, there are over 6 million Muslims in the U.S. I'm a nonpracticing Muslim and I was taken aback by his idiotic comments. How can someone obviously so ignorant make it so far in public office? Oh, never mind; "W".
Not "some unknown". The "known" of Islamofascist Al Qada and the Islamofascist Regime of iran.
I've yet to see TRUE Muslims in the US or anywhere march en mass denouncing Al Qada and Wahabbism.
The suicidal "wrong" would be a nuke attack on the US.
If there are 6 million Muslims in the US, whose side are they on? The US or Al Qada?
Is Saudi Arabia helping the US capture Al Qada? If so why isn't Saudi Arabia doing it publically – not under cover?
A Saudi would be able to blend in and find Osama more easily than an American.
there is no way he'll gonna make it to the White House. not even a slight chance. Provocative (if not called stupid) statement like that will only put him on the bottom of polling position.
What a moron..
Great words Tancredo, finally a man who knows what it takes to defeat the cult that is set to devour western civilization unless halted soon.
Haha, you Americans should definitely vote this guy for president... But if it were up to me I would get the muslims in North America and Europe out and back to the Middle East, and then do what this guy suggests.
Brilliant, Tom! Let's also nuke a few Christian churches down in Oklahoma in order to deter any potential Timothy McVeighs.
The Tancredo Doctrine would be useful policy for the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, India, Israel, Australia.
Bombing and destroying religious lands in the Middle East would not only anger those in the Middle East, but would be a personal affront to anyone of the Muslim faith here in America. Tom Tancredo is sending a message of intolerant, religious hatred to those both overseas and to those belonging to the American Muslim community.
Actually, he'd be destroying everything we hold dear in America regarding religious tolerance and treating everyone of different faiths equally. Destroying Mecca and Medina would basically give dangerous precedence to others that it's a legitimate form of political exchange and tactic to bomb Jerusalem, the Holy Mount, St. Paul's Cathedral, Stonehenge, or any other site that holds religious or spiritual significance to other persons of faith.
And this is coming from an agnostic, not a person of any particular faith. And how is this going to help the future of mankind? What a stain on future history books – "Here's the site that used to be Mecca, the most holy of Muslim sites, but America destroyed it in 2010 after Tom Tancredo was elected President."
Let's not let this "gentleman" from Colorado have any more years of service in the Representative body, please???
The US is not at war with every muslim in the world as the situation stands today; bomb Mecca and Medina, and it certainly will be.
My guess is that five minutes after such an attack takes place (and I'll pray to any god willing to listen that it never does), we'll see bin Laden on TV, wearing his biggest Cheshire Cat grin, going 'See, I told you! America hates islam, so go get'em...', and how will he be proven wrong at that point?
Quisling of Norway, it seems the best thing for Islam to do, is to track down and capture/kill bin Laden and al qada before Islam suffers a retaliatory nakba.
If our "friends" in Saudi Arabia are on our side, Saudi troops should be PUBLIC members of the coalition forces tracking down osama. Public to demonstrate to the World that Saudi Arabia is NOT a supporter of al qada.
But I don't believe they are. Perhaps a conflict of interest?
Im sorry to say that is just bigotry coming out without logic. Like saying UK should have bombed the Vatican in retaliation for the IRA. What's sad is that people get away with saying these kinds of things when they would dare not say that about any other culture or group of people.
SITUATION IS MATHEMATICAL:POLITICS=CORUPTED VISSION OF MAKING LEAGLE SLAVERY, HATE=SIN'S, BEING EVLE=HELL FIRE, WOR=#1 BUSSINES IN THE WORLD, POLITICS USE RELIGION TO ACHIVE THEIR MISSIONS, SO THEIR MISSIONS MIGHT TAKE THEIR OWN FREEDOM.,DIVIDE THAT WITH; MISSTERIES STORIES FROM HOLLEY BOOKS, OUTCOME=SOON. WINNING II'nd-WW+CREATING ENEMY 4THE FUTURE=III'rdWW. THEN ALL HUMAN'S WILL GET EQUAL PUNISHMENT+DESSTROING A LIFE BECOMES BECAUSE OFF GREED MOSTLEY. I'M BOSNIAN-AMERICAN MUSSLIM. MY ADVICE IS HOLD UR THOUGHTS AND LOOK AT THE SITUATION THROUGHOUT GOD'S EYES. IF U SAY IT, IT'S LIKE U DID IT!!! PANDERUP ON THIS., ONE AND ONLEY
if you were to bomb a site like that you will bring so much pain to the usa. i dont think you would want to do that to the u.s people
thats not crazy, thats called strategy.!!!!!!!!!!!
Why are you people so weak? Tancredo is right on the dot with this idea.
Tell me does anyone remember how the world tried to appease Hitler throughout the 30's? What did it get the world accept a stronger enemy to have to fight in the end. These Muslim nations mean exactly what they are saying when they say we as America are "the great Satan" and when they call on a holy war for our destruction. The Muslims have a serious weak point, their religion, to be a real Muslim they must at least once in their lives make a pilgrimage to Mecca, their holy sites are "precious" to them, we should use our ability to turn their holy sites into nuclear wastelands as a way of stopping them from attacking America. No one wants this to happen, but it is time for the "good muslims" to stop sitting on the fence on this issue, and to get a leash on their dog. We need to "motivate" them, The pentagon is a national holy site in a secular way, did they have a problem flying planes into it? We should openly at the UN tell the Russians and the Chineese that we are opening two of our ICBM missle launch sites and that these missles are pointed at both Mecca and Meddina, if they truly love their God, and their religion, they will come to the table and talk like civilized people, if not then they are responsible for those cities destruction.
How soon can we start?
WOW! You push a strong point but you are forgetting that the main part of muslim is not violent. The vast magority are very good and peacful people.. supprise but just like me or any God loving christian we have the same type of values. Lets just stop for 1 second and realize we are all humans...............................
Well not to mention there is a reason for people to feel oppressed, especially to the point were they are willing to give there lives. I not implying that bombers are justified just that we should look at there actions as casusal. one event (called cause) and another event (called effect) which is the consequence (result) Everything is done for a reason, whethier you are christian, muslim, jew buddist, bla bla bla ... ECT. Any of these people would do extreme things if there way of life was disturbed/threatened enough. OH and have they, Dear God look what the christians did in the first crusades when they fianally breached Jerusalems walls. Well The texts speak litterally of rivers of blood, not a singal musslim was spared.
My rant does have a point, And that is that seperation of church and state was part of our constitution. If we declare war on Islam we are underming every foundation this country ever stood for!!!!
yes that's an peace loving comment .that west belives