Official Rejects 'Insulting' Comment by Congressman
Associated Press Washington, July 19 - The State Department rejected as "insulting and offensive" a comment by a Republican congressman that the United States could target Muslim holy sites if Islamic terrorists set off multiple nuclear attacks in American cities.Spokesman Adam Ereli was responding to the comments of Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado in an interview.
"You're talking about bombing Mecca," the interviewer said.
"Yeah," Tancredo responded.
He added that he was "just throwing out some ideas" but that an "ultimate threat" might have to be met with an "ultimate response."
Ereli said American citizens "respect the dignity and sanctity of other religions."
He added that those who in the name of religion pursue "a violent and hateful ideology" go against "the teachings that I think any person of faith believes in."
Tancredo on Tuesday refused to apologize, saying his comments had been taken out of context by the media and others.
When asked to clarify his comments, he said he never said he wanted to bomb Mecca or Medina, but he did not explain whether he would support bombing the Muslim holy sites if the United States's nuclear reserves were attacked by terrorists.
"If these nuclear devices did go off, there'd be a lot of people thinking about worse than that," he said, adding that he wants to think about ways to prevent a terrorist attack. "I hope we can think of things that actually will prevent an event of that nature. That's the task we are all set upon. From my point of view there's a lot that can be done, and ... I don't want to inflame this issue."
Tancredo said he talked with the Turkish ambassador Tuesday afternoon during a long-scheduled meeting about a House bill on the Turkish-Armenian conflict.
Tancredo said the ambassador, Osman Faruk Logoglu, agreed the comments had been spun out of context by the media.
Associated Press Washington, July 19 - The State Department rejected as "insulting and offensive" a comment by a Republican congressman that the United States could target Muslim holy sites if Islamic terrorists set off multiple nuclear attacks in American cities.Spokesman Adam Ereli was responding to the comments of Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado in an interview.
"You're talking about bombing Mecca," the interviewer said.
"Yeah," Tancredo responded.
He added that he was "just throwing out some ideas" but that an "ultimate threat" might have to be met with an "ultimate response."
Ereli said American citizens "respect the dignity and sanctity of other religions."
He added that those who in the name of religion pursue "a violent and hateful ideology" go against "the teachings that I think any person of faith believes in."
Tancredo on Tuesday refused to apologize, saying his comments had been taken out of context by the media and others.
When asked to clarify his comments, he said he never said he wanted to bomb Mecca or Medina, but he did not explain whether he would support bombing the Muslim holy sites if the United States's nuclear reserves were attacked by terrorists.
"If these nuclear devices did go off, there'd be a lot of people thinking about worse than that," he said, adding that he wants to think about ways to prevent a terrorist attack. "I hope we can think of things that actually will prevent an event of that nature. That's the task we are all set upon. From my point of view there's a lot that can be done, and ... I don't want to inflame this issue."
Tancredo said he talked with the Turkish ambassador Tuesday afternoon during a long-scheduled meeting about a House bill on the Turkish-Armenian conflict.
Tancredo said the ambassador, Osman Faruk Logoglu, agreed the comments had been spun out of context by the media.
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