Posted on 07/20/2005 4:03:58 PM PDT by neverdem
Turk: Tancredo just "a fanatic"
Washington - Turkey's foreign minister Tuesday condemned Rep. Tom Tancredo as a "fanatic" as the Colorado Republican's comments about bombing Muslim holy sites in retaliation for a terrorist nuclear strike echoed around the world.
"This was nothing but a fanatic speaking completely personally, irresponsibly and without thought of how far his statements would reach or what kind of problems they would create," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said, according to Turkey's Anatolia news agency.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department labeled Tancredo's remarks Friday on a radio talk show "insulting to Islam," and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean joined the chorus of those calling on the Littleton Republican to apologize.
Tancredo's 6th District constituents interviewed Tuesday mostly criticized their congressman's comments.
"Tancredo's stirring up a lot of trouble that doesn't need to be stirred," said Melinda Pride, 39, a Douglas County resident who said she is a Bush supporter. "Just to say we'll attack one group of people if we're attacked is dumb."
But another Douglas County Republican - Curt Clint, 37 - sided with Tancredo. "I think he said what a lot of people are thinking, and I think that a lot of the things he said need to be discussed and looked at."
"I'm fanatically devoted to the security of America," Tancredo said Tuesday in an interview, responding to the Turkish official's comments. "If that qualifies me (as a fanatic), then so I am."
He also said he couldn't care less what Republican or Democratic party officials think, dismissed the State Department as "tepid," and said that if a Muslim group wants to try to unseat him the next election, "that's the American way. ... Wouldn't it be nice if it were that way around the entire Middle East?"
Discussing on a Florida radio show Friday how the United States might respond to a nuclear strike inside the country by Islamic extremists, Tancredo suggested, "You could take out their holy sites."
The host said, "You're talking about bombing Mecca," and Tancredo replied, "Yeah."
Walid Phares, professor of Middle East studies at Florida Atlantic University, said Tancredo's remarks are starting to reach the Arab world. Articles about the comments ran on the Arabic-language television network al-Jazeera and in the Turkish Daily News.
"It has begun," said Phares, also a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington. "It hasn't reached the level of Koran abuse at Guantanamo, but that will depend on the American media."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli stressed in the department's daily briefing that Tancredo's comments were not representative of the U.S. government.
"We periodically see, you know, remarks or comments that are insulting to Islam," Ereli said in response to a question about the comments. "Speaking on behalf of the United States government, let me say that we respect Islam as a religion, we respect its holy sites."
But Michael Rubin, who follows the Middle East for the American Enterprise Institute, said many Arabs will view Tancredo's comments as official government policy because he's a congressman. "At the very least, they will consider it a trial balloon," Rubin said.
Rafaat Ludin, president of the Colorado Muslim Society, said Tuesday that if Tancredo doesn't apologize, his group will join with "interfaith partners" to try to block Tancredo's re-election in his heavily Republican district, where Tancredo has been elected four times by lopsided margins.
The Muslim council and others are still seeking a meeting with Tancredo.
Tancredo didn't get much support from his fellow Colorado Republicans.
GOP Sen. Wayne Allard "does not believe we should bomb Mecca," said spokeswoman Angela de Rocha.
Several other party leaders declined to comment.
But Republican Rep. Joel Hefley of Colorado Springs came to Tancredo's defense, saying his colleague's remarks might help some in the Middle East understand how seriously the United States views terrorism.
"He doesn't, of course, advocate bombing Mecca," said Hefley spokeswoman Kim Sears, but "he thinks Tancredo's remarks might even help. Perhaps it will emphasize the seriousness of this kind of attack before it gets out of hand."
"The man is crazy," said the Rev. Brian McCaffrey, 53, a Lutheran pastor from Highlands Ranch who said he voted Democratic in the last election.
"What seems crazy to me is there's no way this country is going to get people to like us if we're talking about blowing up holy sites," McCaffrey said. "We just get angry and stupid and begin acting like a schoolyard bully when what we need to do is talk to each other and try to settle our differences."
Staff writer Mike Soraghan can be reached at 202-662-8730 or msoraghan@denverpost.com.
"Remark stirs up Muslim world"
It's too bad the televised beheadings don't.
Those who proposed attacking Afghanistan in 1999 were considered fanatics. By late 2001 those who didn't want to attack Afghanistan were the fanatics.
A single event - which many would say is inevitable - will turn Tancredo from "fanatic" status to "visionary".
Tancredo is absolutely right, and the State Department types need to be given a big enema.
There's some people in London right now that would like to explain to you we don't care if they like us or not. Just stop with the bombings.
At least that would give them something to really whine about ..what with the 2 thousand years of glowing that would follow.
Memo to Muslim World: Either take care of your problem, or we will.
And UNPREDICTABLE.
Now let's follow through!
Can't be stirring them up too much. I haven't seen any protests of them burning pictures of Tom Tancredo the way they went psycho over false Newsweak stories.
If the Mullahs are preaching hate and killing from the pulpit of a "Holy Site" then it should be goodbye Holy site
Our cities are holy, too.
...and the incessant anti-Semitic saber-rattling at the mosques every morning.
He's confused about who the bully in the said scenario is. Hint: It isn't us.
There's an ongoing discussion over here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1446970/posts
Exactly. Screw 'em - either condemn and take action against your own raghead nutcases or we'll do it for you. All this BS about 'understanding' them and being 'sensitive' - ever try to talk a bully out of beating? It doesn't work. These people are homicidal fanatics - there exists a (very) small minority who are capable of living in the 21st century - the rest of them are stuck in the 7th century and deserve to be buried there.
They apparently haven't been made aware of the daily mosque bombings in Iraq. I guess these people have absolutely no concern about being taken seriously.
Consider the conditions that Tancredo was commenting about. Nuclear devices going off in American cities. If anyone here thinks anything less than the complete annihilation of every suspected Islamofascist center in the world would follow, you are just fooling yourself. Consider what happened to Japan and Germany in WWII and you have your answer.
I was rather fond of the World Trade Center. If and when we get attacked again, we better send a very clear message. If it means lighting them up then so be it. I believe we had just cause to after 9/11.
Nobody gets stirred up when a terrorist like Osama bin Laden says he's going to wipe all of us out, kill us men, rape the women, and force convert any surviving children to Islam... for absolutely no sane reason.
Tancredo voices how we're likely to respond if the terrorists attack us using nuclear weapons, and suddenly people are offended?
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