Bigger sins than offending (Tancredo writes editorial)

Denver Post ^ | Tom Tancredo

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

By now, many people in America - and likely around the world - are familiar with my statements regarding a possible response to a nuclear attack on U.S. cities by fundamentalist Islamic terrorists.

Without question, my comments have prompted strong reactions from many quarters, but they have also served to start a national dialogue about what options we have to deter al-Qaeda and other would-be Islamic terrorists.

Many critics of my statements have characterized them as "offensive," and indeed they may have offended some. But in this battle against fundamentalist Islam, I am hardly preoccupied with political correctness, or who may or may not be offended. Indeed, al-Qaeda cares little if the Western world is "offended" by televised images of hostages beheaded in Iraq, subway bombings in London, train attacks in Madrid, or Americans jumping to their death from the Twin Towers as they collapsed.

Few can argue that our current approach to this war has deterred fundamentalists from killing Westerners - nor has it prompted "moderate" Muslims and leaders of Muslim countries to do what is necessary to crack down on the extremists in their midst who perpetuate these grisly crimes.

That being the case, perhaps the civilized world must intensify its approach.

Does that mean the United States should be re-targeting its entire missile arsenal on Mecca today? Does it mean we ought to be sending Stealth bombers on runs over Medina? Clearly not.

But should we take any option or target off the table, regardless of the circumstances? Absolutely not, particularly if the mere discussion of an option or target may dissuade a fundamentalist Muslim extremist from strapping on a bomb-filled backpack, or if it might encourage "moderate" Muslims to do a better job cracking down on extremism in their ranks.

People have accused me of creating more terrorism by making these statements. Indeed, we often hear that Western governments bring these attacks on themselves. Just days after the London subway attacks two weeks ago, for example, Tariq Ali, a prominent British Muslim activist, was quick to suggest that London residents "paid the price" for British support in the Iraq campaign.

A professor in Lebanon, Dr. George Hajjar, went even further, proclaiming, "I hope that every patriotic and Islamic Arab will participate in this war, and will shift the war not only to America, but to ... wherever America may be." Hajjar went on to say that "there are no innocent people," and referred to the victims of the attack as "collateral casualties."

These are fairly "offensive" statements, to be sure, but the sentiments expressed by Ali and Hajjar are sadly commonplace in the "mainstream" Muslim world, where justification for terrorist attacks like the ones that rocked London, New York and Washington is never in short supply.

Fundamentalist Muslims have advocated the destruction of the West since long before the attacks of Sept. 11, long before the Madrid, London and Bali attacks, long before the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, long before the attack on the USS Cole and the 1993 WTC bombing.

In many respects, the decision of "moderate" Muslims to acquiesce to these actions and even provide tacit justification for them is just as damaging to global safety and security as the attacks themselves.

Until "mainstream" Islam can bring itself to stop rationalizing terrorist attacks and start repudiating and purging people like Ali and Hajjar from its ranks who do, this war will continue. As long as this war goes on, being "offended" should be the least of anyone's worries.

Republican Tom Tancredo represents Colorado's 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

[King Prout]

it is relevant to the people of the Ummah among whom the terrorists hide and from whom they draw recruits.

[Bommer]

Especially when he's supposed to represent The Knights Templer......more like the knights who say NEEEEEE!

[porkchops 4 mahound]

How many people did he INTEND to kill?

Oh yeah, ALL of them.

We don't make allowances for murderers who are incompetent.

Should we?

[airborne]

Many believe, myself included that Saudi Arabia is still the largest sponsor and supporter of Islamic terrorism in the world.

I second that!

[Bommer]

So you will rank a failed intention with wthose that have acctually accomplished? Richard Reid = Mohammad Atta? Right?

[FreedomSurge]

"If Tancredo had been President on 9/121, instead of pushing AlQaeda into seclusinve caves and tying terrorists up in Iraq and getting the world to join us in hunting down terrorists; the idiot Tancredo would have simply bombed Mecca and other Muslim holy sites. The entire world would have been united in war against us and their leader would have been Osama Ben Laden."

You are making this up. Hallucinating may be a more proper word. The predicate for Tancredo nuking Mecca is the nuking of major American cities.

I personally think Tancredo's solution is wrong. If NY, DC and LA are nuked by Muslims, I am going to shoot off strongly worded notes to Mosques and Madrassas around the world telling them that they hurt my fellings. Along with your strongly worded notes I think we can change some hearts and minds.

[adam_az]

"WAS a Saudi. He's been exiled by the nation and disowned by his family."

Not by his entire family, and he has great sympathy among the Saudi royal family and population at large.

I'm not surprised that you believe every word that drips from the Oil Ticks mouths, though. Talk about drinking koolaid... your lips are stained, guy.

[adam_az]

"I personally think Tancredo's solution is wrong. If NY, DC and LA are nuked by Muslims, I am going to shoot off strongly worded notes to Mosques and Madrassas around the world telling them that they hurt my fellings."

No no no - you should call your elected UN representative (ha-ha), and let them convene a Security Council meeting where they can discuss the correct words to use. You wouldn't want to hurt their feelings with a mean letter, it might make them angrier!

[labette]

How quaint.
A patriotic republican who actually needs a jockstrap.

[porkchops 4 mahound]

No I don't rate intentions as anything, I rate ACTIONS as everything. Reid tried his retarded best to murder everyone on that plane.

I assume I'll offend you by saying that it was GOD's will that Reid failed in his plan.

I'll chance it.

(BTW lil Dickie Reid does = Mohammmmmed Atttta wannnabe.)

Sabe?

[JCEccles]

But how does bombing Mecca as retaliation deter, say, a secularist moslem like Assad of Syria?

The medicine for Assad is to threaten to obliterate Damascus.

It's worked for the Israelis.

[dalereed]

"There are anywhere from two to six million American Muslims, are they the enemy as well?

What about Turkey?

There are 150 million Muslims in India...is India then an enemy?"

You bet, kill them all!

It's either them or us and they have stated so.

[Bommer]

Sorry I don't. I'm supposed to quantify 1 failed nut "failed intentions" to equal that of 19 who "succeeded" in killing 3000 people? Unfreaken believeable!

[Lancelot Jones]

"The analogy would be threatening to bomb the capital of any country that supported, aided, abetted, or sheltered the terrorists. That at least has some logic to it. But how does bombing Mecca as retaliation deter, say, a secularist Muslim like Assad of Syria? If he shelters a terrorist group that nukes Detroit, how is the thread to bomb Mecca in retaliation relevant?"

Thanks for trying (again) to inject logic and common sense into these threads, it's sorely needed.

Nuking Mecca would in fact validate everything that these terrorists are doing, nuking Mecca, is exactly what they want us to do, as it would give them a veritable bottomless well of motivated new recruits from among the roughly one billion adherents scattered throughout the world.

Who is the enemy?

Same as it always was...the enemy is a loosely organized, multi-national group of individuals, financed by Syria, Iran, and perhaps some individual Saudis. This "shadow Army" uses religion as both an offensive and a defensive weapon to fight the encroachment of Western secularism into the Middle East, and encroachment which would diminish the power of religion over the people in the region.

The fight will neither be easy or quick, but it can be won if we don't do something as stupid as what Rep. Tancredo suggests.

Beauseant!

[Lancelot Jones]

"I find his graphic a bit arrogant as well. But it is best attacked..."

Why does it have to be attacked at all?

Beauseant!

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Post 43 has been pulled so I will put this here.

If asked "What should the response be if a nuclear device is used against us by Islamic terrorists?", 98% of us, myself included, would have thought "Nuke 'em."

Anyone who thinks they are above that response may have forgotten how the fate of 4 planes united this country or a member of MSM who wants us to forget.

I cannot fault or criticize Tancredo for this, he is saying what most of us think.

Also, there is a reason Britain has been targeted so many times in such a short period of time: the response factor. I have a feeling the terrorists know Bush still means what he said post 9/11. We will hunt you down.

As for what would have happened had Tancredo been President on 9/11-not much different than with Bush. He still would have the susual suspects on the left to deal with. Their quest for power is not dependent upon what Republican is sitting in the Oval Office.

[Dane]

I cannot fault or criticize Tancredo for this, he is saying what most of us think

And giving propaganda points to the islamofascists, sometimes silence is golden.

[labette]

"Richard Reid was British. Do we nuke London?"

Yep, he's British.
I wonder where he went to get his "training"? Hmmmm.

[Dane]

Well Dane, this is one way that you can't say that Tancredo = Buchanan!

Actually I can. The buchanans are running tancredo's PAC. tancredo rows up the islamofascists and gives them propaganda points agianst the US and pat buchanan's and the islamofascists common enemy, the state of Israel.