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E-MAIL THIS STORY Tancredo: No apology He believes bombing of Muslim holy sites has been discussed By ME Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News July 19, 2005 WASHINGTON - The remarks were hypothetical but the outrage was real. Tom Tancredo on Monday refused to apologi ze for suggesting the United States could target Muslim holy sites if ra dical Islamic terrorists set off multiple nuclear attacks in American ci ties.
"It's a tough issue to deal with," Tancredo told reporters at a Capitol H ill news conference. And we should not shy away from saying things that need to be said." Tancredo is known for his fiery rhetoric on immigration and other issues, but his words are coming under more scrutiny because he has started tra veling to test the waters for a possible presidential candidacy in 2008. A spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called Tancredo's re marks irresponsible. "They do nothing to advance our national security and protect Americans f rom terrorists," Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which calls itself the largest Islamic civil rights group in the United States, demanded an apology Mo nday, after the Rocky Mountain News published an account of his Friday i nterview with WFLA radio in Florida. In the interview, talk show host Pat Campbell asked Tancredo what the Uni ted States should do if terrorists were to strike several US cities wi th nuclear weapons. "Well, what if you said something like - if this happens in the United St ates, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalis t Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites," Tancredo answ ered. He went on to say that he was "just throwing out some ideas" but that an "ultimate threat" might have to be met with an "ultimate response." Tancredo later said he was not advocating such a response, but merely dis cussing what could happen in a hypothetical situation. "I was talking about what we could maybe do as a preventative," Tancredo said. "I simply throw that out there as a thing to think about, although it is horrendous to think about. So is having one or more cities destro yed in the United States." CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper called Tancredo's remarks irresponsible, in flammatory and "unworthy of an elected official." comments just serve to fuel negative perceptions of the United States in the Muslim world that create a downward spiral of hostility," Hooper said. "He needs to go far beyond a clarification and apologize, not only to the people of Colorado, but to the American-Muslim community." Tancredo rejected the idea of apologizing at his news conference, where t he controversy overshadowed the topic he wanted to address, his introduc tion of comprehensive immigration reform legislation. His bill would cre ate a limited guest worker plan for immigrants but only after beefing up border security. Last week in Iowa, home of the nation's first presidential caucuses, he p ressed his immigration reform agenda to members of the Christian Coaliti on. At each stop, he also spoke briefly about what he sees as a clash of civilizations and war against "radical Islam." Hooper said it was a "quantum leap" for Tancredo to go a step further and suggest destroying Muslim holy sites that are at the center of a faith for one-fifth of the world's people. "Unfortunately, there's a veritable cottage industry of anti-Muslim rheto ric now in our society, and it seems to be growing," Hooper said. "I don 't know where it's taking us, because if people really do believe we're in conflict with the faith of Islam, what does that mean? In an interview, Tancredo said he did not intend to offend moderate Musli ms, whom he calls the "best hope" of bringing terrorists to justice. "When we bombed Hiroshima, when we bombed Dresden, we punished a lot of p eople who were not necessarily (guilty)," Tancredo said. He stressed that he was not advocating an attack on Islamic holy sites, b ut that counterattacks had to be considered - and perhaps telegraphed ah ead of time. That way, he said, both sides would know the stakes under a worst-case scenario, much as they did under the Cold War theory of "mut ually assured destruction." Tancredo believes government officials already have considered such a sce nario. "Do they think, honestly, if I never said that, it wouldn't be contemplat ed?" "Of course, things are contemplated, and I certainly wouldn't be the only one. Not saying it does not mean it doesn't exist in the minds of people." Late Monday, CAIR officials said they were trying to arrange a meeting be tween Tancredo and Colorado Muslim leaders. Tancredo spokesman Will Adam s said he had not received the invitation but that the congressman would be willing to meet with moderate Muslims. Tancredo admits that it's "hi ghly improbable" that his version will be approved in its entirety, but he hopes key provisions are included in legislation the US House could consider this fall. The following are some elements of Tancredo's bill: Increases number of Border Patrol agents. Toughens enforcement against businesses that hire illegal immigrants. Makes it a felony to be in the country illegally, punishable by fines, imprisonment and forfeiture of assets. Creates a temporary guest worker plan, but only after the president cer tifies that border security goals have been met. If so, foreign workers would be certified in advance and could be in the country 365 days every two years. Children born to guest workers would not be US citizens unless one pa rent is American.
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