Tancredo, who in recent months has been an outspoken critic of immigration policies allowing illegal aliens to stream across U.S. borders, says few can argue the current approach to the war on terror has deterred fundamentalists from killing Westerners, adding so-called moderate Muslims and leaders of Muslim countries have done little to crack down on extremists.I still think it is irresponsible for a US Congressman to be saying these things in public, but this makes more sense than what he said the other day.
"That being the case, perhaps the civilized world must intensify its approach," Tancredo says. "Does that mean the United States should be retargeting 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."
10:20AM Update
As expected, Hugh Hewitt has something of a different take on it...I don't buy this notion that Tancredo is some sort of raving egomaniac. Tancredo is right: this idea should be on the table somewhere. That it isn't shows our enemies that we aren't as fully committed to winning as they are...and that has strategic value too, Hugh... Now, I will agree that such discussions should not be happening in public, as Tancredo did, but the discussion had better be taking place.
