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.
