State Department Goes Ballistic as Tancredo Threatens to Nuke Mecca

In a campaign event in Iowa, Presidential candidate Tom Tancredo (R-CO), announced that he wants it to be known in advance that if a US city is nuked by Islamic terrorists, Mecca (Islams holiest site) will be nuked in retaliation. This in order to attempt to create as much deterrence as possible from such an attack on the US happening to begin with. (audio)

The US State Department immediately went ballistic, sending out spokesman Tom Casey to express the Departments "disgust" according to USA Today:

"It is absolutely outrageous and reprehensible for anyone to suggest attacks on holy sites, whether they are Muslim, Christian, Jewish or those of any other religion. Those who wish to hold office can speak for themselves and whoever is elected in 2008 and comes into office in 2009 will then be in a position to talk about what they intend or plan to do,"

I personally find the State Departments statement far more disturbing than Tancredo's statement. Is it really the job of unelected government bureaucrats, in a democracy, to pontificate on, or attempt to silence candidates for President in a heated political campaign? Although Tancredo is not my favorite candidate, he certainly has the right, indeed the obligation, to openly express his views on critical issues such as the war on terror so that US voters can make up their own minds (before the election) without unsolicited commentary from an unelected and unaccountable (to the electorate) bureaucrat on a government salary.

As for the Tancredo statement itself; There is simply nothing illegitimate about a candidate discussing the need for an effective deterrence against a nuclear terror attack on a US city. Tancredo did not "suggest attacks on holy sites" out of the clear blue sky as the State Department Spokesman suggests in his rather hysterical statement. And what I find most remarkable about Mr. Casey's response was the idea that US presidential candidates should shut up on foreign policy and: "whoever is elected in 2008 and comes into office in 2009 will then be in a position to talk about what they intend or plan to do." REALLY Mr. Casey? The American people don't need to hear the views of the candidates BEFORE they vote them into office? And this is from the Department that is supposed to promote Democracy around the world.

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