U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's office on Sunday tried to clarify remarks the congressman made on a radio show that the U.S. could threaten to "take out" Islamic holy sites if Muslim fundamentalists were to attack the country with nuclear weapons.
Campbell asked Tancredo how the country should respond if terrorists were to strike several U.S. cities with nuclear weapons.
"Well, what if you said something like - if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites," Tancredo answered.
"You're talking about bombing Mecca," Campbell said.
"Yeah," Tancredo responded.
The congressman 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 released a statement Sunday evening in which he said he was simply trying to figure out what the United States could use as a threat to deter future attacks.
"Among the many things we might do to prevent such an attack on America would be to lay out there as a possibility the destruction of these sites," he wrote. .
