In August 11 coverage of U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) fourth-place finish in the Iowa Republican Party Straw Poll, KDVR Fox 31 quoted Tancredo's assertion that "[t]errorists every day announce their intentions to kill every last one of us in the name of Allah. But we seem embarrassed to acknowledge the cultural component to this war with radical Islam. Instead, we go out of our way to avoid any suggestion that ... this is a clash of civilizations." Despite reporting his remarks about “radical Islam” on the News at Nine O'Clock broadcast, Fox 31 failed to mention Tancredo's recent controversial comment that the United States could use the threat of a bomb strike on Muslim holy sites to deter a nuclear attack by Islamic terrorists.
According to CNN's "Political Ticker" blog, Tancredo told a group of Iowans on July 31: “If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina.”
As the Rocky Mountain News reported on August 6, during the August 5 Republican presidential debate Tancredo “stood behind” his “controversial comments threatening to target Muslim holy sites as a deterrent to Islamic terrorism.” The News further reported, “Tancredo has said he sees no other way to deter a potential nuclear attack by Islamic terrorists except to threaten to destroy the Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina.” The News also reported -- as did CNN and other media outlets -- that a U.S. State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, has called “Tancredo's strategy 'reprehensible' and 'absolutely crazy.' ” Additionally, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Sean McCormack at an August 6 press briefing labeled Tancredo's remarks “simply outrageous”:
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I want to ask you about Tom Tancredo's comments on bombing Mecca and Medina to fight terror. There's been a really strong and angry reaction from the Muslim world.
MCCORMACK: Right.
REPORTER: He was asked about it yesterday in the debate and he said, you know, the State Department can say whatever they want and glad they're paying attention, but I'm sticking by what I'm saying, essentially. Could you speak to that?
MCCORMACK: Look, he will say what he will and we'll respond as the U.S. Government. The remarks are simply outrageous. He'll have to account for his own remarks and explain the reasons behind them. But it's important for people abroad, who may not necessarily pay attention to the details and just hear a headline with that in it, that the official position of the United States Government is that those remarks are just outrageous. [emphasis added]
Fox 31's report made no mention of Tancredo's July 31 comment or a similar remark he made in 2005, when he said that if terrorists struck U.S. cities with nuclear weapons “and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites."
From the August 11 broadcast of KDVR Fox 31's News at Nine O'Clock:
DEBORAH TAKAHARA (co-anchor): It is the first major test for Republican presidential candidates: the Iowa straw poll. The unofficial vote is held during presidential election years when a Republican president isn't running for re-election. The candidates included Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo.
TANCREDO [video clip]: Terrorists every day announce their intentions to kill every last one of us in the name of Allah. But we seem embarrassed to acknowledge the cultural component to this war with radical Islam. Instead, we go out of our way to avoid any suggestion that it, that this is a clash of civilizations.
TAKAHARA: Thousands of Iowans paid $35 each to cast their vote. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney easily won the poll, while Tom Tancredo came in fourth. Two key candidates did not take part in the event.
