News & Politics - Nuke Syria comment a joke? Who's laughing?

JW77 · 03-04-2005, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Dallas-area congressman 'joking' about Syria

Associated Press

DALLAS — A Dallas-area congressman raised eyebrows with his recent offer to personally drop a couple of nuclear bombs on Syria.

But Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, told The Dallas Morning News for a story in today's editions that he was "kind of joking" in his comments at a pancake breakfast at a North Texas church.

The Feb. 19 remarks at the Suncreek United Methodist Church in Allen were first reported this week in Roll Call. The Capitol Hill newspaper reported it had heard a recording of the talk made by an unidentified person in attendance.

According to Roll Call, Johnson said he was talking with President Bush and Rep. Kay Granger, a Fort Worth Republican, at the White House about weapons of mass destruction that U.S. troops had failed to find in Iraq.

According to Roll Call, Johnson said he told the president: "Syria is the problem. Syria is where those weapons of mass destruction are, in my view. You know, I can fly an F-15, put two nukes on 'em and I'll make one pass. We won't have to worry about Syria anymore."

Johnson, 74, is a former Air Force combat pilot who served in the Korean and Vietnamese wars and spent 7 1/2 years as a North Vietnamese prisoner of war.

Johnson did not respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press on Friday. However, he told The Dallas Morning News that he was surprised that anyone took his comments seriously and has never advocated a nuclear strike at Syria.

"I was kind of joking — you know, we were talking between veterans," he said. He added that President Bush knew he was joking.

I don't know that that's the best thing to be joking about when you're a U.S. congressman, but maybe that's just me.

Milt Palacio · 03-04-2005, 04:12 PM

I agree with him, we should nuke them.

No1important · 03-04-2005, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milt Palacio

I agree with him, we should nuke them.

mh67511 · 03-04-2005, 04:26 PM

I think that's a terrible thing to say considering he was in a church. Not in line with Christian beliefs, but I don't know much about the United Methodists or where they stand on things.

JW77 · 03-04-2005, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milt Palacio

I agree with him, we should nuke them.

Why is that?

TokyoNiGHTS · 03-04-2005, 05:44 PM

It's easy to think that we can just nuke them and that'll be it no more worries. The only problem is that you aren't thinking about the consequences of what you're doing, and there will be big consequences for doing something like that.

**sum1** · 03-04-2005, 09:21 PM

LittleMilkJug · 03-06-2005, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mh67511

I think that's a terrible thing to say considering he was in a church. Not in line with Christian beliefs, but I don't know much about the United Methodists or where they stand on things.

Yes, I was shocked this kind of thing was said in a Church, even as a joke

LittleMilkJug · 03-06-2005, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JW77

Why is that?

I think MP is joking

peacecorps2006 · 03-06-2005, 03:31 PM

He was just joking. Plus, it's funny that he thinks nuking Syria will end terrorism and not start something even worse

***Jerry D*** · 03-06-2005, 03:42 PM

What a stupid and irresponsible thing for that Congressman to say. Statements like that make me embarrassed to be living in Texas, but then again, ignorant statements can be made from anywhere.

86amanda86 · 03-06-2005, 04:31 PM

Brutally killing hundreds of thousands of people is not something to joke about.

imajica · 03-06-2005, 05:05 PM

I'm really not sure whats worse - if he seriously thinks it would be a good idea to nuke Syria or to think its ok to so flippantly joke about killing hundereds of thousands of people?

Elizajoey · 03-08-2005, 07:12 AM

How disgusting.

An expected stateman who is one of the people who will decide something like this, joking about it in this manner.

Quote:

I'd say Syria could use some carefully-targeted bombing.

Could use? My gosh, that's disgusting. Your nonchalent approach to something such as NUCLEAR bombs is quite scary. No country deserves to be bombed in that way no matter what.

Put it in a difference perspective - if this was another country's elected representative saying the exact same thing about the USA - the outrage would be enormous - what would people think about those comments?

Milt Palacio · 03-08-2005, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LittleMilkJug

I think MP is joking

What makes you think I'm joking? Nuking people is lots of fun.

Gotta love those Texas Congressmen, they're just a barrel of laughs!


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