Responding to criticism of his suggestion that nuclear weapons be used against Iraq, 2nd District Republican hopeful Dan Marriott accused his critics of using the issue to "make political hay."
Democratic State Chairman Peter Billings Jr., and Marriott's challenger, Genevieve Atwood, both issued statements on Friday denouncing Marriott's sanction of nuclear force.Questioned on his stance, Marriott said he would wield nuclear force against Iraq only if economic sanctions and negotiations fail to prevent President Saddam Hussein from unleashing chemical weapons on U.S. troops.
"I think it is unfortunate that people would use a statement like that to . . . make political hay with," Marriott said. "They can't find anything else to harp about."
Marriott, who is squaring off against Atwood for the district Republican party nomination, said Billings and Atwood took his statement out of context.
"I am not in favor of using nuclear weapons in Iraq at this time," he said.
Billings argued that a congressional candidate shouldn't be "making threats about dropping nuclear bombs on cities," and called Marriott's viewpoint "irresponsible."
"Such rhetoric at this time could cause Saddam Hussein to initiate the use of chemical warfare on our troops, not to mention the human suffering from the use of nuclear weapons," Billings said in a news release.
Marriott responded that he doesn't favor the use of any kind of military weapon against civilians.
"Our nuclear weapons can be targeted against military installations and economic strongholds," he said, "cutting off the lifeblood of any kind of offensive position."
The former four-term congressman emphasized he only advocated nuclear force against Iraq as a last resort.
Meanwhile, Atwood praised President Bush's efforts to assemble a multinational effort against Iraq's military moves. She called Marriott's viewpoint "dangerous saber-rattling."
She said his "rash statements" serve only to heighten the danger of the already tense encounter.