All eyes have been on Trump since last week's bombshell statement about banning Muslims from America. But while the world was reacting to that, Trump's fellow Republicans were making some pretty big statements of their own about the Middle East.
Republican presidential candidate and current Texas senator Ted Cruz told a rally of supporters in De Moines, Iowa last week he would "utterly destroy" Daesh if elected president, the De Moines Register reported. Cruz went on to say he would "carpet bomb [Daesh] into oblivion."
Then he said this:
"I don't know if sand can glow in the dark, but we're going to find out."
As the New York Times pointed out, we're not sure "whatever that means," but as Truthout further purports, Cruz's comments could be suggestive of chemical warfare. "Glow in the dark" is a popular reference to the aftermath of a nuclear bomb.
And while the Texas governor was likely just exaggerating for the crowd, his comments should be a reminder that Trump isn't the only one making bombastic statements about the Middle East and the global struggle against extremism.
During the same address the Texas senator told a roaring crowd the US "will not enforce Sharia law," as if anyone had put that on the table.
So while the near-global condemnation for Trump's remarks are a good show of humanity, maybe we should also be paying attention to what else is going on during the run-up to the election.
