During the November 26 broadcast of The Savage Nation, host Michael Savage
discussed the
terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that had started earlier that day and said, "[T]he
question to you is, what should the U.S. government do right now? Should the U.S. military be
deployed? Should the tribal areas of Pakistan be wiped out and the rats killed in there once and
for all? Should we nuke the tribal areas in Pakistan's wild-man region and wipe out the
terrorists once and for all?" Later, responding to a caller's assertion that "[W]e need to
exterminate them like rats," Savage said, "Yeah, we know where they're coming from. ... [T]hey're
in the tribal areas of western Pakistan. What the heck do we have nuclear weapons for? What are
tactical nuclear weapons for but to wipe out an enemy? The enemy lives there -- kill them and
their families, and show them that the terror they inflict on the West will come home to roost
and will be inflicted on them." Savage later added, "[T]here's no question that entire region
needs to be annihilated and stripped off the earth."
As Media Matters for America has noted, Savage has previously advocated attacking
other countries. On the October 29, 2007, edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Savage
played the song "Everybody's Dixie" by recording artist Bobby Horton, and said: "Yee-haw! This is
the America -- this is the America that those Islamic-fascist, robe-wearing, throwback bums have
never seen!" Savage repeatedly said, "Let's bring it on! Bomb Iran, bring our boys home now!,"
and then demanded, "Get every hunter in America armed to the teeth!" He continued: "Throwback
bastards! I'm so sick of them! I'm so sick of the brainwashing about Islam and Muslims and the
Koran! Shove it! Shove it all! I'm sick of it!"
Talk Radio Network, which syndicates Savage's show,
claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage
Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to
Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the
nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity
Show.
From the November 26 broadcast of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:
SAVAGE: They have set a landmark hotel, the Taj [Mahal] hotel, on fire. Screams can be heard in
the background. Enormous clouds of black smoke are rising from the century-old edifice on
Mumbai's waterfront. The fact of the matter is, India is at war, only you don't know it. And the
question to you is, what should the U.S. government do right now? Should the U.S. military be
deployed? Should the tribal areas of Pakistan be wiped out and the rats killed in there once and
for all? Should we nuke the tribal areas in Pakistan's wild-man region and wipe out the
terrorists once and for all? Is this a result of Bush's weakness? Is this a result of Bush's
catering to Islamic fanatics? Is this a result of the FBI saying you cannot use the word
"Islamic" in relationship to terrorism? Is this a result of Obama's weakness? Is this a result of
the financial meltdown? Is this connected in some way to the threat against the New York subway
system that we heard about earlier today? Is this retaliation for the pirate attack? Is this some
way related to anything other than more of the same, which is Islamic madness against the world?
Mad Islamic fanatics taking it out on Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, anybody but
the fanatics. Is this a result of anything other than insanity? I will open up the lines to you
on The Savage Nation.
[...]
CALLER: We in the Western world and the United States -- I don't see how we're gonna win this,
because we do not have the guts, we don't have the stomach to do the things it takes to be
violent enough, to fight fire with fire and give these -- I mean, basically, we need to
exterminate them like rats, and we're so worried about --
SAVAGE: Yeah, we know where they're coming from, we know they're coming out of the -- the
training, at least, is probably coming out of the area where Osama bin Laden is hiding. If we can
believe our intelligence agencies -- of course, we have no real knowledge as to whether they're
really intelligent intelligence agencies -- they're in the tribal areas of western Pakistan. What
the heck do we have nuclear weapons for? What are tactical nuclear weapons for but to wipe out an
enemy? The enemy lives there -- kill them and their families, and show them that the terror they
inflict on the West will come home to roost and will be inflicted on them. Why must we sit here
waiting for the New York subways to go up in flames?
CALLER: Yes, sir, but what are we gonna do? Instead of what you just said, what we're gonna do is
we're gonna cut our nuclear arsenal.
[...]
SAVAGE: The only way to defend ourselves against these fanatic Islamists is with strength. Not
with hand-wringing, not with the United Nations, but with a strong and swift attack on the tribal
regions of western Pakistan. Now, I will not quibble with you as to whether they should be with
nuclear -- that is, tactical nuclear weapons, which are limited in their scope and limited in
their power -- or with cluster bombs or with weapons I'm not even aware of. But there's no
question that entire region needs to be annihilated and stripped off the earth.