Now we know where Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) thinks the weapons of mass destruction are buried: in Syria, which he said he'd like to nuke to smithereens.

Speaking at a veterans' celebration at Suncreek United Methodist Church in Allen, Texas, on Feb. 19, Johnson told the crowd that he explained his theory to President Bush and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) on the porch of the White House one night. Johnson said he told the president that night, "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."

The crowd roared with applause.

Johnson's remarks were captured on tape, which was played over the phone for [Heard on the Hill]. While the audience audibly applauded Johnson's remarks, a few members of the crowd did not. One person who lives in the district and who attended the service said he was "shocked and offended" by the Congressman's remarks.

Johnson's chief of staff, Cody Lusk, told HOH to keep in mind that the Congressman was a fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam. And he was a POW for seven-and-a-half years. "Once a fighter pilot, always a fighter pilot," Lusk said.

He added that, the Congressman's comments aside, Johnson "obviously does not believe" that nuking Syria is the answer to eliminating weapons of mass destruction. "He was just speaking to a crowd of veterans," Lusk said..."

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