A Republican Congressman from President George Bush's home state was caught on tape telling a group that he told Bush at a White House meeting that nuking Syria would solve the problem and that he would carry out the attack himself. Congressman Sam Johnson, a retired pilot, later called his remarks a 'joke'. According to Capitol Hill newspaper 'Roll Call' that claimed to have an audio tape of the conversation, Congressman Johnson told a group at a church meeting on February 19 in Washington that he was talking to President Bush and Rep Kay Granger (Republican-Texas) at the White House about the weapons of mass destruction US troops had failed to find in Iraq.