--- title: Audience Boos As Ben Carson Asked About Bombing Children description: Ben Carson drew loud boos during the GOP debate when he said he'd order airstrikes that could kill thousands of innocent children. canonical: https://time.com/4150910/republican-debate-ben-carson-isis/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-16T03:16:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T21:56:52.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Audience Boos as Ben Carson Asked About Bombing Children og:description: "So you are OK with the death of thousands of innocent children and civilians?" og:url: https://time.com/4150910/republican-debate-ben-carson-isis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82f112526c673474/6988758b2dce01d6e59e6f58/republican-debate-gop-presidential-027.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2910 og:image:height: 1637 og:image:alt: Ben Carson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Audience Boos as Ben Carson Asked About Bombing Children twitter:description: "So you are OK with the death of thousands of innocent children and civilians?" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82f112526c673474/6988758b2dce01d6e59e6f58/republican-debate-gop-presidential-027.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Audience Boos as Ben Carson Asked About Bombing Children > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=54f67cba-0891-49a2-8706-0ae3be905e8f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:56 PM UTCPublished: Dec 16, 2015 3:16 AM UTC  Ben Carson speaks during the Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Las Vegas. Ben Carson speaks during the Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Las Vegas. John Locher—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:56 PM UTCPublished: Dec 16, 2015 3:16 AM UTC A question to Ben Carson drew loud boos during the fifth Republican debate Tuesday night about whether he would order airstrikes in the Middle East that could kill thousands of innocent children. CNN moderator Hugh Hewitt talked about Carson’s career as a pediatric neurosurgeon and his inspiring personal story, and questioned whether Carson could exhibit the toughness necessary to be Commander-in-Chief and order deadly airstrikes. “You have to be able to look at the big picture and understand that it’s actually merciful if you go ahead and finish the job rather than death by a thousand pricks,” Carson said. “So you are OK with the death of thousands of innocent children and civilians?” Hewitt pressed. Amid loud boos from the audience Carson said, “You got it.” Carson did quibble with Hewitt’s use of the word “ruthless.” “Ruthless is not necessarily the word I would use, but tough, resolute, understanding what the problems are, and understanding that the job of the president of the United States is to protect the people of this country and to do what is necessary to get it done,” Carson said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4150910/republican-debate-ben-carson-isis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4150910/republican-debate-ben-carson-isis/"},"headline":"Audience Boos as Ben Carson Asked About Bombing Children","datePublished":"2015-12-16T03:16:13.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T21:56:52.000Z","description":"\"So you are OK with the death of thousands of innocent children and civilians?\"","url":"https://time.com/4150910/republican-debate-ben-carson-isis/","keywords":["Debates","2016 Election","ISIS","Dr. Benjamin S. 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