FUNNY!VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson apologized Wednesday for calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, only hours after he denied saying Chavez should be killed.
“Is it right to call for assassination?” Robertson said. “No, and I apologize for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him.”
Chavez, whose country is the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush. He accuses the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have called the accusations ridiculous.
On Monday’s telecast of his Christian Broadcasting Network show “The 700 Club,” Robertson had said: “You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”
He continued: “We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.”
On Wednesday, he initially denied having called for Chavez to be killed and said The Associated Press had misinterpreted his remarks.
“I didn’t say ‘assassination.’ I said our special forces should ‘take him out,'” Robertson said on his show. “‘Take him out’ could be a number of things including kidnapping.”
He later issued the apology on his Web site.
When the AP had called Robertson on Tuesday for elaboration, spokeswoman Angell Watts said Robertson would not do interviews and had no statement about his remarks. He also declined several interview requests Wednesday.
“On Monday’s telecast of his Christian Broadcasting Network show “The 700 Club,” Robertson had said: “You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”
Isn’t this sort of a dig at the Iraq war. He seems to be implying that wars to get rid of specific leaders may not be worth the cost.
I know I am talking about the rantings of a lunatic, but this lunatic has a lot of followers.
Robertson was wrong no question about it, but check into Hugo Chavez. He is no angel either. He has done some terrible things in Venezuela according to some sources.
I am not going to argue with you over Chavez, the real question is do we want a man like Robertson making national security decisions. As far as I know no one elected him, why do people like Bush listen to men like Robertson.
Pat Robertson doesn’t make any national security decisions. GWB was elected and He makes those decisions as he is obligated to do as President. To ignore a man like Hugo Chavez is foolish. One must always be aware of potential trouble !
I will believe Bush is actually making those decisions when he comes out and denounces people like Dobson and Robertson, at this point Mr Bush’s lips are to firmly attached to the rear ends of people like Robertson and Dobson for him to say or do anything.
Just a thought, wasn’t Chavez democratically elected? So now we are for free elections until we are not.
The other thing that is interesting is that at this point the US army is bogged down in Iraq, so even if the guy is a threat their is not much we can do about it.
Strangely Roberts is right, the only way to get rid of the guy is through assisination, because at this point a milatary action is out of the question.
Maybe Bush should pay more attention to Roberts, he seems pretty smart, Roberts comments were a dig at Iraq as I pointed out earlier.
Just a thought, wasn’t Chavez democratically elected?
I think Fidel Castro was democratically elected also and we know how that went. Senator Palpatine was elected in the Star Wars movie and that didn’t go well either. THe problem with all these people, including Chavez, is that now you can’t democraticallly remove them since democracy no longer exists in their governments. Even Saddam Hussein got, like, 99.9% of the Iraq vote for his presidency.
Right:
At this point I don’t see how Cuba is a problem. They are not a threat to US security. Personally I think we should normalize relations with Cuba but that is because I want a Cuban cigar. Meddling in a countries internal politics never seems to end well.
The cold war ended because people in soviet bloc countries wanted change, and until people want change it is not going to happen.
Assassination: To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons.
Since when is murder a Christian value? Is this nut still on the air???
Since when is murder a Christian value? Is this nut still on the air???
Just-war theory, gives christians the right to wage war, given a number of stipulations. Assasinations are a part of war.
Karl: At this point I don’t see how Cuba is a problem. They are not a threat to US security. Personally I think we should normalize relations with Cuba but that is because I want a Cuban cigar. Meddling in a countries internal politics never seems to end well.
Cuba would be much better off as a democratic nation. And its people wouldn’t risk death on rafts, to get here if they lived with out a communist dictator.
Karl: The cold war ended because people in soviet bloc countries wanted change, and until people want change it is not going to happen.
The cold war ended because the soviet union went bankrupt, trying to keep up with our military. Give credit where credit is due, Ronald Reagan, pushed the soviet union past its breaking point. Weakness in the face of adversity, never insured victory, even JFK came a long way from is inaguration to the Cuban missle crisis, and he diverted Soviet checkmate, by strength and resolve. Luckily Republicans still have the strength and resolve to fight our enemies, I don’t know where the democrats of old have gone, I guess they were lost to the hippies…
Micheal I agree about JFK showing strength and resolve, I fail to see how a ban on Cuban cigars is the equivelent.
Are you saying that Cuba would be better if it was a democracy like Venesuela(sic) Or is Cuba different because they do not have oil?
They went bankrupt trying to occupy land that didn’t belong to them. They kept pounding the square peg into the round hole in Afghanistan. Our methods of ensuring this happening…while not honest, they did get the job done. At what cost though? 9/11 did result from our outsourcing the fight versus the USSR in Afghanistan. During that time we also supplied Iraq and Iran with weapons to kill one another with.
JFK had pictures of the missles. B-52s spotted them…strength and resolve have less to do with it than the fact that he did what he had to do.
The Wall Street Journal editorial section has been running editorials on the exploits of Chavez for quite a while now. He’s a scumbag, and may have rigged elections…I can’t remember specifics right now. The intimidation of political oposition and vote tampering happens in many countries around the world. American leaders get particularly upset with Chavez because of his oil, but also because S. America has been making big bucks off of their exports to SE Asia. The cycle goes from S. America to China to the US. We buy, they sell.
His organization’s tax exempt status should be striped. Religion took down the towers and has taken the lives of millions throughout world history.
He’s an extremist. Just like the Muslim extremists. None of it is healthy, nor should it be given a pass when April 15th rolls around
At this point I don’t see how Cuba is a problem.
Karl, I remember you and others making suchas big deal about “torture” in abu ghar-whereever so I am surprised you are willing to let Casto continue his 50+ year reighn of torture so you can smoke a cigar with a “special” label.
Why do you feel Cubans deserve to be tortured and not Iraqis? Btw, underwear on your head isn’t torture. Castro, now that guy knows his torture, he should write a book about it.
What the hell can we do about it? Create another Haiti perhaps?
Perhaps, but it’s really none of our business. No more than who the President of Venezuela happens to be. We’re a nation of people living amongst other nations – not like Batman living in Gotham City.
Cuba does allow that gulag known as Guantomo to exist on their soil, maybe we should invade and free the detainees at guantomo.
The difference between Cuba and Abu Graib, is that in the case of Abu Braib we are the ones doing the torturing. We are supposed to be better than that. How can we lecture places like Cuba about human rights when we are doing worse?
Should the US extradite the radical cleric Robertson to venuzuela?
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2886425.htm
It really is.
Awesome link karl! Thanks for posting that.
You’re welcome.
Karl: Are you saying that Cuba would be better if it was a democracy like Venesuela(sic) Or is Cuba different because they do not have oil?
Cuba would be better off as a democracy, and Venesuela is no longer a democracy. Venesuela is the equivelent of the U.S. electing a president, then having the president declare his supreme rule, and revoking our democracy. Or…allowing us to vote yay or nay, for him to continue being president, and voting out of fear for what he will do to our families, if we don’t. Get your head on straight, Chavez is dangerous to democratic nations, and although assasination isn’t PC, he will need to be addressed. Sticking your head in the sand, will only make it easier for you to be caught off guard. Guess what being the only Super power left in the world means…it means we are the only target. Addressing threats, is neccessary…not pussy footing around them. Thats why I drew a correlation between JFK and diversion of Nuclear checkmate…thats why I drew a correlation between Reagan and the down fall of the soviet union. Chris retardedly spoke about how
Chris: JFK had pictures of the missles. B-52s spotted them…strength and resolve have less to do with it than the fact that he did what he had to do.
Having strength and resolve was what he had to do…there’s no difference. Strong people, do what they have to do with the resolve that is necessary to do it. JFK was weak in the early mettings with Khrushchev. But soon found stregth, the domino effect you hear Bush talking about now, was a staple for Kennedy…except we are trying to topple the domino’s in the direction of democracy, as opposed to preventing them from toppling towards communism.
“No other challenge is more deserving of our effort and energy… Our security may be lost piece by piece, country by country.”
Micheal:
I doubt that we should Iraqify Venuzuela, and we don’t have he army to do it even if we wanted to
I doubt that we should Iraqify Venuzuela, and we don’t have he army to do it even if we wanted to
I concur, unfortunately those people are going to have to suffer for several decades until either a civil war erupts or an assassination is successful. It’s going to be another Cuba where you have multiple generations of institutionalized torture.
I can see why liberals want to abandon the world to the Road Warrior-esqe apocalyptic future and build a wall around us and forget about the suffering of other people. Sometimes that sounds kinda nice but then I think that humanity can do so much more with the time we have on this Earth.
Iraq is a gamble, what if it doesn’t become the Disneyland of the middle east that liberals describe as the only measure of success, sure they are 100 times better off now than they were but if this works, wow what would that say to the trampled peoples of the world? There is life after dictatorships.
I think that our perception of how life is in other parts of the world can be exaggerated quite easily since most of us have never been to these places. Most of what I was told about the Soviet Union growing up wasn’t true.
Does everyone enjoy a quality of life as high as ours here in America? No. But take a foreigner and have them live in the ghetto…Baltimore, for a month. What will their perception of the United States be then?
We demonize foreign leaders who lie to their people, who leverage emotions for political gain. To them, our leaders do the same exact thing. It’s all a matter of perception. I’m sure some have it rough in Venezuela…but so do plenty of Americans. It’s a tough life.
We won the lottery of life and happened to be born in the USA rather than Somalia. That’s how I see it. I’m lucky and ignorant…they tend to go hand in hand.
I have feeling most people are happy where they are at. It is silly to think that the US is the only nice place to live in the world. I do not think that it is realistic or desirable to try to transform the entire world into a suburb uf the US.
Besides people who really want to live here do not seem to have much trouble sneaking across one of our many porous borders.
This is what I was talking about in terms of the vote tampering. Michael, I just don’t see how it’s any of our business.
Bush has strength and resolve, but it hasn’t solved the problem of religious extremists using religion to promote terrorism. JFK took care of the problem of milliles in Cuba, and that’s what matters. ‘Strength and resolve’ are just buzzwords, adjectives. Leaders solve problems. A leader with a lot of adjectives attributed to him who does not acutally solve problems is not viable based on the adjectives alone.
Chris: This is what I was talking about in terms of the vote tampering. Michael, I just don’t see how it’s any of our business.
It is democratic nations business, to insure the success of other democratic nations. Democratic nations across the world, ALLOW, foriegn monitors to determine the validity of or democratic elections. Wide spread vote tampering, intimidation, or prevention, are noted by foreign poll watchers…thus insuring a legitimate democracy. When and if democracies stop helping other democracies, we will cease to have democracy. “Democracy is never more than one generation away from extinction”. I believe that was Reagan…if you don’t feel like Democracy is any of your business, then I suggest you close your eyes for the next few decades, because democracy will either flourish or fall, and if you don’t care about it, i’d rather you not comment on or pay attention to it.
And the generation after ours will have to do the same, support democracy, and keep it, or discard it in other nations, peice by peice, as we loose our security.
Chris: Bush has strength and resolve, but it hasn’t solved the problem of religious extremists using religion to promote terrorism. JFK took care of the problem of milliles in Cuba, and that’s what matters. ‘Strength and resolve’ are just buzzwords, adjectives. Leaders solve problems. A leader with a lot of adjectives attributed to him who does not acutally solve problems is not viable based on the adjectives alone.
So…he should stop having strength and resolve, because the problem hasn’t been fixed…yet? Kennedy came a long way from the bay of pigs, to the cuban missle crisis. Because of those buzz words, and you would come along way too, if you decided they were valid solutions, to a whole host of problems. Terrorism, can and will be defeated by a stong and resolved belief in the effects of liberty and freedom. And the ability, and will to fight for those things.
You should answer the question. Or is it because you cannot because you would be exposed for all the world to see?
Everyone, meet Drumwaster…I have no idea what question he’s asking me. This happens often.
The same question you deleted so many times last night: You claim you are against the Iraq war because Bush lied, is that right? And if so, then can we assume that you actually supported the war up until last September, when the final ISG report came out?
And you’ll have all kinds of posts to support that, I’m sure.
But since it doesn’t look like it (having perused your site and all), wouldn’t that mean that you are merely a liar, just looking for any lame excuse to justify your “I hate Bush” mindset?
THAT question.
I eagerly await your answer, but I expect a deletion instead.
DW:
Are you admitting that Bush lied? Why do you still support the war now that you know that it was started under false pretenses?
Welcome to the site it is great to see new people here.
Why won’t our democracy break down? It may decline, as I feel it is right now…but say one of our elections was rigged (imagine)…does that make it another Democratic nation’s business to come in here and fix us?
Put the shoe on the other foot and it doesn’t make as much sense. The mechinism that keeps democracies in line is their economy and how it interacts with others around the world. China is communist…and to me it seems like their intentions are to improve their own economy, first and foremost that’s their goal.
If what you say is true Michael, that Democracy everywhere is at stake, then it shouldn’t only be the USA that’s dealing with a country like Venezuela.
Without good ideas, strength and resolve are useless.
One mans rationalizations are another mans reasons.
For me the carrier landing was thie first indication the Iraq war was political stunt more than anything else. Since that time every fact has backed that up.
If the war was such a good idea why did they need to lie about the intelligence?
The best reason not to support the war now, is that even if it was a good idea, Bush and Rumsfield have no clue how to win in Iraq so the longer it goes on the more it makes America look weak.
Intelligent people look at a situation and make adjustments, if Deadissue was against the war from the start it just means he was right at te beginning, so I guess he is smarter than most of us.
“If the war was such a good idea why did they need to lie about the intelligence?”
It wasn’t a lie. It was bad information. because EVERY PUBLIC FIGURE ON THE PLANET – including Saddam himself, plus all of his public ministers – agreed that Saddam had the WMD.
It is an established historical fact that he had them at one point, and these things don’t get nicer with age. Where did they all go? If they are not in Iraq, where are they? Hell, when Scott Ritter and Hans Blix are saying that Iraq is hiding something, who else are you going to ask?
But YOU knew it was a “lie” from the beginning, huh?
You need to give these people your intel sources… Or did they all lie, too?
Yeah, all of those liars should either resign or be impeached, right? Isn’t that the standard?