Pat Robertson: U.S. should assassinate Venezuela's Chavez
 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/23/rob...vez/index.html

Tuesday, August 23, 2005; Posted: 2:58 p.m. EDT (18:58 GMT)

(CNN) -- Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has called for the United States to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him "a terrific danger" bent on exporting Communism and Islamic extremism across the Americas.

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson told viewers on his "The 700 Club" show Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war." Watch video of Robertson's comments

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel accused Robertson of making terrorist statements and demanded that the United States take action, according to The Associated Press.

"The ball is in the U.S. court after this criminal statement by a citizen of that country," AP quoted Rangel as saying. "It's huge hypocrisy to maintain this discourse against terrorism and at the same time, in the heart of that country, there are entirely terrorist statements like those."

Another Chavez supporter in the Venezuelan parliament, Desire Santos Amaral said "This man cannot be a true Christian. He's a fascist." (Full story)

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Robertson is a private citizen and that his views do not reflect U.S. policy.

"We do not share his view and his comments are inappropriate," he said. "And as we've said before, any allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan government are completely baseless and without fact."

Robertson, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, called Chavez "a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us badly."

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said. "We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one 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."

Robertson accused Chavez, a left-wing populist with close ties to Cuban President Fidel Castro, of trying to make Venezuela "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent."

"This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen," he said.

While Chavez has sought closer links with Cuba -- and was in Cuba when Robertson made his statement Monday -- Robertson did not explain how Venezuela was to be used by Muslim extremists. The U.S. State Department Web site says 98 percent of the population are Roman Catholic or protestant.

Chavez has said he believes the United States is trying to assassinate him, vowing that Venezuela, which accounts for more than 10 percent of U.S. oil imports, would shut off the flow of oil if that happens.

The Unites States has denied such allegations in the past.

Executive orders issued by presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan banned political assassinations.

Robertson's comments Monday were the latest in a string of controversial remarks in recent years by the religious broadcaster and founder of the Christian Coalition.

Last October, during the heat of the presidential race, Robertson told CNN that during a meeting with President Bush before the invasion of Iraq, the president told him he did not believe there would be casualties. The White House strongly denied the claim.

In May, during an ABC interview, Robertson ignited a firestorm with his response to a question about whether activist judges were more of a threat to America than terrorists.

"If they look over the course of 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings," he said.

Defending his remarks in a letter to Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Robertson insisted he was not being cavalier about the 9/11 attacks. But he also refused to apologize, saying Supreme Court rulings on abortion, religious expression in the public square, pornography and same-sex marriage "are all of themselves graver dangers in the decades to come than the terrorists which our great nation has defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq."

In October 2003, Robertson, criticizing the State Department during an interview on "The 700 Club," said "maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up," referring to the nickname for the department's headquarters in Washington.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called the remark "despicable."

In July 2003, Robertson asked his audience to pray for three justices to retire from the Supreme Court so they could be replaced with more conservative jurists. "One justice is 83 years old, another has cancer and another has a heart condition," he said.

Robertson insisted he was only calling for prayers for the justices to retire and was not asking his followers to pray for their demise.

In November 2002, Robertson charged that the Muslim holy book, the Quran, incites followers to kill people of other faiths and disputed Bush's characterization of Islam as a religion of peace.

"It's clear from the teachings of the Quran and also from the history of Islam that it's anything but peaceful," Robertson said in a subsequent interview with CNN. "Of course there are peace-loving Muslims. But at the same time, at the core of this religion ... is jihad, and it is to subject the unbelievers either to forced conversion or death. That's what it teaches."

True Christian there! Dude needs to go get bent.

The same idiot which supported Charles Taylor of Liberia. Yup, the person who is accused of crime against humanity in Sierra Leone.

No, He is far from that! But like any Polotician, He do step on His Weenie.

While He is most likely right, You do not put this sort of thing in the press!

Remember, JFK did screw up the Castro thing along with some others like the bay fo pigs invasion.:(

Guess why He and Bobbie were deleted?

How many other Possibles have been out there tapped for Extreme Prejiduce? Oh and some of Our Elected Official?

I'm a true Christian and am not swayed by a single thing he said........:rolleyes:

That's basically like saying "True Fraternity there!" when a chapter gets shut down for hazing......

Re: Pat Robertson: U.S. should assassinate Venezuela's Chavez
 

OK, this is pretty crazy, and really REALLY far off-base, but I love turning Pat Robertson into the terrorist . . . tres hilarious.


This is completely and 100% true.

No, no it's not. You misread his post completely.

Being that I'm part-Venezuelan on my mother's side (I still keep up with the local news, even though I haven't been down there in nearly 30 years - and don't plan on going back to visit anytime soon), I have more than a few choice, unprintable words for the dictator - ahem, president - of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (which would get me thrown in jail if I said them in Venezuela). Let's start that he's a communist Fidel-wannabe (and it goes downhill from there).

On the other hand Rev. Pat... who gave you the authority to conduct America's foreign policy? It sure ain't in that well-worn Bible you keep thumping on the bully pulpit. Last I checked it's one George W. Bush residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in DC who's running the show.

The sad thing is, I'm not surprised by any of this.

Somebody needs to hit their back button and read again!



Correcto!

Sarcasm leads to miscommunication.........

Sorry buddy. Everyone else got it.

To delete any miscommunication via sarcasm, here we are:

Pat Roberston is a true Christian in every sense of the word! (not true).

So true.

I think it's just because so many people here attack Christianity and organized religion that it's hard to tell when it's sarcasm.

But I'll just add the universal word that quashes all disputes (at least around here): Whatever.

True - but Blaine's cool, he wouldn't do that.

The scariest thing about this guy (as well as other dangerous zealots) is that he actually thinks he's speaking the word of God.

I'm in a Latin American politics class and we discussed this in class. There were actually many people in my class that agreed with Robertson.

Whoever said idiocy crosses both party lines wasn't kidding....

Seems like both Robertson and Chvez were at a different kind of party before making certain statements,,,,

In a nutshell, here's how Chávez got to where he is today (from Wikipedia):

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (born July 28, 1954) is the President of Venezuela. A former paratroop lieutenant-colonel who led an unsuccessful coup d'état in 1992, he was elected president in 1998. A highly polarising figure in Venezuela, his presidency has seen sweeping changes throughout the country, including a new constitution, many new social programs, and a new foreign policy distancing Venezuela from the United States.

Since he was elected in 1998 on promises of helping the poor, Chávez's influence over Venezuelan politics has grown. One year after a majority of Venezuelans voted to keep him in office, the populist leader has consolidated his power, striking a harsh anti-USA tone. He is up for re-election in 2006, and recent polls suggest he has about 70 percent popularity.

Chávez and his administration have been opposed through confrontational methods by some established sectors in Venezuela, including the business federation Fedecámaras and union federation CTV, resulting in a coup d'état, general strike/lockout, and recall referendum, all of which failed to remove him from office. Although the opposition charged that there was widespread fraud in the recall vote, international observers said the official results matched their counts at polling sites. Subsequently Chávez and his allies have won consistent political victories, occupying the vast majority of elected municipal, state, and national posts, as well as majorities in the supreme court, national electoral council and national assembly.

Chávez has been married twice and is currently separated from his second wife, Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez. He has four children: Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, Hugo Rafael and Rosinés.

Pat Robertson says something stupid and embarassing...

Why is this even news? I thought news usually covered something that wasn't an every day occurance?

What the hell do I know...

News is no longer news... it's entertainment at the lowest common denominator. :D

I do not think it is very Christian of him to say what he said. Maybe he is right, maybe he is wrong- Either way it is not up to him. I just think it is not very Christian to pass judgement as he is doing. That should be left up to God if that is what you believe in.

I found it interesting that on GMA this morning they had Rev. Jesse Jackson responding to it. Two "Christian" men with actually no say-so in the policies of our country telling us what the country needs to do. Love it.

I also find it interesting that no one is really backing him up on this. Some high-up evangelist guy (not sure of his name) tried to put it "in the best light possible", but no one seems to be actually defending his words.

I actually don't know much about Pat Robertson or about this whole situation, just what I have seen on the news. Anyone out there who knows more about it, I would be very interested to learn.

Robertson is a hypocrite. His best friend is Charles Taylor, the person who is partly responsible for the Sierra Leone massacre and when Taylor was ousted and charged with crime against humanity, he blamed Islamic terrorism for the ills of Charles Taylor. Figure that one out.

What are people upset about specifically?

Is it regarding assassination of a dictator as opposed to going to war?

Is it believing in that type of punishment as a Christian leader?

-Rudey

I wonder this as well. People must not watch the 700 regularly because Pat says so-called "controversial" stuff all the time. :confused:

I agree with AlphaSigOU....news is no longer news, but pure entertainment. :( Like one big episode of Inside Edition.

This was the main thing that I found strange. I would expect most Christian leaders to promote peace and non-violence rather than just killing off someone.

What I just don't UNDERSTAND is his authority on the whole thing- he is a preacher.... he is not a political expert or a military expert or an authority on the workings of our country. I just don't get it. :confused:

If someone can explain it to me, please do. :)

But see, that's just it. Ask yourself - who is actually presenting him off like he is an authority? He says stuff on his show all the time that gets NO press......

For example, I could say something on GC right now and if the media choose to broadcast and publicize it all over, that wouldn't automatically make me an authority on the subject? (Geez, I hope not! LOL).

That is a very valid point. Thanks. It appears that he presents himself as an authority and the media (always looking for a story and controversy) choose to run with it.

How is it that most of the people who get publicized are extremists? I think most people in the country would consider themselves politically as "middle of the road" or moderate. But, where is the press for that?

Extremist bring in better ratings, I guess. :D

But even with moderate people, all it takes of the media to catch on to one or two things you say and then...WHAMO! You're on Larry King Live trying to explain yourself.

You see Larry, what I really meant was......

Isn't Larry too busy having other TV evangelists?

No, he's busy with the Natalie Holloway case.

Pat Robertson did run for president of the United States once or twice in the 1980's and 1990's...

To me, I would think that as a Christian, we would stay away from an all out call to assassinate somebody--or at least have that publicized on any media outlet for the world to see, although many are probably thinking the same thing.

But who knows where folks in power that get their spiritual advice...

I guess the worse vice is advice...

History books are filled with religious leaders that promoted violence or murder.

-Rudey

Ok, first he was actually denying that he even said this. Not generally the best course of action for something you said ON TELEVISION! :rolleyes:

Now apparently he is apologizing.

What he said! And I am ashamed to say that his home base (Virginia Beach) is in the city where I grew up. He is such a schmuck!

I can't stand Chavez. He's a piss poor leader and if you talk to Venezuelans that arent really poor, they hate him too. Most of his countrymen can't stand him and he was basically already outsted from power but didnt leave. He held democratic elections but the election was rigg'd. He's corrupt. He can't stand the U.S. and he idolizes Castro. He's a communist who hasnt proclaimed it outright because he's scared there'll be a coup. Initially he didnt support CAFTA because it was devised by the US even though it helps his country while hurting ours (thats the only reason why he agreed on it). For the past 5 1/2 years I've been hearing about this guy from Venezeulans and the horrible things he does in his country. The guy thinks a Capitalist society ruins a culture :rolleyes: He's heavily against prostitution but has a liberal drug policy regarding cocaine manufactoring, that indicates he's the country's biggest drug dealer.

Something needs to be done. If you ask me putting a bullet in his head isn't a bad idea. Its cheaper and less costly in American lives than invading Venezeula. I really can't stand Pat Robertson but he did have a good idea. I think he should have not said anything on national TV, though.


Now I'm gonna wait to get hit by this stupid hurricane. :(

Cashmoney, all the stuff you said is the first information I've read about this guy. Thanks for the information! It's true, that might be the best course of action, and I think alot of people on here will probably agree with you.

Whatever is right for the country, I think Roberston should leave it up to the government.

I think people are quick to jump on the hating bandwagon in any situation. Most don't realize that the smart thing to do is sit back and look at everything from both ends and then make a response. I'll bet that over 1/2 the people on this board didnt even know who Chavez was until Pat Robertson said something and most of the people here still know little to nothing about the guy. In my opinion he's the Kim Jong Ill of South America. I know plenty of Venezeulans who went to college with me and are still in school continuing their education as long as possible just so they can stay here until Chavez isn't in power anymore.


Now if I could somehow find a way to teleport myself to Austin, away from this hurricane, I'd give you some personal lectures on Chavez over some college station beers. ;) :D

Haha, that would be awesome!

I think my biggest issue with Robertson's statement is the anti-American ammunition it provides to Venezeulans. I also found it interesting that our government is staying relatively quiet about it...I think the harshest comment I've heard towards Robertson was from the State Department, which said his comments were "inappropriate."

If the situation was reversed, and a prominent Venezeulan religious leader was calling for the assassination of George W. Bush, and the Venezeulan government was pretty much quiet on the issue, I think people might feel a little differently about it.

Honestly curious about your point of view...

Earlier, you said that Robertson wasn't behaving in a Christian manner because he was advocating an assassination.

Do you think that since Chavez is a corrupt leader, that makes the assassination ok?