By Robert Marus
Something of an international diplomatic crisis ensued Aug. 23, after news spread that conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson had called for the assassination of Venezuela's president.
Representatives of groups as diverse as the State Department, the Department of Defense, the National Council of Churches, the Venezuelan government and the president of the Southern Baptist Convention all condemned the comments Aug. 23.
During the Aug. 22 broadcast of his Christian Broadcast Network show The 700 Club, Robertson said the time had come for United States officials to consider murdering Hugo Chavez. The president-who has been twice elected by Venezuelans and is up for election again-has emerged as one of the Western Hemisphere's most outspoken critics of President Bush's foreign policy.
“You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he [Chavez] thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,” Robertson said. “It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability.”
He added: “I don't think any oil shipments will stop.”
The South American nation is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, and provides a significant portion of U.S. oil imports. Chavez, a close ally of communist Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, has repeatedly accused Bush officials of plotting to overthrow him and has implied that he is the target of assassination plots backed by U.S. operatives.
Surrogates for Chavez, who reportedly was traveling in Cuba Aug. 23, lambasted Robertson.
According to the New York Times, Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel called the comments “terrorist statements” and said the U.S. response to them would test American resolve to prosecute terrorism worldwide.
'”The ball is in the U.S. court, after this criminal statement by a citizen of that country,”' Rangel said. '”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.”'
Bernardo Álvarez, the Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, called for Bush to clearly denounce Robertson. In a Washington press conference, he said, “Mr. Robertson has been one of the president's staunchest allies. His statement demands the strongest condemnation by the White House.”
During a televised Pentagon press conference Aug. 23, a reporter asked Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld about Robertson's recommendation. '”Our department doesn't do that kind of thing,” he said. “[Robertson is] a private citizen. Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time.”
The 75-year-old Robertson, a former Republican presidential candidate, has long been one of the leading figures in the Religious Right. He founded the Christian Coalition, and his television shows are seen on Christian and other national cable networks, such as ABC Family.
He has made headlines with other controversial statements in the past, including praying that seats on the Supreme Court become vacant, saying feminism inspires women to kill their children and become lesbians, and a warning to the city of Orlando, Fla., that God may be angered into sending a hurricane its way if city leaders didn't rescind a policy of welcoming gay-pride celebrations.
Representatives of some groups allied with Robertson's conservative social views distanced themselves from the assassination recommendation. Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch, in a statement released through the denomination, said the SBC “does not support or endorse public statements concerning assassinations of persons, even if they are despicable despots of foreign countries, and neither do I.”
He added, “The Christian's responsibility is to pray for our leaders as well as the extremists around the world. Jesus Christ can save these people and change their lives.”
R. Albert Mohler Jr., another prominent Southern Baptist, wrote a commentary urging Robertson to rethink his words, saying they have “brought shame to the cause of Christ” and made evangelism more difficult.
“Pat Robertson bears responsibility to retract, rethink, repent and restate his position on this issue,” wrote Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., on his Web site, www.albertmohler.com.
“Otherwise, what could have been a temporary lapse of judgment can become an enduring obstacle to the gospel.”
Meanwhile, on Aug. 24, Robertson apologized for his comments, a few hours after he denied he had made them.
“Is it right to call for an assassination?” asked Robertson in a statement posted on the CBN Web site. “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.”
Earlier he said on The 700 Club that he had been misinterpreted by the media. He wasn't, he said, referring to assassination.
“I didn't say assassination,” Robertson explained. “I said our special forces should quote, take him out, and take him out can be a … number of things, including kidnapping. There are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted.”
Associated Baptist Press
Rob Marus is chief of ABP's Washington bureau.