Reuters reports that Venezuela may seek to extradite Pat Robertson, saying the evangelist's comments about assassinating the Venezuelan president are an "act of terrorism."
"I announce that my government is going to take legal action in the United States ... to call for the assassination of a head of state is an act of terrorism," President Hugo Chavez said in a televised speech (Reuters).
Having read this announcement, I've discovered that there is something more irritating than a hot-mouthed televangelist: a hot-mouthed dictator. My sympathy meter simply doesn't register for Chavez. Standing high and mighty on his soapbox, Chavez rags on the U.S. over Robertson's unfortunate--and stupid--comments that if the U.S. is going to assassinate Chavez, "we really ought to go ahead and do it."
I refuse to accept that the speech of an American can be criminal, and I see a battle looming over that American's right to make a fool of himself. If Chavez thinks he can extradite every American that speaks against him, Chavez can jump off a cliff--though I hope he doesn't since he says he'll blame the U.S. if anything happens to him (does that include death by natural causes?).
Now, I don't want to go to jail... in Venezuela... but I will say that if the U.S. intends to make Chavez's hair fall out, we might as well go ahead and do it. This is one American who's tired of hearing dictators rant against democracy.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - mattymatt
he's not a dictator; he's a democratically elected president. to be sure, he's not a terribly good president; but still, not a dictator.
2 - gonzo marx
ok...wait a second...
Mark Adams sez...
*I refuse to accept that the speech of an American can be criminal,*
so you are stating that you believe it is OK for Robertson to call for the assasination of a duly elected head of state?
fair enough
how is that different than some mullah or iman calling for the killing of Bush/Blair etc?
same thing, some "holy" guy publicly announcing he wants a foreign leader killed...
sounds like a terrorist act to me
your mileage may vary
Excelsior!
3 - Dave Nalle
Must be frustrating for Chavez to know that he can silence critics in his own country but not outside of its borders.
Dave
4 - gonzo marx
well Mr Nalle...criticism i will heartily agree with you on
but calling for assasination makes Robertson the moral and ethical equivalent of those terrorist mullahs and imans
so...he is being perfectly accurate in calling Robertson a terrorist...by the very definition our Administration has set...and is well within his rights to ask for prosecution under international Law utilizing the very same justification we use
nuff said?
Excelsior!
5 - Eric Berlin
This twist on events is actually pretty hilarious.
...I refuse to accept that the speech of an American can be criminal...
So American speech is worth more than that of non-Americans?
6 - Natalie Davis
Wow, I agree with Messrs. Nalle, Marx, and Berlin all at once.
7 - ss
'Venezuela wants Pat Robertson'
They can have him. Nobody is going to offer to take him again. Jump on it.
8 - Nancy
This is indeed an interesting question for BushCo: is it OK to allow Americans to call for assassination as a means of US foreign policy, and deny that such statements are terrorist threats, citing 'freedom of speech' rights for said Americans, while condemning identical threats by non-Americans, & demanding their free speech be curtailed in the name of anti-terrorism? Contortions to square these two exclusionary principles ought to be even more interesting than usual as far as exercises in sophistry are concerned.
9 - Mark Adams
Robertson's comments were hyperbolic, as evidenced by his later apology. I don't see mullahs elsewhere making such apologies. I'm not defending the televangelist's comments--not by any measure--but they were not criminal. Chavez is simply using the statement to justify his own despotism (by the way, Hitler was democratically elected).
10 - Nancy
I dunno ... I think they deserve each other: two big-mouthed, swaggering braggarts. Pity they couldn't be cast adrift on a small boat together....
11 - OLAFO
When are the American people open their eyes and see that the USA is the dictator and opressor. Many of you are blinded by ignorance and arrogance.
Pat Robertson is no different than the Taliban or extremists calling for assesinations and hiding behing religion.
This is an eye opener for those mislead christians who blindly believe that Bush and his Mafia group (Pat included) are really christians assesinating Muslins in the name of Jesus!!!
12 - Mark Adams
OLAFO, gee, thanks for opening my eyes. Could you please point to a member of the Taliban who apologized for calling for the assassination of a world leader?
13 - Taloran
Robertson wasn't apologizing, he was covering his ass and protecting his political clout. If nothing had been said about his poorly-chosen statement, he would most certainly not have come out in the following days and said "oops."
Love him, hate him, or in between, Robertson is a very astute man and experienced public speaker - he said what he meant to say, and then had to backpedal.
Additionally, in my opinion, calling for the assassination of the leader of any country should be exempt from free speech, similar to yelling "Fire" in a movie theatre (obviously with a different reason behind it). If good ol' Pat, or anyone else, had gone on national TV in this country and called for the assassination of Bush or Blair, he'd have been arrested immediately. If you don't believe me, try it yourself.
14 - John Bambenek
You know, no one watches the 700 Club... Robertson must be driving up his ad revenue over this.
What clout? The guy is a has been...
15 - Eric Berlin
It's broadcast in about 60 countries.
16 - Nancy
So are Star Trek reruns.
17 - KA
While Robertsons comments may not be criminal, he was walking a very fine line (in my opinion) but what really gets me is that comments like Robertsons are exactly the ones Chavez is trying to get. Chavez is a populist, not so much a dictator (at least in the classicial sense) since a dictatorship means there is a certain level of government efficiency. Venezuela is in a state of anarchy, ruled by thugs that are only interested in money. You would be amazed at the homes Chavez and his buddies are buying in Venezuela and Miami. After reading the venezuelan newspapers, blogs, and speaking with family in Venezulea, Robertsons comments were seen as irrisponsible and only playing in favor of Chavez. Venezeulans opposed to Chavez as a whole do not want Chavez assasinated instead they want him put on trial for his crimes.
As for Chavez being democratically elected, yes he was back in 1998 and in 2000, however the results from the referendum of 2004 are questionable to say the least. However, the fact a person came to power democratically does not mean they can rule undemocratically.
As for Robertson I find him ignorant and out of touch with life. Personally I think the media should stop giving quacks like him air time, they are undeserving of it. But I guess these are the people that bring in the ratings and money.
18 - Eric Berlin
So both are well known around the globe.
19 - Nancy
Yeah, but from what I gather, only a few of the die-hards really believe in either one.
20 - Kurt
Venezuela wants Pat? How much are they offering? Liberia could counter-offer - let's get a bidding war going.
1. Every human deserves the right to free speech, even though most don't do anything worthwhile with it. Marion (his real name) Robertson is an idiot, but I'll still defend his rights.
2. We are in no position to criticize other countries for questionable elections; Bush is, after all, in office.
3. Words are not terrorism - ever. Only violence against non-combatants.
21 - Dave Nalle
I don't think that we've ever tried to use international law to go after a mullah for saying kill Bush or destroy the Great Satan or any of the other trash they spout day in and day out. Britain has, but they actually have a sedition law, and we haven't had one in more than 200 years - to our great credit.
Here in the US, unlike Venezuela, you can say any damned fool thing you like and the only punishment you face is the judgement of the public, by which measure Robertson is already doomed to the worst fate for a media figure - eternal marginalization and appearing on Chris Matthews debating other marginalized loonies like Harry Belafonte.
Dave
22 - Gurmit
Remember the basics: All men are equal but some are more equal. Might is right..and so on. So before posting remember: The rules are different for USA than rest of the world (until Rest of the world unite against this bully).
I remember Bush Jr. accusing Saddam "He tried to kill my dad". So what happened to freedom of speech?
23 - Mark Adams
Gurmit, in the simplest of terms, Robertson did not try to kill Chavez. He made vastly inappropriate comments, for which he should reckon, but these words were not criminal. Merely encouraging your government to take an action is not illegal, no matter how stupid the remark. Heck, Howard Stern wants the U.S. to drop the bomb on the Middle East, should we charge him? Please, discern the situation. I’m not more fond of Robertson than the next person, but I’m not going to stoop that low.
24 - sil
A dictator is an individual who manipulates the facts in order to persuade the masses that his agenda should overrule any truth that may exist, in order to achieve his specific goals. The individual that best fits this discription is BUSH.
25 - Dave Nalle
Your definition of a dictator wouldn't match any accepted definition I've ever heard of - it sounds more like a celebritty agent or a Madison Ave. flack.
Dave