Robertson: American Mullah, Taliban, Terrorist ?

American Fatwa: Pat Robertson's remark calls for full rebuke

04:29 AM CDT on Thursday, August 25, 2005
Like some self-styled American mullah, popular Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has issued forth to his television audience how the U.S. should deal with a combative foreign leader – assassination.
American clergy, after catching its collective breath, has a responsibility to marginalize the foggy and off-kilter Mr. Robertson. The world should hear mainstream religious leaders in the country condemn his blather, lest it be interpreted as some 700 Club fatwa that the nation takes seriously.
Leading voices in this nation have been beseeching responsible Muslim leaders to take responsibility for corrosive speech among their faith's fringe. The same goes for leaders of all Christian denominations now that a well-known TV preacher has advocated the killing of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Mr. Robertson was backpedaling yesterday, insisting that he was misinterpreted after he uttered these words on Monday:
"I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it."
By late in the day, he issued a flat-out apology on his Web site. Good. But the effect of his words will linger abroad and do America no good.
Thanks to the Robertson threat, sympathy will accrue to Mr. Chávez and possibly benefit him in national elections next year. He maintains a cozy relationship with Cuba's Fidel Castro and has blamed a coup attempt in 2002 on the U.S., which he terms the "grand destroyer of the world." The Bush administration rightly considers him a force for instability in Latin America.
It stands to reason, then, that the Robertson remark may be interpreted abroad as an outgrowth of Bush White House policy. The two men are from the same political party, and Mr. Bush's election depended on solid support from the evangelicals to whom Mr. Robertson has long given voice.
The Bush administration has denounced Mr. Robertson's remark through two top officials. Either the White House or surrogates should elevate the level of criticism beyond the current "inappropriate." The word "incendiary" comes to mind for advocating state-ordered murder.

Dallas Morning News Editorial
source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-robertson_25edi.ART.State.Edition1.18c5b622.html
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Dallas Morning News Letters to the Editor

He could just pray ...
Re: "White House rejects Robertson's call for assassinating Chávez," yesterday's news story.
It seems to me that Pat Robertson's public call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is unwise because of the controversy it stirred up.
Couldn't Pat Robertson simply ask his Christian God to make this happen? He could make a silent prayer to his god and ask him to end the life of Mr. Chávez – peacefully in his sleep or through a painful heart attack, or perhaps a prolonged, painful fight with cancer.
The rest of the world would be unaware that the perpetrator was the Almighty Assassin.
William McEwen, Arlington

... but this isn't right
Pat Robertson's call for assassination is unbelievable. No matter what we think about Hugo Chávez, he is the leader of a sovereign government and should be dealt with accordingly.
This only goes to reinforce my contention that the "religious right" is neither.
Roger Howe, Whitewright
source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-thuletters_0825edi.ART.State.Edition1.18c7e8aa.html