killer pat

The ever-thoughtful Pat Robertson has a suggestion for US foreign policy -- assassinate foreign leaders. Apparently choosing to ignore Commandment number 5 or 6, depending on what you believe, the Rev says the US should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Pat's rationale? (1) Chavez thinks we're gonna assassinate him, so let's prove him right. (2) Chavez will make Venezuela a “launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism.”

Chavez is a loony-tunes, two-bit dictator who is running Venezuela into the ground, no question. He is supporting Caribbean has-been Fidel Castro with oil and generally being a pain. But the allegations about him supporting Muslim extremism are absurd (lots of "news" about this at the Free Republic web site, that bastion of right-wingnuttery) and as for communist infiltration -- Rev Robertson, the Cold War is over? We won?

It was bad enough when the US didn't immediately condemn the coup that briefly seemed to oust Chavez back in April 2002; we lost a lot of credibility with our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere. But an assassination attempt against Chavez, if linked back to the US, would badly undermine our image and credibility.

Isolate Chavez, si. Assassinate him? Nope.