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State Department spokesman Richard Boucher threw a tantrum Thursday.  The cause of his ire?  Not foreign dictators or nuclear-armed tyrants.  Boucher’s wrath was targeted at Pat Robertson, whose recent remarks the State Department has blasted as "despicable."  The Washington Times further reports that State’s protest — lodged with Robertson directly — has been “made at the highest level.” What had the normally staid diplomatic corps worked up into a lather? Robertson's flippant "suggestion" during an interview with me last week on his 700 Club TV show that "If I could just get a nuclear device inside (the State Department)... We've...

Feds Condemn Robertson for Nuke Comment Sat Oct 11,12:21 PM ET VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The U.S. State Department has condemned an on-air suggestion by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson that the agency ought to be blown up with a nuclear device. AP Photo Robertson, who heads the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network, made the remark while interviewing author Joel Mowbray on "The 700 Club" television program last week. Mowbray wrote a book called "Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Endangers America's Security." "I read your book. When you get through, you say, 'If I could just get a nuclear device...

WASHINGTON (AFP) Oct 09, 2003 The US State Department has lodged a vehement complaint with prominent conservative televangelist Pat Robertson for comments suggesting that its Foggy Bottom headquarters should be destroyed with nuclear weapons, officials said Thursday. Spokesman Richard Boucher called the remarks -- which Robertson made last week on his nationally televised "700 Club" program -- "despicable" and a senior department official said a protest had been made "at the highest level." "I lack sufficient capabilities to express my disdain," Boucher told reporters when asked about Robertson's comments. "I think the very idea, though, is despicable." The senior official...

Visa express State has by no means been acting as a rogue department in dealing with Saudi Arabia, somehow coddling a nation that various White Houses considered hostile. But the lengths to which State goes to pamper the Saudis is something largely carried out of its own volition. There is no better example of this than Visa Express, the program that required all Saudis (including non-citizens) to turn in their visa applications at private Saudi travel agencies, which then sent them in bundles to the embassy in Riyadh or the consulate in Jeddah. Visa Express was entirely of State’s own...

Today is the last day in a series of exclusive excerpts Townhall is running from the explosive expose on the State Department, Dangerous Diplomacy. Although Joel Mowbray is best known for shutting down the Visa Express program in Saudi Arabia and surviving State's attempt to detain him, his new book covers everything from how State has has made it easier for brutal dictatorships to acquire weapons of mass destruction to how State has abandoned American children who have been kidnapped and taken to foreign lands like Saudi Arabia. Filled with never-before-told stories, Joel Mowbray's new book is controversial, provactive, and...

Each day this week, Townhall will continue running an exclusive excerpt each day from the explosive expose on the State Department, Dangerous Diplomacy. Although Joel Mowbray is best known for shutting down the Visa Express program in Saudi Arabia and surviving State's attempt to detain him, his new book covers everything from how State has has made it easier for brutal dictatorships to acquire weapons of mass destruction to how State has actively fought victims of terrorism who have battled brutal tyrants like the Iranian mullahs or Fidel Castro. Filled with never-before-told stories, Joel Mowbray's new book is controversial,...

Perhaps former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) Ned Walker said it best when he told the Washington Post, “Let’s face it, we got a lot of money out of Saudi Arabia.” Walker meant “we” as in the U.S. government, but he easily could have used it to refer to former State Department officials who benefit financially after retirement. Some do it directly—and in public view, because of stringent reporting requirements—while most, including Walker, choose a less noticeable trough.  In researching my new book, Dangerous Diplomacy, I discovered that Saudi cash has created a circle of sympathizers and...

Each day this week, Townhall will continue running an exclusive excerpt each day from the explosive expose on the State Department, Dangerous Diplomacy. Although Joel Mowbray is best known for shutting down the Visa Express program in Saudi Arabia and surviving State's attempt to detain him, his new book covers everything from how State has done the Saudis' dirty work to how State has actively worked against freedom movements that fight brutal dictatorships in the Middle East. Filled with never-before-told stories, Joel Mowbray's new book is controversial, provactive, and entertaining--and Townhall is the only place you can read an...

Unflattering caricatures of President Bush adorn many cubicles at the State Department, syndicated columnist Joel Mowbray told the audience at AIA's Conservative University conference last summer, and the scorn does not end there. When the President named Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the Axis of Evil, our top diplomats, Mowbray recalled, were quick to assure anyone who would listen that Bush "didn't mean Axis, didn't mean Evil." A month afterward, State Department Policy Director Richard Haass recommended that Israeli officials 'engage' Iran [much to their likely confusion, Mowbray added].President Bush recently stated that he was hopeful for a Democracy...

For the rest of the week, Townhall will be running an exclusive excerpt each day from this explosive expose on the State Department, Dangerous Diplomacy. Joel Mowbray, who scared State so much that they actually detained him after a press briefing last year, was responsible for blowing the whistle on State's Visa Express program, which let all residents of the country that sent us 15 of 19 9/11 terrorists apply for visas at private Saudi travel agents *after* September 11. Congress eventually shut down Visa Express last summer, but only because of Mowbray's tireless investigative journalism. Filled with never-before-told stories,...

It didn’t take long after President Bush’s address to the United Nations for the pundits to pounce—it’s just too bad those “pundits” were posing as reporters.  The San Francisco Chronicle slapped Bush for his “disdain for international treaties” and the New York Times informed us that Bush received “scathing reviews” on Capitol Hill.  What a shock: political enemies made nasty comments on the cusp of an election year.  Perhaps most bizarre was the Washington Post assessment—thankfully labeled as “analysis,” though written by one of the paper’s regular reporters—that Bush’s speech was “a vague pitch” that left “mostly puzzlement.”  The Post must not...

On his recent swing through Switzerland and Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell's actions undercut his otherwise fine rhetoric and his department's insistence that it supports the cause of freedom for the Iraqi people. In his remarks in Baghdad last week, Powell struck a welcome tone with his force and passion. Particularly welcome was his call for handing over authority in a reasonable time frame to an Iraqi government that is "committed to democratic principles" Too bad his actions rendered his words meaningless. Before heading to Baghdad, Powell was in Geneva, where he met with Adnan Pachachi, the octogenarian former...

<p>On his recent swing through Switzerland and Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell's actions undercut his otherwise fine rhetoric and his department's insistence that it supports the cause of freedom for the Iraqi people.</p> <p>In his remarks in Baghdad on Sunday, Mr. Powell struck a welcome tone. He said that the aim of the United States "is to help rebuild [Iraq] economically, its physical infrastructure, but most importantly, politically as well, so that we can move forward." Particularly welcome was his call for handing over authority in a reasonable time frame to an Iraqi government that is "committed to democratic principles."</p>

The State Department is already making plans to “water down” the United Nations resolution calling for UN involvement in Iraq, according to several administration officials. The exact form of potential changes is not entirely clear, but they will likely comport with requests from Security Council members, particularly Russia and France. Notes one administration official, “They (State’s top leadership) are really going to be pushing for a unanimous vote.” State was no doubt pleased by President Bush’s recent comment that he is “open for suggestions” from other nations on the Security Council. Many at State view the resolution as an opportunity...

<p>The State Department is already making plans to "water down" the United Nations resolution calling for U.N. involvement in Iraq, according to several administration officials.</p> <p>The exact form of potential changes is not entirely clear, but they will likely comport with requests from Security Council members, particularly Russia and France. Notes one administration official, "They (State's top leadership) are really going to be pushing for a unanimous vote."</p>

TEL-AVIV – “I have all the money I need for the rest of my life—as long as I die tonight!” exclaimed the 25-year-old Israeli man, the humor of the “joke” lost on this American columnist. Morbid death-related jokes have long been common in Israel, and many Israelis believe that the number being told at any given time can serve as a rough barometer for the mood of the Israeli people. If true, the Israeli people have finally ditched the attitudes that made possible the Oslo Accords a decade ago. Talking to Israelis in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem—places as different...

After the murder and mayhem of the recent Jerusalem bus bombing, a non-Jewish journalist sought reaction in the Holy City. This is what he found. "I lost three friends, close friends in the attack. I am so depressed," he said as his chin dropped into his chest. The Orthodox Jew — or "ultra" Orthodox Jew as the New York Times would label him — was noticeably shaken as we walked up to the site of the bus bombing in Jerusalem that killed 23, including six children. Nearly three days had passed, but his pain had not. There was no blood...

BOOK REVIEW: Fighting to send arms to Saddam, resisting post-9/11 attempts to toughen visa requirements, struggling to keep American parents from rescuing their kidnapped kids in foreign countries, doing everything it can to shut down the Iraqi democracy movement -- amazingly enough, this is the record of the U.S. State Department, an often out-of-control organization that acts at odds with our nation's best interests more often than most Americans realize. In Dangerous Diplomacy, seasoned investigative reporter Joel Mowbray explores the seldom-seen inner workings of the State Department. Relying on exhaustive interviews with State Department personnel and extensive research into State's...

Intentionally killing civilians from America, Europe, or Asia (or almost anywhere else) makes you a terrorist — but intentionally killing innocent Jews in Israel merely makes you a "militant." At least in the eyes of the "mainstream" media. The vocabulary makeover is part of the moral equivalency that is rampant in media coverage of Israeli-Palestinian issues. The USA Today's editorial page recently informed readers that "both Israeli and Palestinian leaders are captives of fanatical extremists," as if a democratically-elected government seeking to protect its citizens from mass murderers is on a par with a self-appointed dictatorship aiding and abetting those...

Intentionally killing civilians from America, Europe, or Asia (or almost anywhere else) makes you a terrorist—but intentionally killing innocent Jews in Israel merely makes you a “militant.” At least in the eyes of the “mainstream” media. The vocabulary makeover is part of the moral equivalency that is rampant in media coverage of Israeli-Palestinian issues. The USA Today’s editorial page recently informed readers that “both Israeli and Palestinian leaders are captives of fanatical extremists,” as if a democratically-elected government seeking to protect its citizens from mass murderers is on a par with a self-appointed dictatorship aiding and abetting those same mass...