SENATOR DEFENDs CHAVEZ REMARKS
WASHINGTON - U.S. Congressman Steve King (IA-05) today released the following statement regarding comments by liberal Democratic Senator Tom Harkin (IA) defending Venezuelan President Chavez's United Nations speech where he called President Bush "the devil":
"Attempting to weaken the President and our War on Terror through hateful rhetoric is nothing but a dangerous gamble and a gross grab for power. Chavez's remarks were so full of lunacy; even extreme liberal Nancy Pelosi denounced his speech. At least we know what company the senator keeps.
"Chavez is a thug who does not like our President because the United States liberated two countries from other thugs just like him. At this critical juncture in history, when we are defending this country against global terrorism, we must all band together as Americans. This is not the time to defend the tyrants. It is the time to defend Americans first.
"Harkin's statement that implies that several thousand people with candles in Tehran on Sept 11, 2001, represented the voice of the Muslim world and now are our enemies is flatly false. Harkin argued every Muslim country was our friend, and that would include Iraq and Afghanistan. In Muslim cities across the world, thousands danced in the streets with joy on 9/11. I hope he has a better understanding of the real circumstances of history and geopolitics than he is using to spin the press."
