And while I was reading Greg Pierce's column mentioned in the previous post:
Foggy Bottom feverIt would be even funnier if the State Department weren't so screwed up.
The State Department has lodged a vehement complaint with television evangelist Pat Robertson, accusing him of suggesting that the department should be blown up, but it was not clear yesterday whether the gang at Foggy Bottom had picked the right target.
Agence France-Presse reports that State Department spokesman Richard Boucher was livid yesterday about what the wire service said were comments by Mr. Robertson "suggesting that its Foggy Bottom headquarters should be destroyed with nuclear weapons."
However, a transcript indicated that the host of the nationally broadcast "700 Club" was quoting or perhaps loosely paraphrasing guest Joel Mowbray, author of "Dangerous Diplomacy: How the State Department Threatens American Security."
Attempts by this column to reach a spokeswoman for the "700 Club" were unsuccessful yesterday.
"I read your book," Mr. Robertson said to Mr. Mowbray, according to a transcript of the interview posted on his Christian Broadcasting Network's Web site, www.cbn.com.
"When you get through, you say, 'If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that's the answer,' " he said.
"I mean, you get through this, and you say, 'We've got to blow that thing up.' I mean, is it as bad as you say?" Mr. Robertson asked.
Mr. Mowbray responded: "It is."
Mr. Boucher called the remarks, which he attributed to Mr. Robertson, "despicable" and a senior department official said a protest had been made "at the highest level."
It was not clear what "the highest level" might mean in reference to a preacher.
