Pat Robertson and Monroe Doctrine

Lost in the overwhelming idiocy of Pat Robertson's murder solicitation was his utter lack of understanding in the Monroe Doctrine.

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

The Monroe Doctrine means that European involvement in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere is tantamount to an act of aggression against the United States. It doesn't mean "It's our hemisphere and we get to do whatever we want." Subtle distinction of course. Maybe too subtle for our thick friend, Pat.

To be perfectly honest, though, I kind of agree that if you're going to meddle in the affairs of other countries, you may as well let your Black Ops teams have a crack at it before mobilizing your armed forces. Unless, that is, you haven't compromised the viability of the whole undercover concept by revealing your agents identities!