Arlen Specter takes Rumsfiend to task

U.S. Republican Senator Arlen Specter urged U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to put a stop on negative comments about Venezuela at a time in which the U.S. State Department is trying to resolve the recent controversy between the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Venezuelan anti-narcotics officials.

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Senator Specter, who is a member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. Congress, met this week with Venezuelan officials and President Chavez in Caracas to discuss his committee's oversight of US anti-drug trafficking and anti-terrorism policies.

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"Our meeting produced an agreement between our Ambassador and Venezuela's Minister of the Interior, who had not previously had any contact, to meet early next week to try to resolve those differences between DEA and the Venezuelan narcotics officials," Specter said.

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Senator Specter told Secretary Rumsfeld it may be helpful to, "at least, have a moratorium on adverse comments on Venezuela."

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In a letter to Secretary Rumsfeld, Specter said "it may be very helpful to U.S. efforts to secure Venezuela's cooperation in our joint attack on drug interdiction if the rhetoric would be reduced."

  Venezuelanalysis article

Pretty pathetic when it's the Right side of the aisle that is challenging this administration.

Nice wording on Specter's part, responding to this from Rumsfiend:

ASUNCION, Paraguay, Aug. 16

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"Any time you see issues involving stability in a country, it is something that one wishes would be resolved in a democratic, peaceful way," Rumsfeld told reporters en route to Paraguay. "There certainly is evidence that both Cuba and Venezuela have been involved in the situation in Bolivia in unhelpful ways."

  WaPo article

"Unhelpful ways" that he didn't (or couldn't) name.

Specter's short but poignant letter to Rumsfiend is reproduced in the Venezuelanalysis article.

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