CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --President Hugo Chavez has irritated
Washington with his refusal to adhere to America's "with us or against us"
ground rules for the war on terror, but officials insist Venezuela's relations
with the United States are not at risk.

Chavez criticized the U.S.-led bombing campaign in Afghanistan, holding up photos
of dead Afghan children during a Monday television appearance and calling the
strikes a "slaughter of innocents."

Although Chavez said he was merely echoing a position held by Pope John Paul II
and other world leaders, Washington responded sharply, temporarily recalling the
U.S. ambassador to Venezuela.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker called Chavez's remarks "totally
inappropriate."

The Venezuelan government had no comment on Ambassador Donna Hrinak's recall.
She is expected to return to Caracas on November 7.

But Venezuela -- a major oil supplier to the United States -- has emphasized that it
can both endorse the battle against terror and criticize its conduct.

"Relations with the United States are in no way at risk," Foreign Minister Luis
Alfonso Davila told The Associated Press on Thursday. "There's no reason for (The
United States) to be uneasy."

Chavez promotes a world order in which no single power dominates international
politics and economics. Venezuela says that policy does not constitute
anti-Americanism, and has pledged to share intelligence in the anti-terror effort.

After meeting with Davila on Wednesday, Hrinak said Venezuela remained a
"partner" in the struggle to destroy Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network.

"I think the word 'partner' says a lot," she said.

But some observers say Washington's reaction revealed a waning patience with
Chavez, a populist leader who has forged close ties with Cuba, visited Iraq's Saddam
Hussein as a leader of a fellow oil producing state and bars U.S. anti-drug aircraft
from Venezuelan skies.

"The world has changed a lot since September 11, and Chavez has less
maneuverability to say what he wants," said Elsa Cardoso, head of International
Relations Graduate Studies at the Central University of Venezuela.

 Copyright 2001 The Associated Press