toledoblade.com --

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur said yesterday that not only does she not regret comparing Osama bin Laden to American Revolutionary War figures, she's happy for a greater platform to criticize the Bush administration's handling of the brewing conflict with Iraq.

Speaking to a group of Catholic clergy and lay people at All Saints Church in Rossford, the Democratic Toledo congressman said her views have been purposely distorted by Republicans and conservative talk show hosts who have been bashing her for three days.

She said her controversial comments in a Blade interview last week comparing al-Qaeda members to the American revolutionaries who "helped cast off the British crown" were meant to analogize the forces that motivate people to rebellion.

"The remarks were intended to talk about revolution and the nature of revolution," Miss Kaptur said. "That is a message I've been trying to get across. It's a way to carry that message to a broader audience, so in a way they've done me a favor.

"There is absolutely no regret because I want the American people to understand the nature of the enemy."

Miss Kaptur has been assailed by conservative talk radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge and by Republicans and Democrats on television shows, such as CNN's Crossfire.

Yesterday, U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R., Ill.) said after an appearance at the Findlay Country Club that he was disappointed by Miss Kaptur's comments.

"I have hope that maybe Marcy misspoke on that," he said. "There is no logic to it, and it is almost ridiculous. Al-Qaeda are people who are murderers. They are people who are in one sense religious fanatics, but they are out there to destroy the whole civilization, and that is certainly not the method of our forefathers."

Locally, Lucas County Auditor Larry Kaczala, who appears to be Miss Kaptur's likely opposition in 2004, called for her resignation. He said yesterday that her claims that her comments were taken out of context by Republicans don't fly.

"Well, then everyone in the nation took her out of context," said Mr. Kaczala, who added that it looks like he'll run for Congress, but won't decide for sure until later this month. "Even the Democrats are beating up on her on Crossfire. What she should have done is apologize on Monday."

Miss Kaptur said she's being attacked because she has been an outspoken critic of the way President Bush has handled the potential war on Iraq and calls this period the "most profound moment" historically in her lifetime.

She thinks the President is making a tremendous mistake by being so critical of countries, such as France and Germany who oppose a war.

She also said it's a mistake to believe that defeating Iraq and capturing top al-Qaeda leaders will be enough to quiet the turmoil in the Middle East. She said young, disenfranchised Islamic extremists are being recruited as terrorists every day.

"It is not isolated bands of terrorists, or just one man like Saddam Hussein, or just one country like Afghanistan," Miss Kaptur said. "We have our hands on the tail of a huge revolution and we do not want to get caught in the middle of it - and we will not win it without broad international support."

Paula Ross, chairman of the Lucas County Democratic Party, said the criticism Miss Kaptur has received has been unfair and has been generated on a national and state level.

"It's a very organized, concerted effort that started outside this district because she's not blindly supporting the President's course," Ms. Ross said. "I think people here appreciate her asking tough questions and that's why they've continued to support her."

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