I think the world is spinning out of control.
Iraq leader's speech roils New York lawmakers
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
July 26, 2006, 5:26 PM EDT
WASHINGTON -- New York lawmakers led a boycott Wednesday of the Iraqi prime minister's speech to Congress, furious that he still has not condemned Hezbollah's actions against Israel.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did attend the speech, but her hopes to hear him take such a stand were dashed.
At one point, the address by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was disrupted by a screaming anti-war protester, whose gallery pass was provided by Brooklyn congressman Major Owens.
Al-Maliki told Congress they must not abandon his country's effort to beat back terrorists, but many New York lawmakers voiced outrage that he has yet to condemn Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel. Heavy fighting between the two sides has erupted in southern Lebanon, provoking a humanitarian and refugee crisis.
"I'd like to ask Maliki, when it comes to terrorism, which side is he on?" said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who boycotted the speech. He had already criticized the new Iraqi government over the suggestion that some insurgents who fired on U.S. troops could ultimately be granted amnesty.
"If he can't denounce Hezbollah, which is a group that even the Saudis, Egyptians and Jordanians don't like ... what kind of ally is this? I'm very upset about where Maliki is," Schumer said.
Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., did attend the speech, but made a point of refusing to stand or applaud because the prime minister did not condemn Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel.
"According to him, terrorism against Iraq was unacceptable and terrorism against Israel is fine," he said.
Engel said the Iraqi leader's position on Israel strains the fledgling government's relationship with the United States.
"It makes me question what are we fighting for over there. Is it going to be enlightened leadership of Arab moderates, or the same old nonsense, replacing Saddam Hussein with some other unhelpful government?" said Engel.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-Manhattan, Anthony Weiner, D-Queens, Nita Lowey, D-Westchester, and Gary Ackerman, D-Queens, also stayed away.
"But the long-term here is that if you mollycoddle terrorists, you give them license to continue," said Ackerman. "A terrorist is a terrorist."
Weiner's spokesman said he stayed away because he was busy working on gun legislation pending in the House.
Before the speech, Clinton, D-N.Y., said she hoped he "clarifies his statements to recognize the right of Israel, a sovereign nation, to defend itself and condemn terrorist aggression such as Hezbollah's incursions."
Al-Maliki did not mention Hezbollah in his speech, and instead focused on his own country and its ongoing battle with insurgents.
"I know some of you question whether Iraq is part of the war on terror," al-Maliki said through a translator.
"Let me be very clear. This is a battle between true Islam, for which a person's liberty and rights constitute essential cornerstones, and terrorism, which wraps itself in a fake Islamic cloak."
He was interrupted briefly by a shouting demonstrator wearing a pink T-shirt that read, "Troops Home Now." Medea Benjamin, 54, of San Francisco, is co-founder of the anti-war protesting group called CODEPINK.
Benjamin was lifted from her seat by officers and carried out of the House visitor's gallery, while al-Maliki paused and grimaced in irritation.
According to a GOP leadership aide, Benjamin was provided a gallery pass by Owens, who did not immediately return a call for comment. A spokeswoman for CODEPINK, which had been trying to meet with al-Maliki, said Owens' office had not been informed of any plans to disrupt the event.
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