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Some NY pols boycott Iraqi PM's speech

BY J. JIONI PALMER AND CRAIG GORDON | Newsday Washington Bureau

July 27, 2006

WASHINGTON - A handful of New York lawmakers skipped Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's speech before Congress yesterday to protest his criticisms of Israeli military tactics in Lebanon.

They missed al-Maliki saying that Iraq is on the "frontline in the war on terror," and that whether a life is lost to an attack on the World Trade Center or a suicide bombing in Baghdad, humanity as a whole suffers.

"The fate of our country and yours is tied," he said. "Should democracy be allowed to fail in Iraq and terror permitted to triumph, then the war on terror will never be won elsewhere."

But the prime minister's lofty rhetoric left some observers questioning his sincerity, if he insists on blaming Israel - which they say is merely defending itself - for the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East.

"I did not attend because Prime Minister al-Maliki has not repudiated those in his government seeking amnesty for Iraqi terrorists who kill Americans," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who stayed away. "Nor has he denounced Hezbollah, a terrorist group that has killed Americans. Which side of the war on terror is he on?"

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Jamaica Estates), who also was a no-show, said al-Maliki has one set of standards when it comes to targeting Iraqis and another when the victim is Israeli. "He doesn't condemn the damage and destruction in his country that we had to do in order to rid them of a terrorist dictator," said Ackerman, a senior member of the House International Relations Committee. "He understood very well that in going after terrorists, we had to go after where they were hidden, and blow up the buildings of the people who were hiding them. If he understands that and appreciates our efforts - which he does - then there is no reason for him to make the statements that he made other than to cater to a very bad crowd."

In addition to Schumer and Ackerman, Reps. Nita Lowey (D-Westchester) and Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) boycotted the speech. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Reps. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), Steve Israel (D-Huntington), Peter King (R-Seaford), Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) and Joseph Crowley (D-Elmhurst) attended. Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills) and Gregory Meeks (D-Far Rockaway) did not attend, but it was not clear whether they were boycotting.

Israel said he never seriously considered boycotting the speech, which he said was a little too upbeat considering the increasing sectarian violence that is gripping the country. "Along with the electronic headsets they should have given us rose-colored glasses," he quipped.

The White House denied coaching al-Maliki on what to say to Congress, although al-Maliki's speech frequently echoed the language President George W. Bush uses about Iraq's position as a central front in the war on terror.

Bush spokesman Tony Snow chided Democrats who boycotted al-Maliki's speech, saying, "Let me try to explain democracy to people on Capitol Hill. It involves such rights as free speech and freedom of opinion.

"The president is not a puppeteer in this case. He's not pulling the strings of Prime Minister al-Maliki. Prime Minister al-Maliki is the duly elected leader of a sovereign state, and, as a result, has rights to his opinions," Snow said.

Al-Maliki's address was briefly interrupted by anti-war protester Medea Benjamin of California, who received her gallery pass from Rep. Major Owens (D-Brooklyn). A spokesperson for Owens said they had no idea Benjamin planned to disrupt the address.

After the speech, Bush and al-Maliki flew by helicopter to Fort Belvoir Army base in nearby Virginia, where al-Maliki said his fellow Iraqis would never forget the sacrifices borne by U.S. troops.

"When blood mixes together in the field, aiming to achieve one goal, this blood will help in establishing a long-lasting relationship between us," he told them. "Our relationship will stay forever."