Baghdad (CNN) — The U.S. Embassy in Iraq is distancing itself from statements made by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher that led to a government spokesman saying the congressman and his delegation are not welcome in the country.
Embassy spokesman David Ranz issued a statement Saturday saying “congressional visitors do not necessarily express the views of the U.S. administration or even a majority of Congress. The visitors this weekend made that clear in their remarks.”
In widely reported statements after a meeting Friday with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the California Republican said he informed the Iraqi leader that his House committee is investigating the killing of Iranian exiles by Iraqi forces.
Rohrabacher, the chairman of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also told reporters during a news conference at the embassy in Baghdad that he suggested Iraq repay some of the cost of the war.
“Once Iraq becomes a very rich and prosperous country … we would hope that some consideration be given to repaying the United States some of the mega-dollars that we have spent here in the last eight years,” said Rohrabacher, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency.
In fact when I was myself in Washington DC at a Senate Hearing covering Iraqi Refugees in the neighboring countries as well as Internally Displaced Iraqis the same Senator made similar statements. Well: whenever someone has to pay a bill he first has to order ‘the goods’ and ‘compare prices’. Of course the Iraqis did not ‘order the presence’ of all these foreign occupying forces. Of all the ‘humanitarian assistance’ most of it stays right ‘back home’ for goods and services ordered from there. After all the US army brings even all the food from outside of Iraq.
Categories: Americas, Asia, Iraq, United States
All these US delegations come to Iraq without a visa and without an invitation. Well, not surprising, Iraq is still an occupied country.