(POLL) Dem Response To al-Maliki

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Tuesday July 25, 2006 · 6:12 PM PDT

2006/07/25 · 18:12

Last week, al-Maliki said that Iraq was urging the international community "to take a quick and firm stance to stop this aggression against Lebanon, to stop the killing of innocent people and to stop the destruction of infrastructure."
"What is happening is an operation of mass destruction and mass punishment and an operation using great force that Israel has -- and Lebanon does not," he said.

This was the response from Democratic lawmakers:

In a letter to al-Maliki, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York called the Iraqi leader's comments troubling.
"Your failure to condemn Hezbollah's aggression and recognize Israel's right to defend itself raise serious questions about whether Iraq under your leadership can play a constructive role in resolving the current crisis and bringing stability to the Middle East," the letter said.

Nancy Pelosi had this to say:

Pelosi said that al-Maliki's failure to retreat from his comments on Israel or to criticize Hezbollah and Hamas, the terror group elected to lead the Palestinian people, is unacceptable.
"Unless Mr. Maliki disavows his critical comments of Israel and condemns terrorism, it is inappropriate to honor him with a joint meeting of Congress...

Republicans had this to say:

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Pelosi's comments undermine U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
"The House Democrat Leader and some of her Democrat colleagues may not agree with the liberation of Iraq and they may not agree with criticism by some against Israel's actions but their continued efforts to undermine the advancement of freedom and democracy in Iraq is shameful," he said.
[...]
In a statement, a [House Speaker] Hastert spokesman called the Democratic moves "political gamesmanship during an election year."

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