Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) said she feels “ill” and “stricken with PTSD” in response to the conflict with Iran before she laughed and joked with her peers while a colleague discussed U.S. casualties in Iraq just moments later.
“I feel ill a little bit because of everything that is taking place and I think every time I hear of conversations around war I find myself being stricken with PTSD,” Omar said during a Wednesday press conference.
The news conference was called by the Progressive Congressional Caucus to discuss President Donald Trump’s airstrike on Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and the resulting tension between the two countries.
Omar introduced a War Powers Resolution Sunday to prevent the use of U.S. military force against Iran without congressional approval. House Democrats planned to vote Thursday on a similar resolution carried by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-08).
“Since he got into office, the president of the United States has been goading Iran into war. First he canceled our best shot at avoiding armed conflict, the Iran nuclear deal. Then he announced crippling sanctions to starve the innocent people of Iran,” Omar continued, saying the president has surrounded himself with people “itching to go to war with Iran.”
Omar is a vocal supporter of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and voted against a bill in July that condemned the movement to impose economic sanctions on the country.
“I always say war does not have a reset button,” Omar added. “Oftentimes people deal with oppressive, regressive, dangerous leaders. War is never the answer to saving more lives. War destroys lives. It takes away futures and it destroys generations. I know this. I learned that lesson at the young age of eight and many of the people in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world also know this lesson.”
Just a few moments later, Omar was recorded laughing and joking with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) while their colleague, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) discussed U.S. casualties in Iraq.
“We left 4,000-plus, maybe even 4,400, dead and over 60,000 who came back injured in some form,” Jackson Lee said during the press conference while Omar joked around behind her. “And the war never ended.”
Absolutely disgusting.
Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar laughs and jokes around as her colleague Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee discusses U.S. casualties in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/5hfxbUnc3o
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) January 8, 2020
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ilhan Omar” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY-SA 2.0. Background Photo “Democratic Press Conference” by Steve Guest.
