Editorial: Speech boycott warranted

Thursday, July 27, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.

Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jon Porter, R-Nev., were among the lawmakers who boycotted the speech of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. The lawmakers are justifiably worried that al-Maliki may not be a strong partner in the war on terror, judging by his stance on the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.

The lawmakers were angered because al-Maliki has made reference to stopping "Israeli aggression" and Israel's "hostile acts." He has not denounced the radical Islamist group Hezbollah, which kidnapped Israeli soldiers and launched missile strikes against Israel. Israel retaliated with an offensive on southern Lebanon, and two weeks of fighting have not abated.

Many members of Congress attended the speech, but we applaud the lawmakers who took a principled stand and skipped it. It takes some courage to essentially rebuke the new Iraqi leader. It would have been much easier to let al-Maliki's comments slip and focus on the purpose of his visit to Washington - the future of war-torn Iraq.

But what al-Maliki has said - and what he has not said in failing to condemn Hezbollah as a terrorist group - is deeply troubling and should not be ignored. The United States ostensibly went to war in Iraq to curb global terrorism. But al-Maliki's failure to condemn Hezbollah raises "serious questions" about whether Iraq under his leadership could help bring stability to the Middle East, as Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and several other Democrats put it to the Iraqi leader in a letter. Reid attended the speech and shook hands with al-Maliki, despite the letter's admonition.

The United States has made a $300 billion investment in Iraq, with 127,000 troops on the ground and more than 2,560 of them dead. President Bush has said Iraq is vital to stemming terrorism, and that Iraq is vital to broader stability in the region. So it's disheartening to have a leader there who appears to stand in opposition to our greater Middle East policy.

If Iraq is to ever earn the world's respect, its government must be on record denouncing terrorism and the groups like Hezbollah that perpetrate it.