Code Pink confronts al-Maliki
Capitol police remove Medea Benjamin from the House gallery after she disrupted a speech by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Capitol on July 26, 2006, as the prime minister addressed a joint meeting of Congress. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Code Pink cofounder Medea [Μήδεια] Benjamin interrupted the speech of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shouting from the House vistor’s gallery, “Iraqis want the troops to leave, bring them home now! Listen to the Iraqis!”. She was referring to an op-ed in the July 20 Washington Post by Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie, “The eventual removal of coalition troops from Iraqi streets will help the Iraqis, who now see foreign troops as occupiers rather than the liberators they were meant to be.” In the speech Benjamin interrupted, al-Maliki appealed for more money and troops clearly identifying Iraq as part of the war on terror. He made no mention of Hezbollah, Lebanon, or Israel. Benjamin, 54 of San Francisco, was lifted from her seat by officers and carried out.
You go, girl!
The text of al-Rubaie’s Washington Post op-ed and Benjamin’s commentary available at After Downing Street.
