Ilhan Omar news of the day

[Mooshashi]

Embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar got into a ridiculous back and forth on Wednesday with the US special envoy to Venezuela — asking the diplomat a question and then blatantly ignoring his response.

The Minnesota Democrat asked Elliott Abrams about his past dismissal of the 1981 El Mozote massacre — where more than 800 civilians in El Salvador were killed during the Salvadoran Civil War — as communist propaganda.

“You said that US policy in El Salvador was a fabulous achievement. Yes or no. Do you still think so?” Omar asked.

Abrams replied: “From the day that President [José] Duarte was elected in a free election to this day, El Salvador has been a democracy. That’s a fabulous achievement.”

“Yes or no. Do you think that massacre was a fabulous achievement that happened under our watch?” Omar asked.

“That is a ridiculous question, and — no!” Abrams said.

But Omar wouldn’t accept his answer.

“I will take that as a yes,” she said bizarrely.

The fiery exchange took place during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing about the US response to the crisis in Venezuela — less than a week after Omar was blasted over tweets many deemed anti-Semitic.

[MOTHERDUCKER]

God help America if her and AOC are the future

[JimRaynor]

These freshman congressman all have something in common. First they're not that bright, they hate Israel/Jews, they love failed socialist states in Central America, and they all want to implement those failed policies in the USA.

[TheBoxingBanger]

F uc k. That terrorist b itc h

I don't believe for one second that Americans elected that America-hater to Congress

[Phenom]

What was her antisemitic tweets?

[Phenom]

F uc k. That b itc h

I don't believe for one second that Americans elected that America-hater

Can't believe it either...

['b']

These freshman congressman all have something in common. First they're not that bright, they hate Israel/Jews, they love failed socialist states in Central America, and they all want to implement those failed policies in the USA.

LOL talk about a plan backfiring

['b']

Also ironic that genetically Arabs are infinitely more semitic than those who call themselves Jews today.

[jaded]

She and AOC are gifts to Trump. I can't wait for Hillary to announce she running in 2020. It's going to be Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's greatest shit-show ever.

[SnoopySmurf]

Embattled Rep. Ilhan Omar got into a ridiculous back and forth on Wednesday with the US special envoy to Venezuela — asking the diplomat a question and then blatantly ignoring his response.

The Minnesota Democrat asked Elliott Abrams about his past dismissal of the 1981 El Mozote massacre — where more than 800 civilians in El Salvador were killed during the Salvadoran Civil War — as communist propaganda.

“You said that US policy in El Salvador was a fabulous achievement. Yes or no. Do you still think so?” Omar asked.

Abrams replied: “From the day that President [José] Duarte was elected in a free election to this day, El Salvador has been a democracy. That’s a fabulous achievement.”

“Yes or no. Do you think that massacre was a fabulous achievement that happened under our watch?” Omar asked.

“That is a ridiculous question, and — no!” Abrams said.

But Omar wouldn’t accept his answer.

“I will take that as a yes,” she said bizarrely.

The fiery exchange took place during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing about the US response to the crisis in Venezuela — less than a week after Omar was blasted over tweets many deemed anti-Semitic.

This is how it went:

Omar then turned to Abrams’s role in dissembling about a 1981 massacre in El Salvador. Abrams had dismissed the murder of hundreds of residents of the village of El Mozote by Salvadoran army units trained by the U.S. military advisers during a civil war. A 1992 Human Rights Watch report said that Abrams’s Senate testimony had “artfully distorted several issues in order to discredit the public accounts of the massacre.”

Abrams later said of the United States that the “record in El Salvador is one of fabulous achievement” despite evidence later surfacing that the U.S. government had helped hide Salvadoran human rights abuses. When Omar asked if Abrams thought the El Mozote massacre was a fabulous achievement, he refused to answer.

“That is a ridiculous question and I’m not going to respond,” said Abrams. “I am not going to respond to that kind of personal attack which is not a question.”

“Yes or no,” continued Omar, “would you support an armed faction within Venezuela that engages in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide if you believed they were serving U.S. interests as you did in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua?”

“I’m not going to respond to that question, I’m sorry,” said Abrams. “I don’t think this entire line of questioning is meant to be real questions so I will not respond.”

“Will you make sure human rights not violated and that we uphold international and human rights?” Omar continued.

“I suppose there’s a question in there,” replied Abrams, “and the answer is the entire thrust of the American policy in Venezuela is to support the Venezuelan people’s effort to restore democracy to their country. That’s our policy.”

“I don’t think anybody disputes that,” said Omar. “The question I had for you is that does the interest of the United States include protecting human rights and include protecting people against genocide?”

“That is always the position of the United States,” said Abrams.