WASHINGTON (Talon News) — The recent comments by Democrat Congressman Charles Rangel of New York that the actions against Uday and Qusay Hussein were illegal were dismissed Wednesday by the White House.
On a national television talk show Tuesday, Rangel told host Sean Hannity, “We have a law on the books that the United States should not be assassinating anybody.”
Rangel was referring to an Executive Order signed by President Ford that prohibits assassination of foreign leaders.
When asked by Talon News to comment on Rangel’s implication that U.S. troops committed illegal acts, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, “I don’t know what exactly he’s referring to. … This is a military operation, and command and control targets are what we will pursue.”
When asked for further comment by Talon News if U.S. actions were illegal as suggested by the New York congressman, McClellan said, “No, absolutely not. This is a military armed conflict, and they are part of the leadership, and part of the command and control of the former regime … people that were leaders of a brutal, oppressive regime.”
“And the military completed a successful operation, and the President congratulates our military and intelligence community for the job that they did,” McClellan added.
Rangel led a chorus of Democrats who continued to disparage the efforts of the Bush administration’s conduct of the Iraq mission. While many Americans regard the deaths of the two most brutal members of Saddam’s regime as a significant positive development, Democrats have been largely silent about the confirmation made by Central Command.
Al Jazeera reported that Saddam’s two sons were “killed in cold blood, in what was a crime.” McClellan responded to that charge saying, “Those two individuals carried out horrific attacks on the Iraqi people. And I think you have seen how the Iraqi people welcomed the news that they will no longer be able to carry out their acts of torture against them.”
The White House spokesman added, “They have been removed, and they will not be coming back.”
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