Credit: wikipedia public domain /  Ilhan Abdullahi Omar,  (D)   Congressional Representative from Minnesota.

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

A political tsunami was unleashed last week following remarks by Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar about U.S., Israel, Hamas and the Taliban.  A dozen House Democrats joined by a even larger chorus of Republicans sharply rebuked Omar for “equating” the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban. Omar’s defenders said she was merely standing up for human rights and accountability for war crimes, no matter who commits the atrocities.  Critics accused  her of making a “moral equivalence” between  the U.S.  and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban, with “false equivalencies”  that give cover to terrorist groups.    During a congressional hearing Monday by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Department of State budget issues,  Secretary of State Antony Blinken took queries from committee members, including Omar. The political backlash was unleashed when Omar posted a video on Twitter showing her questioning Secretary of State Blinken in a video call about the U.S.’s opposition to the International Criminal Court investigating alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and Israel.

“We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban,”

Rep. Omar  tweeted about her engagement with Blinken on what alternatives would be available if the ICC does not investigate the allegations.

We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity.

We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban.

I asked @SecBlinken where people are supposed to go for justice. pic.twitter.com/tUtxW5cIow

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 7, 2021

 To which the U.S.  Secretary of State replied:

 “Whether it’s the United States or Israel,” he said, “we both have the mechanisms to make sure that there is accountability in any situations where there are concerns about the use of force and human rights.” – Sec. of State Blinken 

Many human rights activists took issue with Blinken’s response to  a fair question by Rep. Omar, saying it was false on the surface, as there has  been  no prosecution of alleged American war atrocities including murder and torture committed in conflict in Afghanistan.  However, when the dust cleared from last week’s political storm, Rep. Omar was forced into issuing an apology/clarification of her comments.  A group of 12 Democrats, led by Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, denounced Omar’s comments in a joint statement late Wednesday.

“Equating the United States and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban is as offensive as it is misguided,” the lawmakers said, asking Omar to clarify her remarks.  Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put the political screws on Omar. Backed into  a corner by the unrelenting attacks from both sides of the  political aisle,  Omar issued clarification on her remarks, claiming they were misinterpreted. 

“On Monday, I asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken about ongoing International Criminal Court investigations. To be clear: the conversation was about accountability for specific incidents regarding those ICC cases, not a moral comparison between Hamas and the Taliban and the U.S. and Israel.   I was in no way equating terrorist organizations with democratic countries with well-established judicial systems.”

-Rep. Omar statement