BAGHDAD — The U.S. Embassy sought Saturday to distance itself from a highly contentious "fact-finding mission" to Baghdad led by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., that led Iraq to demand the entire congressional delegation leave the country.
During an hour and 40 minute meeting Friday with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, Rohrabacher informed the Iraqi leader that his House subcommittee was investigating the killing by Iraqi troops of 35 Iranian dissidents on Iraqi soil in April.
After Rohrabacher later announced his investigation to the media, Maliki, who's currently acting minister of defense as well as commander-in-chief, apparently hit the roof.
The Orange County conservative, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations, later told reporters that the "massacre" was probably a crime against humanity. The charge, which often refers to a massive crime against civilians, was first leveled against accused Nazi war criminals during the Nuremburg Tribunal after World War II.
Rohrabacher also asked Iraq to consider at a later stage repaying some of the costs of the 2003 U.S. invasion and the occupation that followed. Iraq's government spokesman publicly responded that Iraq would pay not "a cent."
The U.S. Embassy issued a statement explaining that the Congress is a separate branch of government whose members often disagree with the executive branch. It said it was important for members of Congress to meet and exchange views with Iraqi leaders, "even when there are disagreements."
Embassy spokesman David Ranz noted that congressional visitors "do not necessarily express the views of the U.S. administration or even a majority of the Congress."
Rohrabacher, Rep. Russ Carnahan of Missouri, the ranking Democrat on Rohrabacher's subcommittee, and four other members of the delegation were already in transit Friday night when the Iraqi government announced it had asked for them to leave the country. It appears that the telephone call by a member of the Iraqi government to the U.S. Embassy was also made at about that time.
Other members of the delegation were Republican Reps. Ted Poe of Texas, a member of Rohrabacher's subcommittee, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina and Louie Gohmert of Texas, and Democratic Rep. Jim Costa of California.
Rohrabacher told McClatchy late Saturday that he had not pointed the finger of responsibility at Maliki, who as commander-in-chief and acting defense minister was head of the armed forces at the time of the killings.
"If the prime minister felt guilty about it, for whatever reasons, that's his business. We didn't say anything to implicate him," Rohrabacher said in a telephone interview from Istanbul, Turkey. "We did say that the massacre of so many civilians was a crime, and we needed to make sure that those responsible for it were held accountable."
Those killed were members of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, or MEK by its Farsi language initials, a militant Iranian group that fought Iran under Saddam Hussein and got stranded in Iraq after the U.S. overthrew the dictator. The U.S. has listed the MEK as a terrorist group for more than a decade.
Rohrabacher said he thought the person responsible for the massacre may have been a colonel, who was commanding troops on the ground at the time. He said that if Maliki had told his subordinates to tell their troops not to hold back and to open fire even if they were up against unarmed civilians, "then he would be culpable. Otherwise he's not."
Rohrabacher said he had no regrets for what he'd said and would issue no apology.
Iraq wants other countries to take the 3,400-plus MEK members now ensconced at Camp Ashraf, north of Baghdad and close to the Iranian border. Rohrabacher agreed that would be the best outcome, but he said he didn't want the U.S. to open its doors.
"I don't think the United States should take in everyone who's in a bad situation," he told McClatchy in an earlier phone interview.
Carnahan didn't respond to requests for an interview but issued a statement that skirted any criticism of Rohrabacher's investigation. "Last April's reports of deadly clashes and other violence against the residents of Camp Ashraf are deeply concerning," he said. "I encourage the government of Iraq to swiftly follow through with a thorough investigation of this incident."
The chair of the full House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., also had no problems with the mission.
"Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, including me, have, for some time, raised concerns with the Department of State about the welfare of the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq and recent actions by Iraqi authorities against camp residents," she said in a statement. As for Rohrabacher's visit to Iraq, "we understand ... that the delegation had robust discussions and departed without incident."
MORE FROM MCCLATCHY
U.S. lawmakes, Iraq's Maliki, clash over killing of Iranians
After April massacre, U.S. seeks to relocate Iranian militants in Iraq
Iraq's Chalabi, who sought invasion, now wants U.S. out
Iraq's Chalabi takes on Bahrain, loses first round
Close aide to Iraq's Chalabi assassinated
Iraq's Sadrists stage mass rally to demand total U.S. withdrawal
Follow the latest politics news at McClatchy's Planet Washington