Sen. Warner ambushed by Iraq war protesters

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Monday July 16, 2007 Print This Email This

Protesters from the anti-war group Code Pink confronted Sen. John Warner (R-VA) on Sunday with a "Bring the Troops Home Now" banner as he conducted an informal press conference outside following an appearance on ABC's This Week together with Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN).

Warner, the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Lugar, the ranking minority member on the Foreign Relations Committee, recently proposed legislation that "would require Bush to submit by Oct. 16 a plan to 'transition U.S. combat forces from policing the civil strife or sectarian violence in Iraq' to a narrow set of missions: protecting Iraqi borders, targeting terrorists, protecting U.S. assets and training Iraqi forces."

"Our forces are fighting today such that you can freely express your views in public, so allow me to finish my views," said Warner to the protesters, asking them not to interrupt his statements.

After the press conference, a Code Pink representative challenged Warner, saying, "You said that Iraq is about free speech. How is the occupation protecting our civil liberties?"

"Our troops are fighting so that you can do this," Warner insisted.

"No, they're not!" the protesters objected. "That's absolutely a disconnect."

However, they then shook Warner's hand cordially, saying, "We are delighted you're taking the first move."

The following video is from The Associated Press, released on July 15.





