State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert shot down a reporter who attempted to confront her over American intervention in Iraq. The reporter asked whether she would make an apology on behalf of the United States government for “dictating” regime change in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.
The reporter mentioned that Sarah Sanders recently said that the U.S. “doesn’t get to dictate how other countries operate” in response to a question about the legitimacy of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reelection, and President Donald Trump’s congratulatory call he gave to Putin.
The reporter asked whether effecting “regime change” in Iraq by deposing Saddam Hussein could be construed as “dictating how other countries operate” – in the words of Sanders. The question was a dig at the Trump administration, which is bizarre, given that the war in Iraq was something Trump opposed.
Here’s how that went, courtesy of Patheos:
NAUERT: “You’re asking me about the entire history of the United States, should we apologize? Should we apologize for our government all around the world? I think that the United States government does far more good than we ever do bad.”
REPORTER: “Most Americans are opposed to the Iraq War. Should the U.S. government apologize for things that were put out by that podium, people who are in this administration, who fabricated information to start the Iraq War?”
NAUERT: “Look, I get what you’re getting at, you want to be snarky and take a look back at the past 15 years. Iraq is certainly a country that has been through a lot.
REPORTER: “No, I don’t want to get snarky, I want to get real.”
NAUERT: “Right now the most significant challenge there is ISIS, and the United States remains there at the invitation of the Iraqi government to fight and take on ISIS.”
Nauert pointed out that Iraqis under Saddam not only had no voting rights but lived in fear of a violent and repressive regime that frequently killed its own citizens.
“That is something that is very difficult for the average American to understand because that is simply the way of life there,” she said. “The United States has a strong relationship with the government of Iraq. I’m going to look forward from this podium. In this room, we have a good relationship with the government with Iraq and we’re not going to look back at this point.”
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