McHenry under fire over Iraq trip

Firestorm over McHenry’s Iraq trip
Congressman’s comments, actions scrutinized

BY ANDREW MACKIE
RECORD STAFF WRITER

HICKORY
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry enraged his opponents with his actions during a trip to Iraq last month and comments after his return.
The first issue erupted last week when video of McHenry’s speech to a Republican gathering in Lincoln County showed the congressman speaking of an early morning trip to the gym while in the area known as the Green Zone.
A military guard stopped him because the congressman lacked sufficient credentials. During his light-hearted speech, McHenry referred to the guard as a “two-bit security guard,” by not allowing him to enter the gym without proper credentials.
The military guard was not a United States soldier, but an employee of a foreign contractor provid-ing security at the site. That didn’t lessen the reaction from his opponents.
“To me, it doesn’t matter if (the guard) was active duty or not,” said Republican challenger Lance Sigmon on Tuesday. “What he said was unfortunate. I don’t want to say it was stupid, but it was.”
Democratic challenger Daniel Johnson said he was shocked by the comment and demanded an apology.
“The brave men and women working to secure the Green Zone are risking their lives every day to protect our personnel in Baghdad, including politicians like Congressman McHenry,” Johnson said in a news release. “Instead of insulting this brave individual, the congressman should be thanking him and his family for their sacrifice.”
Another issue involved a dispute over whether a death resulted from an insurgent rocket attack during McHenry’s visit. During the same speech by the Congressman, McHenry said there had been. Sigmon’s campaign initially said that was false, citing a U.S. Embassy official in a news re-lease.
However, an embassy announcement four days after McHenry’s visit stated a United States civilian employee died from injuries he sustained during one of the rocket attacks.
Sigmon said national newspapers also initially reported no deaths from the attack.
“If we got it wrong, so did they,” he said.
On Tuesday afternoon, McHenry released a statement on the security guard comment and civilian death.
“I regret the poor choice of words I used to describe the foreign contractor, but that does not give my opponents the right to dishonor the supreme sacrifice of an American hero by denying that he was killed, just to play gutter politics.”
The final issue involved McHenry’s posting of a video shot while in Iraq. In the video, he pointed out the locations of where the mortar attacks hit.
His opponents said during so endangers United States troops by providing the coordinates for an enemy attack.
Sigmon called McHenry’s actions “absolutely reprehensible.”
Johnson said McHenry “seems too busy promoting himself to behave with any decorum or com-mon sense.”
McHenry posted the video on his Web site, but later removed it.
“The congressman shot the video in the company of State Department and military personnel, and was not briefed on withholding its publication,” said Wes Climer, McHenry’s press secretary.  “We voluntarily removed the video after learning that it might infringe on accepted protocol, and then contacted officials at the Department of Defense who supported our decision.”
Democratic challenger Steve Ivester couldn’t be reached for comment on Tuesday.
As the race’s intensity rises, less than a month remains before the May 6 primary.

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There has been absolutely NO PROOF that the guard was a foreign contractor - in fact, from what I have been told, there are NO foreign contractors used as guards in the Green Zone.  BUT - does it matter?  Do their lives mean less than an Americans?  I thought that’s what we were there for…

This shows that Patrick Mchenry has let us down and needs to go.  How could we have been so trusting to let this guy in office?

There has been no proof that the guard was a foreign contractor.  In fact, I have been told by many who have actually served in Iraq that there are NO foreign contractors used as guards in the Green Zone.  McHenry is using this to try to lessen the impact of his “two-bit” statement.  Does it really matter if the guard is active-duty, American, or foreign?  McHenry’s disrespectful attitude is what counts - no matter who it was.  Is he saying that it is OK to be rude to someone or to belittle them because they are not American??

Rep. McHenry is probably right; while the number of US security agents are few. there’s a likelihood of a two-bit agent.

In congress, there are many two-bit politicians, right, Mr. McHenry?

There are a number of federal laws that make the actions of Congressman McHenry a federal offense.  In a speech just 6 months ago McHenry himself pointed the finger at ABC for releasing information he deemed damaging to our Nation’s security.  In his speech to Congress McHenry demanded that those responsible for breach’s in security should “be held accountable”.  There is no question that McHenry breached our nation’s security, and there is only little doubt as to whether the breach was picked up by the insurgents and used in their deadly attack that killed two officers and wounded 17 more.  There needs to be an investigation into McHenry’s “mistake” and he needs to be held “accountable”.  Citizens are held criminally liable everyday for stupid mistakes.  Is this Congressman above the law?

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