One- And Two-term Lawmakers of Uri Party to Issue Statement Criticizing U.S

Since more than thirty one- and two-term lawmakers from the ruling Uri Party decided to issue a statement today criticizing the Bush administration’s policy on Iraq regarding the additional troop dispatch to Iraq on the basis of an investigation conducted by the September 11 investigation committee under the umbrella of the U.S. Congress, which is expected to cause a stir.

Earlier than this, the Uri Party had already decided to support the administration’s plan to dispatch additional troops to Iraq during a general meeting of Uri lawmakers on June 17.

Lawmker Kim Young-choon, co-chairman of a “meeting for national development” consisting of 34 Uri lawmakers who have been elected less for than two terms, said, “It’s the official position of the 9-11 investigation committee that there is little possibility of a link between former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the existence of weapons of mass destruction, or a connection with the al-Qaida terrorist group, which was the justification the Bush administration used for the Iraqi war,” and added, “We will reaffirm this through the statement.” Another co-chairman, Rep. Song Young-gil, also said, “I am very concerned that the decision to attack Iraq based on false information could occur on the Korean peninsula.”

“We will point out that the designation of the multinational forces dispatched to Iraq, including U.S. troops, should be changed to U.N. peacekeeping forces,” said Rep. Im Jong-seok, who is also a member of this group.

Lawmakers belonging to the group circulated a draft statement Sunday afternoon, and they will issue a statement after finally revising the phrases during the meeting on Monday morning. They are said to be planning to make an English-text statement to distribute to the U.S. Congress and the press in the Arab region, including the Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera.

Party leadership, including Chairman Shin Ki-nam and Floor Leader Chun Jung-bae urged those lawmakers to restrain themselves, saying, “We should consider the impact on the international community.” In the meantime, Rep. Kim Hyun-mi and Ahn Young-geun, also members of the group, decided not to sign the statement because they are holding party posts.

Seung-Heon Lee ddr@donga.com