While the entire Western world is reeling at the spectacle of Russian atrocities in the Ukraine – the razed-to-the-ground cities, the mass graves full of murdered Ukrainians, the deliberate targeting of civilians with missiles let loose at railroad stations, schools, hospitals, theatres — Ilhan Omar has demonstrated her fealty to Vladimir Putin.
She was one of only two House Democrats to vote against sanctioning Russia’s oil industry, while her fellow Muslim member of the Squad, the Palestinian-American Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), in the run-up to the invasion argued against providing Ukraine with aid.
Omar has family ties, of an unusual sort, to Russia. Her brother-in-law, Mohamed Keynan, was the chief of staff for former Somalian Prime Minister Hassan Khaire, known for “all but giving” his country’s oil reserves to the energy company Soma Oil & Gas, which is controlled by a Russian oligarch and Putin ally Alexander Djaparidze. Omar’s father was a Soviet-educated colonel in the Somali army during the ’80s under the Russian-backed regime of Siad Barre.
Omar and Tlaib are the two most anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian members of Congress. As such, their defense of Russia is unsurprising. The Palestinians themselves have been among the very few supporters of Russia internationally. PA President Mahmoud Abbas had a warm telephone call with Putin on April 18, in which he declared his firm support for Russia, and Putin, in turn, declared his support for the Palestinians. Hamas, too, has just thanked Putin for his “principled stand” against Israel. In the middle of the Ukrainian conflict, when Putin has been shunned by the civilized world for his war crimes, “Palestine” – both the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza — stood with Putin. Don’t let that be forgotten.
What was Ilhan Omar’s excuse for her pro-Putin votes? “I don’t support broad-based sanctions on any country. They are economic warfare, and we should all oppose them like we oppose military actions. Also, as humans who are interconnected to other humans globally, we will directly or indirectly be impacted by it,” Omar tweeted.
Let’s rub our eyes in disbelief and read that again:
Her excuse for her pro-Putin votes? “I don’t support broad-based sanctions on any country. They are economic warfare, and we should all oppose them like we oppose military actions. Also, as humans who are interconnected to other humans globally, we will directly or indirectly be impacted by it,” Omar tweeted.
But what about Israel? What about BDS? Of course, Omar loves to sanction Israel. She, Tlaib and the rest of the Squad – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Presley, new Squad member Cori Bush — champion the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement that targets the Jewish state, never worrying about the impact of sanctions on Palestinians as well as on innocent Israelis.
When Ilhan Omar runs again for office this November, one hopes that her opposition to sanctions on Russia will be made much of by her opponents. Putin has become the most hated political leader in the world; Ilhan Omar has been his most loyal defender in Congress.
And Ilhan Omar has now been promoting her very own foreign policy even farther afield. She’s been visiting Pakistan, meeting with a host of officials in the new government that took office in mid-April, to show her support for Pakistan’s possession of part of Kashmir that rightly belongs to India. A report on her trip to Pakistan is here: “India slams Rep. Ilhan Omar over ‘condemnable’ visit to Pakistan,” by Callie Patteson, New York Post, April 21, 2022:
India’s Ministry of External Affairs blasted far-left Rep. Ilhan Omar’s visit to Pakistan this week, calling her trip to the disputed region of Kashmir “condemnable.”…
Earlier Thursday, Omar had visited the Pakistan side of a cease-fire line in the region, known as the Line of Control, and told reporters that her fellow lawmakers should pay more attention to the long-running conflict.
“I don’t believe that it is being talked about to the extent it needs to be in Congress and within the administration,” the far-left “Squad” member said, according to Reuters.
Omar then added that the House Foreign Relations Committee, on which she sits, would look into allegations of human rights violations by Indian authorities in the region.