Omar’s remarks were made during a local television appearance on the show “Belahdan” on Twin Cities PBS, weeks after four terrorists attacked at the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya resulting in almost 70 deaths and wounding about 200 people. The terrorist group al-Shabab, that is based in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack. A faction of this group had previously pledged allegiance to the ISIS terrorist group.
“Nobody wants to take accountability of how these are byproducts of the actions of our involvement in other people’s affairs,” she said later in the interview.
Omar, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has come under fire for a number of remarks and actions she had previously made. Moreover, her connections with several radical groups, which were also revealed in the past months, has raised questions about her suitability to serve on the House Committee.
The remarks were made last month as part of a speech at a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) fundraiser, during which she said the radical Muslim group was founded after the terror attacks, surfaced on social media earlier this week. The United Arab Emirates designated CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014.
“CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties,” Omar said, according to the video.
Her comments prompted a backlash from several high profile people, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and prompted the New York Post to rebuke the congresswoman on its front page of its April 11 paper.
She also faced fresh condemnation in January this year for asking a judge in 2016 to show leniency toward a group of Minnesota men who were accused of attempting to join ISIS. Omar was a Minnesota state representative at the time.
The nine men allegedly made plans, including buying fake passports, to travel to Syria to fights for the terrorist group.
Moreover, it was revealed in February that the Democratic congresswoman had traveled in November 2017 to Honduras as part of a delegation sponsored by the radical Witness for Peace group—a far-left organization that was formed during the Reagan administration to oppose U.S. policies aimed to stop the spread of communism. The group also supports Cuban and Venezuelan socialism.