Lawmaker apologizes for comment on Iraq guard

[unhappycamper]

Lawmaker apologizes for comment on Iraq guard
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Apr 4, 2008 15:49:44 EDT

A North Carolina congressman has apologized for calling a contract employee in Baghdad a “two-bit security guard.”

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., used that term when talking about a visit to Iraq where he was denied access to a gymnasium. “It was a poor choice of words to describe a foreign contractor,” McHenry said in a statement.

McHenry was recorded at a local Republican fundraising dinner talking about his visit and being annoyed when he was denied gym privileges while staying in VIP quarters in the pool house of a palace once used by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/04/rep-mchenry-calls-us-soldier-in-iraq-a-two-bit-security-guard/">A copy of the video is available on YouTube.

While some reports have said McHenry was referring to a U.S. service member, McHenry and his staff said the person was a contractor providing security at the embassy.

On the tape, McHenry says he “went to the gym because I just couldn’t sleep” but the guard would not let him in because he did not have the correct credentials.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/military_congressman_guardinsult_040408w/