By Jennifer La Lima
Meanwhile, a passerby was shouting that he and 25 other war protesters should be ashamed of themselves.
The protesters gathered last Wednesday afternoon outside the Massapequa Park office of U.S. Rep. Peter King to send a message: Bring the troops home from Iraq.
The protesters, who came from throughout Nassau County, delivered a 1,000-signature petition to King, a Republican of Seaford who is chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. They asked for an exit strategy that guaranteed troops would return in the coming year. Malmud said, "Not one more mother's son should die in Iraq. We went there under the wrong impression, and we need to get them out of Iraq as soon as possible. I'm here to bring the boys home."
Nassau County Legislator Dave Denenberg, a Democrat of Merrick, accompanied protesters into King's office to deliver the petition signatures. Denenberg said, "At this point we're asking, What is the goal? Why are we staying there, and at what point can troops come home? It is time to have an exit strategy. All it takes is leadership and a plan. I thought we learned in this country a long time ago when you go into a war, or you go into another country, you need a plan for how to get in and how to get out."
Merokean Claudia Borecky, a member of MoveOn.org, a liberal political action committee, said protesters assembled at 400 locations throughout the country that same day. "We have to let [King] know that his constituents on Long Island want this war ended, and they want it ended now," Borecky said. "Staying the course does not show strength. It shows stubbornness and an inability to accept responsibility."
King, who is serving his seventh term in the House of Representatives, voted yes in 2002 to authorize military force in Iraq.
King was not at his Long Island office during the protest. The congressman responded to the protesters in a prepared statement. "It is terribly misguided to be protesting against American policy in Iraq," the statement read. "At the same time, millions of Iraqis are risking their lives to vote in their country's historic, nation-wide elections. Having been to Iraq several times and met with our troops on the ground, I stand with outstanding leaders such as Sen. Joe Lieberman [a Democrat of Connecticut], who believes success in Iraq is essential to defeating Islamic terrorism."
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King supports Patriot Act
At a news conference a day before the protest at Rep. Peter King's office, the congressman called for passage of the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. Separate versions of the Patriot Act have passed the House and Senate. The bill will now proceed to a conference committee, where lawmakers will negotiate differences before the legislation can be voted on by the full Congress.
In a Homeland Security Committee report, King said, "As chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, I can say unequivocally that reauthorization of the Patriot Act is absolutely essential to the homeland security of this country. We cannot go back to the pre-September 11th days."
