Buerkle Blasts State Department Ads

Statement

Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle (NY-25), Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the United States Congressional Representative to the United Nations, released the following statement regarding reports that the United States government purchased $70,000 worth of ads condemning the anti-Islam "The Innocence of Muslims" film in Pakistan:

"The US State Department's purchase of ads on Pakistani television, at taxpayer expense, to apologize for the free exercise of its citizen's first amendment rights is irresponsible. Regardless of our opinions about the wisdom, taste, or honesty of the film, it is not the place of the Administration to disavow and certainly not to do so in an ill-conceived ad buy paid for with the tax dollars of hard-working Americans.

"There is no justification for the acts of violence that we are seeing throughout the Middle East. Ad buys are not going to sway extremists rioting against our nation. What will put an end to anti-American sentiment in the region is a coherent and effective foreign policy by an Administration that shows true strength and leadership; an Administration that stands up for American interests and values, not compromises them."

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