Barbara Boxer: ‘GOP Cheerleaders’ Of Iraq Invasion Are Now Joining ‘Blame-America-First Crowd’

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., talks with Senators during a meeting of the Senate Climate Action Task Force prior to taking to the Senate Floor all night to urge ... Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., talks with Senators during a meeting of the Senate Climate Action Task Force prior to taking to the Senate Floor all night to urge action on climate change on Monday, March 10, 2014, in Washington, from left, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D, Vt., Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn., Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) MORE LESS
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Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, torched Republican “cheerleaders” who started the Iraq war and are now criticizing President Barack Obama over the escalating violent insurgency in the country.

“Some of the biggest GOP cheerleaders for the disastrous war in Iraq are now joining the blame-America-first crowd rather than working with our Commander-in-Chief to confront this crisis,” Boxer said in a statement Thursday.

She said the current crisis in Iraq “has its roots in an ill-conceived war,” arguing that while the U.S. should “go after” the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Sunni jihadi organization taking over parts of the country, “any U.S. action must be well-considered and well-executed in coordination with our allies and the Iraqi government and military, which we helped train and arm.”

It’s not clear who Boxer’s criticism was directed at, but numerous Republicans have bashed the president for the growing crisis.

Earlier on Thursday, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) accused Obama of “taking a nap” while terrorists take control of western Iraq.

Boxer was one of just 23 senators who voted against the October 2002 resolution to authorize the use of military force in Iraq, a move she later called one of her proudest moments as a senator.

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