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Fleischer: AFL-CIO's vote proves liberal, Democratic linksLabor group: White House spokesman's comments 'a shame'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The AFL-CIO's decision to oppose a war in Iraq shows that some of its members are becoming "attachments" of the Democratic Party and its "liberal wing," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer charged Friday. The group's executive council, which represents more than 13 million workers in 65 member unions, passed a resolution Thursday opposing a war. (Full story) The head of an anti-war coalition told CNN that Thursday's vote represented the first time that top labor leadership ever had opposed a U.S. president's war policy. The AFL-CIO said President Bush has failed to make a "compelling and coherent" case that war in Iraq is necessary. Asked about it during his daily briefing Friday, Fleischer said, "I think it shows -- and I'm going to speak very carefully because I'm speaking about some, not all, because clearly there are members in the AFL-CIO who do not see it that way -- but I think it's a further sign that there are some who are becoming attachments of the Democratic National Committee and the liberal wing of the party." A reporter pointed out that many Democrats supported a congressional resolution last fall that authorized war in Iraq and that two prominent Democratic presidential candidates support the president's actions. "Certainly when you look at some of the rhetoric of the presidential candidates, you see people who really do view this as a matter very differently than the president does," Fleischer replied. "I think that's true for much of the liberal base of the Democratic Party. "I say that with respect," he added, "but I say that accurately." In a statement released late Friday, the AFL-CIO called Fleischer's comments "a shame." "What the leaders of the AFL-CIO said in a unanimous statement is that while we fully support disarming Saddam Hussein and denounce him as a despot, we believe that war should be undertaken only as a last resort and only after every attempt to build a global coalition to seek a peaceful, diplomatic solution has been exhausted," the statement said. "Our views are shared by many Americans. It is a real shame that the White House would attempt to discredit and dismiss a thoughtful point of view just because it differs from their own." The AFL-CIO's eight-paragraph resolution said in part, "We call upon the world community to speak with one voice to demand that disarmament take place in Iraq without delay, and that the [U.N. weapons] inspectors be accorded full cooperation. "We call upon the administration to pursue a broad global consensus to apply the maximum pressure on Iraq, ensuring that war, if it comes, will truly be a last resort, supported by both our allies and nations united. "And we call on Iraq to comply with the demands of the United Nations, the only course to avoiding the war no one desires."
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