House Republicans blame Obama for terror suspect's release

House Republicans with roles in foreign policy said Friday that the Obama administration's "failure" in Iraq led to the release of a suspected Hezbollah terrorist.

Ali Mussa Daqduq, a suspected operative of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, was released from an Iraqi prison Friday after an Iraqi court acquitted him.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (Texas), Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (Calif.), Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (Mich.) and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.) slammed the Obama administration over the release.

"This move calls into question the Obama Administration’s decision to turn Daqduq over to Iraqi authorities in the first place, and is yet another national security threat that could have been avoided had the President been successful in his negotiations to secure a long-term Status of Forces Agreement with the Government of Iraq," the lawmakers said in a statement.

They added that the administration will also face choices over how to handle prisoners as the Afghanistan war winds down, and said they "sincerely hope the president learns from history, so that the American people are not forced to repeat it."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) weighed in earlier, telling reporters in the Capitol that the release was "an outrage."

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