Madeleine Albright's dark past smudges 'pro-Muslim' remarks

A former US Secretary of State faced backlash this week after suggesting she is prepared to 'register as Muslim' in solidarity with the community being targeted during the Trump era.

Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as US secretary of state from 1997 to 2001 under Bill Clinton’s administration tweeted: "I was raised Catholic, became Episcopalian and found out later my family was Jewish. I stand ready to register as Muslim in #solidarity."

But the attempted show of goodwill was not taken lightly by many who reminded the 79-year-old of a previous controversial statement she made defending the death of more than 500,000 Iraqis as a direct result of harsh US sanctions imposed on former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein.

In a 1996 interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes, Albright was asked whether the deaths of half a million Iraqi children was worth it. "The price is worth it," Albright bluntly replied.

The economic sanctions, imposed by the Clinton administration and vehemently supported by Albright, left more than 576,000 Iraqi children dead and amounted to "genocide" in the country, according to former UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Denis Halliday who had resigned in response.

One Twitter user responded to Albright’s tweet, stating: "Solidarity with Muslims? Start by apologizing for saying '500,000 dead Iraqi kids' were worth the sanctions. Just start there."

Another user said "Pretty lofty words coming from both a facilitator and denier of genocide. How dare you even utter them. #uspoli"