CLEVELAND -- U.S. congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is in the middle of a controversy because of what he said during an interview on Syrian television.

Kucinich, an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq and the Bush administration, was visiting the Middle East last week when he made the comments.

He called the war an illegal occupation and said that we must pay the price for destroying that country.

NewsChannel5 obtained part of the interview taken from the Middle East Media Research Institute Web site.

In responding to a question about strengthening the position of the United Nations in Iraq, Kucinich said, "Not only must we stabilize, we must pay reparations to Iraq for the people of Iraq, for the great human tragedy caused. Perhaps a million innocent Iraqis lost lives as a result of this war."

Kucinich spoke at a news conference on Tuesday and he is not backing down from what he said.

"On the war in Iraq, I warned the American people we should. I'm the truth-teller. I'm the one who's ready to say things that have to be said. Part of being an American is respecting truth and justice," he said.

While in the Middle East, Kucinich met with the Syrian president. He said he believes there is a desire to help create peace.