Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote a letter to Rice yesterday to stop interfering with his work and that of Congress. Specifically she is hindering the investigations into Iraqi government corruption and the infamous Blackwater USA.
In case you don't know, Blackwater was almost thrown out of Iraq a few days back for an unprovoked attack on civilians, killing several. The Iraqi people are furious, but the U.S. (i.e. Condoleezza Rice) is pressuring them not to expel Blackwater from their large mercenary contracts. Blackwater is one of many "contractors" that make up an international force that outnumbers our troops in Iraq (roughly 180,000).
Rice does not want all this business to end, draining our treasury seems to be a prerogative of hers. Not only that, but many day to day operations would cease to exist because Blackwater does so many jobs. So she must have to work pretty hard with that political savvy of her in order to trick Congressman Waxman. So how is that going?
From The Washington Post:
"The scope of this prohibition is breathtaking," Waxman wrote to Rice, describing yesterday's staff interview with Vincent Foulk of the State Department's Office of Accountability and Transparency as "virtually worthless." The committee has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow on Iraqi government corruption.
A separate hearing, on Blackwater, is scheduled for next Tuesday. After reports last week that Blackwater employees guarding a U.S. diplomatic convoy in Baghdad had killed 11 Iraqi civilians, the committee asked the company for documents and requested the testimony of Erik Prince, chairman of Blackwater's parent company.
In a Monday letter, Blackwater attorney Stephen M. Ryan told the committee that the State Department had directed the company "not to disclose any information" regarding its Iraq security contract without prior department authorization in writing. "This contractual direction from the DOS is unambiguous," Ryan wrote.
Ryan enclosed a Sept. 20 State Department letter to Blackwater reminding that "all documents and information generated in the course of performance" of its contract "are fully subject to the control of the State Department."
Calling the department's position "wholly inappropriate," Waxman wrote that "unless the President is prepared to make an assertion of executive privilege over the Blackwater documents, the State Department has no authority to prevent their transmission to Congress."
Well technically thats true. Rice has no authority to pull this shit. Nevertheless, we don't really live in a democracy anymore. No matter how much kvetching Henry does, I doubt Condi or the White House will ever let him see the documents he (and the American people) desire.
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