lily
10-25-2007, 10:22 PM
Yeah......we should trust the Iraqi government............on this administration's say so. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/25/AR2007102501095_2.html?hpid=topnews):rolleyes:
Dems Accuse Rice of Blunders in Iraq
By ANNE FLAHERTY
The Associated Press
Thursday, October 25, 2007; 5:01 PM
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats on Thursday accused Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice of grossly mismanaging diplomatic efforts in Iraq and
concealing information from Congress, putting a visibly frustrated Rice on
the defensive.
At a hearing by a congressional watchdog committee, Democratic lawmakers
said the State Department under Rice had been too lax with armed security
contractors, ignored corruption at the highest levels of the Iraqi
government and was sloppy in overseeing construction of the costly new U.S.
Embassy in Baghdad.
Waxman, D-Calif., and other Democrats said they would not call on Rice to
resign, noting that their frustration is with the Bush administration's
policies rather than Rice alone.
"If you just change the deck chairs, it's not going to change the policy,"
said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., a committee member.
The hearing gave Democrats the venue to hammer the administration on the
war. Thus far, they have been unable to pass veto-proof legislation ordering
troops home from Iraq.
Recent events have given them ample fodder: shootings involving the private
guards hired to protect State Department diplomats; allegations that Iraq's
prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has blocked corruption investigations, and
delays in the embassy's construction.
The Democrats' strategy did not go unnoticed by Republicans.
Democrats seemed to be trying "to drill enough small holes in the bottom of
the boat to sink the entire Iraqi enterprise, while still claiming undying
support for the crew about to drown," said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the
committee's top Republican.
The usually unflappable Rice became frustrated at several points, including
a tense exchange with Welch on whether al-Maliki was corrupt. Since April,
the prime minister has required that Cabinet-level corruption investigations
first receive his approval. Such a policy, Welch and other Democrats say, is
tantamount to blanket immunity for al-Maliki and his ministers.
When repeatedly pressed to say whether she thought al-Maliki was covering up
fraud and abuse, Rice said she would not respond to rumors.
"To assault the prime minister of Iraq or anyone else in Iraq with
here-to-date unsubstantiated allegations or lack of corroboration, in a
setting that would simply fuel those allegations, I think, would be deeply
damaging," she said.
After the hearing, Waxman said there was a gap between "her very smooth
presentation" and the facts. Rice said the State Department was invested in
stopping corruption, but Waxman said she was unfamiliar with al-Maliki's
corruption policy and that department insiders tell lawmakers its efforts
are dysfunctional.
The hearing comes after several weeks of wrangling between Waxman and the
department, particularly on the public disclosure of U.S. corruption
investigations in Iraq.
The department says such information should be classified because it could
expose sources and hurt U.S.-Iraqi relations. Democrats counter that if
Iraqi officials are stealing from their government and funding anti-U.S.
militias, the State Department should make it public.
Dems Accuse Rice of Blunders in Iraq
By ANNE FLAHERTY
The Associated Press
Thursday, October 25, 2007; 5:01 PM
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats on Thursday accused Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice of grossly mismanaging diplomatic efforts in Iraq and
concealing information from Congress, putting a visibly frustrated Rice on
the defensive.
At a hearing by a congressional watchdog committee, Democratic lawmakers
said the State Department under Rice had been too lax with armed security
contractors, ignored corruption at the highest levels of the Iraqi
government and was sloppy in overseeing construction of the costly new U.S.
Embassy in Baghdad.
Waxman, D-Calif., and other Democrats said they would not call on Rice to
resign, noting that their frustration is with the Bush administration's
policies rather than Rice alone.
"If you just change the deck chairs, it's not going to change the policy,"
said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., a committee member.
The hearing gave Democrats the venue to hammer the administration on the
war. Thus far, they have been unable to pass veto-proof legislation ordering
troops home from Iraq.
Recent events have given them ample fodder: shootings involving the private
guards hired to protect State Department diplomats; allegations that Iraq's
prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has blocked corruption investigations, and
delays in the embassy's construction.
The Democrats' strategy did not go unnoticed by Republicans.
Democrats seemed to be trying "to drill enough small holes in the bottom of
the boat to sink the entire Iraqi enterprise, while still claiming undying
support for the crew about to drown," said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the
committee's top Republican.
The usually unflappable Rice became frustrated at several points, including
a tense exchange with Welch on whether al-Maliki was corrupt. Since April,
the prime minister has required that Cabinet-level corruption investigations
first receive his approval. Such a policy, Welch and other Democrats say, is
tantamount to blanket immunity for al-Maliki and his ministers.
When repeatedly pressed to say whether she thought al-Maliki was covering up
fraud and abuse, Rice said she would not respond to rumors.
"To assault the prime minister of Iraq or anyone else in Iraq with
here-to-date unsubstantiated allegations or lack of corroboration, in a
setting that would simply fuel those allegations, I think, would be deeply
damaging," she said.
After the hearing, Waxman said there was a gap between "her very smooth
presentation" and the facts. Rice said the State Department was invested in
stopping corruption, but Waxman said she was unfamiliar with al-Maliki's
corruption policy and that department insiders tell lawmakers its efforts
are dysfunctional.
The hearing comes after several weeks of wrangling between Waxman and the
department, particularly on the public disclosure of U.S. corruption
investigations in Iraq.
The department says such information should be classified because it could
expose sources and hurt U.S.-Iraqi relations. Democrats counter that if
Iraqi officials are stealing from their government and funding anti-U.S.
militias, the State Department should make it public.