Wednesday, September 26, 2007

rep. henry waxman gets granular with rice re blackwater murders (among other matters) -- 09.25.07 edition


since i started this post,
secretary of state rice has
backed down a bit -- she now
admits that chairman waxman
has the oversight authority,
and security clearances, to
receive answers from (among
others) blackwater security
forces under private contract
in iraq.

a hearing is scheduled for
october 2, 2007 -- i'll cover it.

in the mean-time, here is the
waxman money quote, in response
to the mcdermott, will & emery lawyers
for blackwater -- and condi rice's
original letter -- directly ordering
blackwater to obstruct justice:

. . .In effect, your position seems to be that
positive information. . .may be disseminated
publicly, but any criticism. . . must be treated
as a national security secret. I suppose this
would be an effective way for the Bush Admin-
istration to control the facts and debate
about Iraq, but it has no place in our democracy. . .






excellent.

as ever, waxman is spot on.

all the letters may be found,
in pdf format, on waxman's page
.




i feel a powerful pull
toward a new "nightly nolo"
solely on this topic. . .

and here it is:

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