Obama Rapid Response is ON IT! Response to Clinton attack today:

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Mon Mar-17-08 12:40 PM
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Obama Rapid Response is ON IT! Response to Clinton attack today:

Edited on Mon Mar-17-08 12:42 PM by FLDem5

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGBKsT

During her speech today, Senator Clinton launched a false attack on Senator Obama�s position on military contractors. Below is a statement in response as well more information on Senator Clinton�s history on this issue.

�Proving once again that she will say anything to win an election, Hillary Clinton is attacking Barack Obama on an issue where he has led and she did nothing until her campaign fell behind. Senator Clinton did nothing when the use of contractors was expanded in the Clinton Administration, she did nothing when Senator Obama sent a bill on contractor accountability to her committee, and after more than four years of war in Iraq she claimed to not even know contractors were unaccountable even though she sits on the Senate committee that oversees them. For all her talk of Day One, it took five years on the Armed Services Committee before Hillary Clinton decided that she was shocked to learn about contractors that were used by the Clinton Administration, and whose abuses were reported year after year after year during the Iraq War,� said Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer.

Clinton Announced That She Was Cosponsoring Legislation To Ban The Use Of Blackwater And Other Private Military Firms In Iraq. Clinton announced that she has cosponsored legislation to ban the use of Blackwater and other private military companies in Iraq. "From this war's very beginning, this administration has permitted thousands of heavily-armed military contractors to march through Iraq without any law or court to rein them in or hold them accountable. These private security contractors have been reckless and have compromised our mission in Iraq. The time to show these contractors the door is long past due. We need to stop filling the coffers of contractors in Iraq, and make sure that armed personnel in Iraq are fully accountable to the U.S. government and follow the chain of command," said Senator Clinton.

CLINTON CLAIMED SHE DIDN'T KNOW THAT BLACKWATER WAS GIVEN IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION

Clinton Claimed That She Didn't Know About A Provision That Gave Blackwater Immunity >From Prosecution In Iraq Because Of An Exemption Passed After The US Invasion. "Clinton was asked about a statement she made� when criticizing the Bush administration's conduct in Iraq. She said she hadn't known that Blackwater USA, the military contractor accused of killing more than a dozen Iraqi civilians last month, had immunity from prosecution in Iraq because of an exemption approved soon after the US invasion. 'Maybe I should have known about it; I did not know about it,' she said."

� 2004: Clinton Attended The Armed Services Committee Meeting Where Wolfowitz Testified on The Immunity Of Contractors�She Even Commented. On April 20, 2004, Clinton was listed in attendance at an Armed Services Committee meeting in which Paul Wolfowitz spoke of Order No. 17 saying, "Further, we have Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 17, I believe it is, that goes into more detail about the rights and privileges and immunities that pertain to foreign forces providing for security in Iraq." Clinton responded on the subject of the military's role following Iraqi sovereignty saying, "I think that this is a serious issue, because it's not only the possibility that the definition will take on a life of its own, causing all kinds of unintended consequences, but that in fact the earlier questions that the chairman raised about the rules of engagement for our military and the authority that they have following this period of sovereignty, however one defines it, I think are going to be very sticky. And then you throw into the mix all these private contractors running around, heavily armed, I think it becomes even more of a challenge."

� 2003: Coalition Provisional Authority Declared Contractors Immune To Iraqi Law. Coalition Provisional Authority Order No. 17 ordered that "Unless provided otherwise herein, the MNF, the CPA, Foreign Liaison Missions, their Personnel, property, funds and assets, and all International Consultants shall be immune from Iraqi legal process." The order also stated Contractors shall not be subject to Iraqi laws or regulations in matters relating to the terms and conditions of their Contract� Contractors shall be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms and conditions of a Contract or any sub-contract thereto."

WHILE CLINTON DID NOTHING, OBAMA SUBMITTED A BILL ADDRESSING CONTRACTOR OVERSIGHT IN FEBRUARY 2007 TO CLINTON'S COMMITTEE

FEB 2007: Obama Submitted a Bill to Make Contractors Accountable to Law�to Clinton's Committee. In February, Obama submitted "A bill to require accountability and enhanced congressional oversight for personnel performing private security functions under Federal contracts, and for other purposes." The act would clarify the legal status of contractors, subjecting them to the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) to ensure that all contractors working in war zones � regardless of contracting agency � would be held accountable under U.S. law. Passed in 2000, MEJA says that contractors for the armed forces can be prosecuted under US law for crimes committed overseas. However, because companies like Blackwater have contracts with the State Department rather than the Defense Department, the company is not technically subject to that law. Obama's bill would also require federal agencies employing private security contractors to report to Congress on the details of those arrangements, such as the total number and cost of contractors, the number of contractors killed or wounded, information about the military and safety equipment provided to contractors, and details of disciplinary action taken against contractors. The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services, which Clinton serves on.

OBAMA'S BILL IS THE CORE OF ACTUAL EFFORTS TODAY TO TRY TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, WHILE CLINTON ONLY HAS A 5 SENTENCE CAMPAIGN STATEMENT OF INTENT, ISSUED 5 DAYS BEFORE THE TEXAS PRIMARY

JAN 2008: Part of Obama Bill signed into law requiring new reporting on extent to which the United States relies on contractors. Section 863 of P.L. 110-181, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 includes reporting requirement on the extent to which the United States has come to rely on private security contractors. The rest of the Obama bill is subject to ongoing negotiations in the Senate.

WHILE OBAMA HAS NO TIES TO THE PRIVATE MILITARY INDUSTRY AND DOES NOT ACCEPT LOBBYIST MONEY, BLACKWATER GOT ITS FIRST FEDERAL CONTRACT UNDER BILL CLINTON AND HAD NOTABLE TIES TO INDIVIDUALS LINKED TO THE HILARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN

Blackwater USA's First Federal Contract Was In 1998 � Under The Clinton Administration. At a House committee hearing on private contractor oversight, Blackwater USA counsel Andrew Howell was asked when his company received its first government contract. Howell replied, "I believe that was 1998." Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) inquired, "And that was under the Clinton administration?" Howell responded, "Yes, sir."

� Blackwater's Lawyer Is A Former Clinton White House Counsel. Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) asked Blackwater USA counsel Andrew Howell "And do you have staff or contracts with people who've been employed by Clinton administration? <�> For instance, you're accompanied by counsel today. Do you know what is her name and what was her political experience?" Howell replied, "Yes, sir. Her name is Ms. Beth Nolan and she was, indeed, part of the Clinton administration, from my understanding." Nolan served as Counsel to the President of the United States from 1999-2001. In the White House, she was responsible for overseeing all legal matters for President Clinton and the White House staff. http://www.crowell.com/Professionals/Beth-Nolan>

Mark Penn's Firm Did Public Relations Work For Blackwater, including to help prepare Blackwater's owner for his congressional hearing, just a weeks before the Iowa caucus. Burson-Marsteller has been brought aboard to do public relations work for Blackwater USA by the Washington law firms representing Blackwater - McDermott Will & Emery and Crowell & Moring. One of the executives on the Blackwater account is Robert Tappan, a former State Department official. Tappan is a managing director of BKSH & Associates Worldwide, a Burson-Marsteller subsidiary. Paul Cordasco, a spokesman for Burson-Marsteller, said the company does not discuss its clients, but in a later a statement, Cordasco said BKSH helped Blackwater head Erik Prince prepare for his congressional hearing. "With the hearing over, BKSH's temporary engagement has ended," Cordasco said.

THE USE OF PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANIES EXPANDED DURING THE CLINTON ADMINSTRATION

The Clinton Administration's "'Privatize First, Ask Questions Later' Mentality Has Led to The Situation We Face Now In Iraq." In an article in The Nation, William D. Hartung wrote, "The latest wave of military privatization started in the first Bush Administration, when Defense Secretary Cheney asked Halliburton to study what it would cost to have a private company take charge of getting US forces overseas in a hurry. Halliburton was hired to do just that in Somalia, employing 2,500 people. The Clinton Administration picked up where Bush/Cheney left off, hiring Halliburton--then run by Cheney--as the logistics arm for the war in Kosovo. Halliburton's contract started out as a $ 180 million deal but soon mushroomed to more than $ 2.5 billion as the company built Camp Bondsteel and other military facilities on lavish, cost-plus terms. <�> But the urge to privatize soon expanded to include anything and everything, up to and including hiring former Green Berets and Navy SEALs for serious security and training functions. The 'privatize first, ask questions later' mentality has led to the situation we face now in Iraq, where private companies are performing front-line military functions ranging from providing security to the Coalition Provisional Authority (Blackwater) to training the new Iraqi army (Vinnell) to protecting oil pipelines (Erinys) to interrogating prisoners (CACI)."