Pentagon Picks a Fight with Senator Clinton - Big Mistake!

[William769]

In May Senator Clinton sent a private letter to the Secretary of Defense requesting more information on the planning for troop withdrawal from Iraq. She had asked that question several times in both open and closed hearings before the Senate Armed Services Committee and she had gotten a run around.
This week she got a written response from Undersecretary Edelman, a former Cheney lackey, accusing her of reinforcing enemy propaganda by asking questions about troop withdrawal. In a sharply worded letter to her, Edelman wrote,


Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia.
On Friday Senator Clinton responded by asking directly Secretary of Defense Gates if he agreed with his subordinate's position.


Rather than offer to brief the congressional oversight committees on this critical issue, Under Secretary Edelman, writing on your behalf, instead claims that congressional oversight emboldens our enemies. Open and honest debate and congressional oversight strengthens our nation and supports our military. His suggestion to the contrary is outrageous and dangerous.

http://bluehampshire.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1467

"Her response in the video taken at the time of the editorial board visit is fascinating and instructive of how forceful and effective she can be."
http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070720/VIDEO05/70720057/1001/NEWS