US State Dept in furor over reported Blackwater immunity deal (Biden calls on Rice to clarify)

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A top US legislator demanded information Tuesday over reports that the State Department offered immunity to Blackwater employees in the wake of a Baghdad shooting that left 17 civilians dead.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to explain whether the private security group, which protects US diplomats in Baghdad under a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, had been offered protection from prosecution when the State Department investigated the September 16 shooting.

~snip~


"Press reports today indicate that DS (Department of State) agents offered grants of immunity to Blackwater employees after the September 16 shooting incident in Baghdad. Are these reports accurate?" Biden asked in a statement.

"If so, who authorized these grants of immunity? Was there consultation with the Department of Justice prior to such grants of immunity?" the Democrat asked.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071030/ts_afp/iraqusunrestsecurityblackwater_071030220956

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House Probes Blackwater Immunity

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2007 By ADAM ZAGORIN AND BRIAN BENNETT/WASHINGTON Article ToolsPrintEmailSphereAddThisRSS The State Department may have offered some form of legal immunity to Blackwater contractors targeted in an investigation into the Sept. 16 shootings that killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad. The discovery comes at a time when the Department is already under fire for not providing proper oversight for the security contractors protecting its diplomats in Iraq. In response, a Congressional committee is now raising troubling questions about a pattern of State Department mismanagement.


In the wake of the revelations about the possible immunity offer, which were first reported Monday by the Associated Press, Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that is investigating Blackwater, fired off a letter Tuesday to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice raising a series of issues. As Waxman puts it: "This rash grant of immunity was an egregious misjudgment. It raises serious questions about who conferred the immunity, who approved it at the State Department, and what their motives were." Waxman requests written responses to his queries by no later than noon on Friday, November 2.

Among the uncomfortable questions that Waxman addresses to Secretary of State Rice is: "When did you, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, former Assistant Secretary of State Richard Griffin, Ambassador David Satterfield (senior advisor on Iraq), and Ambassador (to Iraq) Ryan Crocker learn of the grant of immunity?" and "What consultation, if any, was conducted with the Justice Department prior to the offers of immunity?" Waxman also seeks to determine whether the State Department has conferred immunity during any other investigations of contractors in Iraq.

more:http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1678033,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

[gateley]

1. I'm waiting for her answer, Joe - don't let her off the hook! nt

[Joanne98]

2. Cut off Blackwaters funding! We can't afford a "prima donna" security force anyway!

Who does Condi think she is? The Queen of England? If the troops aren't good enough to protect her royal ass, then she should just stay home!

[gateley]

3. Has she even been to Iraq? I don't remember. nt

[Inuca]

4. Yes, she has. Barely n/t