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ABC NewsIf terrorists attack the U.S. embassy in Iraq and injure or kill American diplomats serving there, the State Department does not have to investigate the incident as it would if it occurred anywhere else in the world, thanks to a tweak to federal law.
Two years ago, the State Department quietly requested -- and received -- a legal provision exempting the secretary of state from a requirement she order rigorous after-action investigations into incidents against embassies or personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the congressman who sponsored the bill. The reason, the lawmaker told ABC News at the time, was that Rice was reluctant to send investigators into harm's way.
The change in the law has gone largely unnoticed until now, when Rice is preparing to require diplomatic personnel to deploy to Iraq to make up a shortfall in State Department officials voluntarily serving there.
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Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., introduced the bill, which exempted the secretary of state from convening the investigative panels, or Accountability Review Boards, in the aftermath of a bombing, murder or other attack on State Department personnel or facilities in Iraq or Afghanistan until September 2009.
At the time of his bill's passage, Smith told ABC News the State Department wanted the law changed "for the safety of the members of the Accountability Review Board." He did not respond to a request for comment.
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