this is definitely

worth the read. we didn't learn our lessons then, we sure as shite aren't learning them now

'We Killed Her… That Will Be With Me the Rest of My Life'
Lawrence Wilkerson's Lessons of War and Truth

by Nick Turse

Nations in flux are nations in need. A new president will soon take office, facing hard choices not only about two long-running wars and an ever-deepening economic crisis, but about a government that has long been morally adrift. Torture-as-policy, kidnappings, ghost prisons, domestic surveillance, creeping militarism, illegal war-making, and official lies have been the order of the day. Moments like this call for truth-tellers. For Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. For witnesses willing to come forward. For brave souls ready to expose hidden and forbidden realities to the light of day.

Lawrence B. Wilkerson is such a man. He came to national prominence in October 2005 when -- having left his post as chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier in the year -- he laid bare some of the secrets of the Bush White House as he had experienced them. He had been inside the halls of power as the invasion and occupation of Iraq took shape. In Bush's second term, on the outside, he found that he had had enough. The American people, he thought, had a right to know just how their government was really working, and so he offered them this vision of the Bush administration in action: "[S]ome of the most important decisions about U.S. national security -- including vital decisions about postwar Iraq -- were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld."

In the years since, Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel, has not been reticent, especially when it came to "the militarization of America's foreign policy" and the practice of extraordinary rendition (the kidnapping of terror suspects and their deliverance into the hands of regimes ready and willing to torture them).

Nor, earlier this year, did he shy away from testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties about how, in 2004, while still at the State Department, he had compiled "a dossier of classified, sensitive, and open source information" on American interrogation and imprisonment practices at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq that yielded, he said, "overwhelming evidence that my own government had sanctioned abuse and torture."

"We have damaged our reputation in the world and thus reduced our power," he told the panel in closing. "We were once seen as the paragon of law; we are now in many corners of the globe the laughing stock of the law."........

blackwater, halliburton, kbr

they have all been accused of horrible crimes. from rape to murder to NOT PROTECTING our troops (by allowing things such as shoddy electrical work to occur in iraq --where some of our troops have been electrocuted) to overcharging for services provided in iraq (water, food, etc).

six letters to six of the men who (allegedly) MURDERED (i think i have to say allegedly although there is a great deal of evidence in this case. no one has been brought to trial so i must say allegedly. same with the rapes and shoddy construction). it's a start. it's the same thing with lynndie england though. sure the subhumans who (allegedly) committed these crimes may indeed be guilty but the people who are REALLY guilty and who will NEVER BE BROUGHT TO TRIAL OR NEVER MADE TO PAY are the people RUNNING HALLIBURTON, KBR AND BLACKWATER AND OUR KING AND HIS COURT. they are the ones who really should be brought to trial and made accountable.

Justice Dept. Moves Toward Charges Against Contractors in Iraq Shooting

By Del Quentin Wilber and Karen DeYoung

Washington Post Staff Writers

Federal prosecutors have sent target letters to six Blackwater Worldwide security guards involved in a September shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead, indicating a high likelihood the Justice Department will seek to indict at least some of the men, according to three sources close to the case.

The guards, all former U.S. military personnel, were working as security contractors for the State Department, assigned to protect U.S. diplomats and other non-military officials in Iraq. The shooting occurred when their convoy arrived at a busy square in central Baghdad and guards tried to stop traffic.

An Iraqi government investigation concluded that the security contractors fired without provocation. Blackwater has said its personnel acted in self-defense.............

now this i CANNOT believe is true

il starves his peeps. he makes them pretend to love him. they cannot speak one word against him. he must be idolized or the peeps pay the price.

yet i read this? as i said, it CAN'T be true. king george really cannot want this. then again libya is our best bud now and that country is run by a murderous insane stinking piece of shite as well

Report: Bush admin wants N. Korea off terror watch list

By Nick Juliano
Word emerged late Tuesday night that the Bush administration would ask Congress to remove North Korea from a terrorist watch list this week, according to a prominent Washington foreign policy expert.

Steve Clemons, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, broke the news on his blog:

Tonight, The Washington Note confirmed that the Bush administration will “ask Congress” to de-list North Korea from America’s “terrorist watch list.” This request will be made on Thursday — if there are no last minute, unexpected interventions.

Rumors have been kicking around that this might be happening, but no administration officials would confirm until today that this was finally decided..........

there ARE people with souls

in the government. it's just that no one listens to them
Interrogation Tactics Were Challenged at White House

By Carrie Johnson and Josh White Washington Post Staff Writers
Five years ago, as troubling reports emerged about the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a career lawyer at the Justice Department began a long and relatively lonely campaign to alert top Bush administration officials to a strategy he considered "wrongheaded."
This Story
Interrogation Tactics Were Challenged at White House
Thursday, May 22 at 12:30 p.m.: Dana Priest on National Security and Intelligence
Bruce C. Swartz, a criminal division deputy in charge of international issues, repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of harsh interrogation tactics at White House meetings of a special group formed to decide detainee matters, with representatives present from the Pentagon, the State Department and the CIA. ..........

and abc news reports this (if true, it's far far far worse than we can ever imagine). and NOTE the fbi are the one who are reporting these instances of abuse. (sort of makes me feel a BIT better about the fbi)


Report: U.S. Soldiers Did 'Dirty Work' for Chinese Interrogators
Alleges Guantanamo Personnel Softened Up Detainees at Request of Chinese Intelligence
By JUSTIN ROOD
U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo Bay allegedly softened up detainees at the request of Chinese intelligence officials who had come to the island facility to interrogate the men -- or they allowed the Chinese to dole out the treatment themselves, according to claims in a new government report.
Buried in a Department of Justice report released Tuesday are new allegations about a 2002 arrangement between the United States and China, which allowed Chinese intelligence to visit Guantanamo and interrogate Chinese Uighurs held there.
According to the report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine, an FBI agent reported a detainee belonging to China's ethnic Uighur minority and a Uighur translator told him Uighur detainees were kept awake for long periods, deprived of food and forced to endure cold for hours on end, just prior to questioning by Chinese interrogators.
Susan Manning, a lawyer who represents several Uighurs still held at Guantanamo, said Tuesday the allegations are all too familiar. ......

more of the same

(and i heard on npr yesterday, while i was driving home) king george was offering china $500,000. yes, that's right 500,000. what a fucking insult
think of how much money we've WASTED in iraq (and just toss to pakistan every month. i mean we're just tossin' it to 'em)

US coverup of corruption in Iraq alleged
Ex-State Dept. workers criticize defunct office
By Anne Flaherty
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration repeatedly ignored corruption at the highest levels within the Iraqi government and kept secret potentially embarrassing information so as not to undermine its relationship with Baghdad, according to two former State Department employees.
more stories like this
Arthur Brennan, who briefly served in Baghdad as head of the department's Office of Accountability and Transparency last year, and James Mattil, who worked as the chief of staff, told Senate Democrats yesterday that their office was understaffed and its warnings and recommendations ignored.
Brennan also alleged the State Department prevented a congressional aide visiting Baghdad from talking with staffers by insisting they were too busy. In reality, Brennan said, office members were watching movies at the embassy and on their computers. The staffers' workload had been cut dramatically because of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "evisceration" of Iraq's top anticorruption office, he said.
The State Department's policies "not only contradicted the anticorruption mission but indirectly contributed to and has allowed corruption to fester at the highest levels of the Iraqi government," Brennan told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee........

thanks for helping to save the lives of american women and men

we really appreciate it. we know you're in danger just because you did help us. but guess what? we don't give a flying yoo hoo! lucy, you can't be in the show (or come to america)
how we can turn aside and leave them in harm's way is beyond me.
Visas for War Zone Translators Halted
Current Quotas Are Nearly Filled

By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer
The State Department has stopped processing the applications of 551 Iraqi and Afghan translators seeking special visas to come to the United States, because the current legal quota of 500 visas for the program this year is about to be reached, according to department officials.
The applicants, all of whom have worked for U.S. military forces, received an e-mail notice from the State Department's National Visa Center last week. "We have temporarily stopped processing cases," the message said, adding that "the applicant should NOT make any travel arrangements, sell property or give up employment until the US Embassy or Consulate General has issued a visa." ............
...............More than 250 interpreters working for U.S. forces or their contractors have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Many American service members have worked to help their former translators gain a visa to come to the United States under a 2006 congressional program initially designed to admit 50 translators per year, a quota later increased to 500. .............

$750,000,000 and counting........

counting down to what? our poverty? our high oil prices? the cost of groceries? the health care of our veterans? the health care of our elderly? the health care of our children? the education of our citizens? (but not to worry, our congress is investigating drug use in mlb)

State Dept. orders another review of troubled Baghdad embassy
By Warren P. Strobel McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The State Department's new embassy construction chief has rejected his predecessor's certification that the $740 million new U.S. embassy in Baghdad is "substantially completed" and has instead begun a top-to-bottom review of the troubled project.
The official, Richard Shinnick, said in an interview the State Department hopes that the sprawling embassy complex — originally scheduled to be completed last September — will be ready by March 31.
But he said repeatedly that he's not setting a target date because past deadlines have forced a rush to complete the embassy's defective work. "That's not the message I want to send," he said.
The central issue appears to be the firefighting systems.
The embassy will house more than 1,000 U.S. diplomats and military personnel, many of whom live and work at a palace of former president Saddam Hussein that is subject to frequent rocket and mortar attacks — adding urgency to completing the new complex.........

put this on the list

of yet ANOTHER absurd AND DANGEROUS thing we're allowing king george to get away with
Disgraced Warmonger Wolfowitz to Chair US Panel on Arms Control
Posted by GottaLaff , Cliff Schecter's Blog
When in doubt, put a corrupt thug in charge of delicate matters to further illegal causes, encourage conflict, and create more alienation from the US.
Paul "Spit On My Comb" Wolfowitz has a brand new job!
Paul Wolfowitz, an architect of the Iraq war who was forced to resign from the World Bank because of an ethics scandal, will chair a U.S. advisory panel on arms control, the State Department said on Thursday.
How wise, hiring WolfaHalfWitz for a position that he will no doubt use to bungle and/or further endanger the U.S. Well, at least he'll be able to afford a new comb.
The former deputy secretary of defense and advocate of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq will head the State Department's International Security Advisory Board, which gives the department independent advice on arms control, disarmament, international security and other matters.
Wolfowitz was forced to resign as president of the World Bank last year after a bank panel found he broke several of its rules by involving himself in the promotion of his companion Shaha Riza, a Middle East expert at the bank.
............

i thought this was a great story

about two heroes. two doctors. two humanitarians, two brothers, TWO SOLDIERS
two people who decided to make a difference

Doctors' Double Duty in Afghanistan
Twins Born in Md. Honored For Their Humanitarian Work

By Avis Thomas-Lester Washington Post Staff Writer
The jet they had leased at their own expense and filled with medical supplies taxied to a stop at Kabul International Airport. On the runway, not 50 yards away, Vance Moss saw black smoke from the charred shell of a burning plane billowing into a blue sky.
He turned to his twin brother, Vince, who was just stirring from a nap. "Welcome to Afghanistan," he said. Later, Vance silently said a prayer: Please let us accomplish this.
The doctors, who are natives of Prince George's County, had decided in late 2005 to go on their own to treat civilians in the war-torn country. As members of the U.S. Army Reserve, they initially sought help from the military and the State Department but found no interest. So they worked connections until they found a military officer and an Afghan doctor willing to set them up.
They secured their visas, purchased medical supplies, found a translator, hired a jet and said goodbye to family and friends.......

736 million dollars

for a pile of steamin' shite. i've written about it before and i'm sure i'll be writing about it again. we built a 736 million dollar white elephant (i'm almost certain WE paid MORE than that though). no one is accountable. by no one i mean king george and his court. i don't mean a low level fall woman or man. how much would 736 million have helped the gulf coast victims? stem cell research? how many books would it buy for school systems? how many meals for the elderly? how many job training programs would it fund? you get the picture

yet king george is STILL on the loose and NO ONE is doing a DAMN THING ABOUT IT
Baghdad Embassy Is Called A Fire Risk
'Serious' Problems Were Ignored, Says State Dept. Official

By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer
The firefighting system in the massive $736 million embassy complex in Baghdad has potential safety problems that top U.S. officials dismissed in their rush to declare construction largely completed by the end of last year, according to internal State Department documents, e-mails and interviews.
Some officials assert that in the push to complete the long-delayed project, potentially life-threatening problems have been left untouched. "This is serious enough to get someone killed," said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation. "The fire systems are the tip of the iceberg. That is the most visible. But no one has ever inspected the electrical system, the power plant" and other parts of the embassy complex, which will house more than 1,000 people and is vulnerable to mortar attacks. ......

we are now best buds with one of THE

most evil men on this goddesses' earth. he is directly responsible for MANY deaths murders.
this country is even WORSE than saudi arabia. there are NO freedoms. yet we 'support' them? they blew a plane full of innocent people out of the sky yet we're patting them on the back? here is the story of one man's (the author of this article) experience. his brother is of the missing.

Libya's Inconvenient Truth
By Mohamed Eljahmi
Tomorrow, Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam is to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Their sit-down at the State Department will come nearly seven months after President Bush declared himself a "dissident president" and promised active support for dissidents around the world. "I asked Secretary Rice," Bush said during a speech in Prague, "to send a directive to every U.S. ambassador in an un-free nation: Seek out and meet with activists for democracy. Seek out those who demand human rights."
Nothing of the sort happened. In fact, in its embrace of Tripoli, the Foreign Service has built a wall of silence around human rights concerns.
More than a year and a half ago the State Department removed Libya from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, confirming Libya's status change from pariah to example. "Libya is an important model to point to as we press for changes in policy by other countries," a department statement declared. But if Libya is a model, human rights advocacy and reform will be casualties. ...........

i guess shooting people isn't good enough

now those f**kers are shooting dogs (a dog that belonged to the nyt)

Guards Shoot Dog at Baghdad Bureau
By Maria Newman

Investigators from the State Department have made two visits to The New York Times’s news bureau in Baghdad as they look into the shooting of one of the bureau’s dogs by Blackwater bodyguards last week.
Employees of the bureau said that the Blackwater guards shot the dog, named Hentish, during a search of the Times compound for explosives. A security team was conducting the search ahead of a visit by an American diplomat.
Anne Tyrrell, a spokeswoman for Blackwater, the private security firm, told Reuters that the dog had attacked one of Blackwater’s bomb-sniffing dogs.
“The K-9 handler made several unsuccessful attempts to get the dog to retreat, including placing himself between the dogs,” she said in an e-mail to Reuters. “When those efforts failed, the K-9 handler unfortunately was forced to use a pistol to protect the company’s K-9 and himself.” ...........

shite, she shouldn't have been there any damn way

she should have been HOME cooking for her husband

the other day when kbr released a statement on the OTHER rape accusation from ms jones, they included a statement about ms barker. well here is ms barker's story and it ain't any better

i don't know if mr mokhtare is guilty or innocent. what i DO know is a THOROUGH investigation never took place


EXCLUSIVE: No Prosecution for State Dept Official Accused of Sexual Assault
Justice Department Says Case 'Declined for Prosecution,' Request to Suspend Official's Security Clearance Denied
By BRIAN ROSS, MADDY SAUER and JUSTIN ROOD

The Department of Justice declined to prosecute a State Department employee who allegedly sexually assaulted a female Halliburton/KBR worker in Iraq, despite a recommendation from the State Department that he be charged, according to an internal document obtained by ABC News. Ali Mokhtare, who is still employed by the State Department, was investigated in 2005 after a female Halliburton/KBR employee said he sexually assaulted her at the company-run camp in Basra, Iraq. Mokhtare was a diplomatic official in Basra who first came to Iraq as a Farsi translator interviewing detainees.
The U.S. Diplomatic Security Service investigated the allegations against Mokhtare and presented the case to the Justice Department for prosecution, but "the case was declined for prosecution" states the document..........

kbr statements

this speaks for itself

Embattled State Dept. official quits Blackwater probe over brother's role
By Warren P. Strobel McClatchy Newspapers The State Department's embattled inspector general suddenly removed himself Wednesday from investigations into security contractor Blackwater Worldwide, after belatedly acknowledging that his brother sits on a Blackwater advisory board.
The revelation came at a House of Representatives hearing that cited allegations from current and former State Department employees — and the Justice Department — that Inspector General Howard Krongard had impeded investigations into Blackwater and the construction of the $740 million U.S. Embassy complex in Iraq.
The allegations before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee added to the questions about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's management of the massive U.S. diplomatic presence in Iraq and of the State Department in Washington.
Krongard initially said that he was unaware that his brother, former CIA executive director Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard, had any financial ties with Blackwater...........
WASHINGTON — The State Department's embattled inspector general suddenly removed himself Wednesday from investigations into security contractor Blackwater Worldwide, after belatedly acknowledging that his brother sits on a Blackwater advisory board.
The revelation came at a House of Representatives hearing that cited allegations from current and former State Department employees — and the Justice Department — that Inspector General Howard Krongard had impeded investigations into Blackwater and the construction of the $740 million U.S. Embassy complex in Iraq.
The allegations before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee added to the questions about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's management of the massive U.S. diplomatic presence in Iraq and of the State Department in Washington.
Krongard initially said that he was unaware that his brother, former CIA executive director Alvin "Buzzy" Krongard, had any financial ties with Blackwater...........

State Dept. Inspector General Agrees To Recuse Himself From Key Probes

By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer
State Department Inspector General Howard J. Krongard said yesterday that he will no longer participate in high-profile probes of Blackwater Worldwide and of the State Department's troubled construction of the new U.S. Embassy in Iraq, after a House panel confronted him with evidence of conflicts of interest, including his brother's role as a strategic adviser to Blackwater.
Krongard's announcement, made under pressure from House Democrats, means that the top independent investigator at the State Department will recuse himself from examining two of the biggest management headaches facing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has investigated allegations that Krongard impeded State Department probes in Iraq -- including potential criminal activity involving alleged gun smuggling by Blackwater and the awarding of the Baghdad embassy construction contract -- and has harmed his office with a mercurial management style. ...........

did anyone for ONE second

doubt the american government would find these blackwater sniper mercenaries NOT guilty? let's just say for the sake of argument they WERE found guilty....well if THAT did occur (which it NEVER would have) king george would have overruled everything and declared them sin-less JUST like scooter (who, to the best of my knowledge didn't actually pull a trigger on a rifle and blow off the top of someones head)

How Blackwater Sniper Fire Felled 3 Iraqi Guards
Witnesses Call Shooting From Justice Ministry Unprovoked, But State Dept. Cleared Its Security Team After a Brief Probe

By Steve Fainaru
Washington Post Foreign Service
BAGHDAD -- Last Feb. 7, a sniper employed by Blackwater USA, the private security company, opened fire from the roof of the Iraqi Justice Ministry. The bullet tore through the head of a 23-year-old guard for the state-funded Iraqi Media Network, who was standing on a balcony across an open traffic circle. Another guard rushed to his colleague's side and was fatally shot in the neck. A third guard was found dead more than an hour later on the same balcony.
Eight people who responded to the shootings -- including media network and Justice Ministry guards and an Iraqi army commander -- and five network officials in the compound said none of the slain guards had fired on the Justice Ministry, where a U.S. diplomat was in a meeting. An Iraqi police report described the shootings as "an act of terrorism" and said Blackwater "caused the incident." The media network concluded that the guards were killed "without any provocation." .............

even the state department employees

who are being FORCED to serve in iraq don't want to go. one man said, 'it's a death sentence'. well think about how our armed forces feel...............WE SHOULD NOT BE THERE. CIVILIANS OR MILITARY.

Envoys Resist Forced Iraq Duty
Top State Dept. Officials Face Angry Questions

By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer
Uneasy U.S. diplomats yesterday challenged senior State Department officials in unusually blunt terms over a decision to order some of them to serve at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad or risk losing their jobs.
At a town hall meeting in the department's main auditorium attended by hundreds of Foreign Service officers, some of them criticized fundamental aspects of State's personnel policies in Iraq. They took issue with the size of the embassy -- the biggest in U.S. history -- and the inadequate training they received before being sent to serve in a war zone. One woman said she returned from a tour in Basra with post-traumatic stress disorder only to find that the State Department would not authorize medical treatment..................

seems they've found their

blackwater scapegoat. oh, i'm guessing he should have been fired, but i'm also thinking the man was never given a choice. he HAD to use blackwater. once again one of the little players goes down while the big ones continue to float. so once again we're all feeling warm and cozy since they've taken care of that 'blackwater situation'

State Dept. Ousts Its Chief of Security

By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer
The State Department's security chief was forced to resign yesterday after a critical review found that his office had failed to adequately supervise private contractors protecting U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
Richard J. Griffin, a former Secret Service agent who was once in charge of presidential protection, was told by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's deputy, John D. Negroponte, to leave office by Nov. 1. Griffin's chief deputy, Gregory B. Starr, will become acting assistant secretary for diplomatic security. .........

ok let me just get this ONE thing (out of a kazillion)

straight. this dude, golden who was the state department contractor dude in charge of the us embassy in iraq project ATTEMPTED TO ALTER some shite at the construction site when it was bombed in may. THEN, our dear friend and current ambassador to iraq, ryan crocker BANISHES (isn't this JUST like a fairy tale?) the dude golden FROM iraq YET (and this is THE best part of this ONE story) this golden dude IS STILL IN CHARGE OF OVERSEEING THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

yikes

oh and there's more, i just wanted to mention ONE thing
(and remember OUR KIDS DON'T HAVE HEALTH COVERAGE)
Criminal probe into U.S. Embassy in Iraq construction
By Warren P. Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. Embassy that's under construction in Baghdad last May, damaging a wall and causing minor injuries to people inside the building. It also exposed enormous problems in the management of what's become a $592 million government construction project.
The State Department contractor in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene of the blast, according to government officials familiar with the incident. The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents.
A congressional committee is examining whether the walls of the still-unfinished embassy complex, which are supposed to be blast-resistant, performed as they should have during the mortar attack.
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker banished Golden from Iraq, but he continues to oversee the construction of the embassy in Baghdad; to be the liaison with the contractor, Kuwait-based First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co.; and to supervise other projects for the State Department's Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) bureau.......

"negligent and incompetent"

puts it mildly. murdering pieces of steamin' shite is how i see 'em

thanks for speaking out (ret) general sanchez. i know you couldn't do it while you were actively commanding. i DO hope you said it to king george behind closed doors though. i know he (well NONE of 'em listened, but i do hope you let them know exactly what they were doing)
Ex-Commander In Iraq Faults War Strategy
'No End in Sight,' Says Retired General Sanchez

By Josh WhiteWashington Post Staff Writer
Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, who led U.S. forces in Iraq for a year after the March 2003 invasion, accused the Bush administration yesterday of going to war with a "catastrophically flawed" plan and said the United States is "living a nightmare with no end in sight."
Sanchez also bluntly criticized the current troop increase in Iraq, describing it as "a desperate attempt by the administration that has not accepted the political and economic realities of this war."
"The administration, Congress and the entire interagency, especially the State Department, must shoulder the responsibility for this catastrophic failure, and the American people must hold them accountable," Sanchez told military reporters and editors. "There has been a glaring unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders." .............

i'm not going to look for it now

but JUST a couple of days ago, they (i don't know if it was wapo or nyt or whatever) published an article saying the american embassy (that HUGE high priced already falling apart hunk of uselessness) in iraq was NOT going to cost (US i might add) one more cent. why? because they had a SET contract with the builders

why aren't i shocked and surprised then to see this headline now?
Iraq Embassy Cost Rises $144 Million Amid Project Delays
Planning, Workmanship Cited as Problems

when are we going to STOP this out of control regime?

when when when

By Glenn Kessler Washington Post Staff Writer
The massive U.S. embassy under construction in Baghdad could cost $144 million more than projected and will open months behind schedule because of poor planning, shoddy workmanship, internal disputes and last-minute changes sought by State Department officials, according to U.S. officials and a department document provided to Congress.
The embassy, which will be the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world, was budgeted at $592 million. The core project was supposed to have been completed by last month, but the timetable has slipped so much that the State Department has sought and received permission from the Iraqi government to allow about 2,000 non-Iraqi construction employees to stay in the country until March............