There is something of a rebellion going on the the US State Department. Hundreds of diplomatic staff and diplomats have point blank refused to be sent to Iraq, as they regard it as a death sentence.
The postings in Iraq have been voluntary up until now. However, the Secretary of State does have the legal authority to order assignments.
ABC News has a brief recording of a town meeting where the diplomats vented their spleens. Listen to it here ABC
Not much of a vote of confidence for the way things are being "managed" at the moment.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Blackwater Immunity
There is more than a little confusion at the moment over the status of the Blackwater personnel, who shot dead 17 Iraqis. It is reported, albeit unofficially, that they have been granted immunity.
These reports have infuriated the Iraqi government, as they accuse the men of murder and want to try them in Iraq, and has put further strains on the relationship between Iraq and the US.
The Iraqi government has been demanding that the Blackwater guards be handed over for trial, since the deaths on 16th September.
State department spokesman, Sean McCormack, has refused to confirm the reports of the immunity deal. However, he said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had tried to ensure "in as much as we are able, that if people broke the rules or broke the law, that they're held to account".
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, is not mincing any words on the matter; he has described the shooting as a "criminal act". To pour further petrol on the fire, an inquiry by the Iraqi interior ministry concluded the security guards were "100% guilty".
The head of Blackwater denies the killings were unprovoked, insisting his men had been fired upon.
A mess by anybodies standards.
These reports have infuriated the Iraqi government, as they accuse the men of murder and want to try them in Iraq, and has put further strains on the relationship between Iraq and the US.
The Iraqi government has been demanding that the Blackwater guards be handed over for trial, since the deaths on 16th September.
State department spokesman, Sean McCormack, has refused to confirm the reports of the immunity deal. However, he said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had tried to ensure "in as much as we are able, that if people broke the rules or broke the law, that they're held to account".
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, is not mincing any words on the matter; he has described the shooting as a "criminal act". To pour further petrol on the fire, an inquiry by the Iraqi interior ministry concluded the security guards were "100% guilty".
The head of Blackwater denies the killings were unprovoked, insisting his men had been fired upon.
A mess by anybodies standards.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Blame Game
With the descent of Iraq into chaos and bloodshed, the British and US administrations are now playing the blame game in order to salve their troubled consciences.
The BBC's John Ware concludes in "No Plan, No Peace" that both the British and American governments got just about everything wrong in their assumptions about what would follow the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The people of Iraq and the US/UK soldiers on the ground are now paying the price of their failure.
The BBC's John Ware concludes in "No Plan, No Peace" that both the British and American governments got just about everything wrong in their assumptions about what would follow the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The people of Iraq and the US/UK soldiers on the ground are now paying the price of their failure.
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