Former State Dept. Official: Amb. Crocker Is Either ‘Negligent’ Or ‘Intentionally Misleading’
Former State Dept. Official: Amb. Crocker Is Either ‘Negligent’ Or ‘Intentionally Misleading’
Today, the Democratic Policy Committee held a hearing on the U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq and corruption in the Iraqi government. Two former State Department employees testified, including Judge Arthur Brennan, the former director of the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT) in Iraq. He said that his office’s work “was ignored and demeaned by the Department of State, the Department of Justice, and the government of Iraq.”
He also revealed the State Department completely altered a report he sent to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) that criticized an Iraqi watchdog agency as being a “disaster”:
MCCASKILL: And your testimony — I want to make sure that you have said the Department of State has negligently, recklessly and intentionally misled Congress, the American people and the people of Iraq. And you stand by that testimony, Judge?
BRENNAN: I stand by that testimony.
MCCASKILL: And so, what we’re learning today is that SIGIR, the information we’re getting from SIGIR is not, in fact, always factual, that sometimes it is being spun by Ambassador Crocker and that it is your testimony today that Ambassador Crocker knows the level of corruption in the Iraqi government and has failed to be honest with the American people about it.
BRENNAN: If he doesn’t know, then he’s negligent. If he does know, then he’s intentionally misleading Congress and the American public.
Watch it:
According to Brennan, when the House Oversight Committee requested a copy of OAT’s report on Iraqi corruption last fall, the State Department “then retroactively classified the report in an effort to prevent it from being made a subject of public knowledge and discussion.” The department also ordered all State personnel not to testify at the House committee hearing examining corruption in Iraq.
James Mattil, who worked with Brennan, agreed with Brennan’s assessment, blaming the Bush administration for failing to demand greater action on corruption: “It seems reasonable to conclude that the reasons are either, gross incompetence, willful negligence or political intent on the part of the Bush administration and more specifically, the Department of State,” he said.
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Former State Dept. Official: Amb. Crocker Is Either ‘Negligent’ Or ‘Intentionally Misleading’
Given that Ambassador Crocker is a “Loyal Bushie”™, I think the safe assumptions is that he’s both.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:03 pmholy crap, batman! you mean to tell me the administration lied??? hhahahahaha crooks I tell you, all of them!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:05 pmYeah, we don’t really need to know where the pallets of cash are being loaded into the back of pickup trucks, now do we?
May 12th, 2008 at 6:07 pmwhy am I sooo not surprised by this information. Gee, maybe it’s because I’m used to this and expect nothing less from these sneaky gits
May 12th, 2008 at 6:07 pmalthough, sometimes after a while it does make my stomach turn not unlike a bout of foood poisoning!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:09 pmAnother day, another investigation, another treason revealed.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:10 pmDammit!! More outrage? No can do.
My Outrage-O-Meter™ broke YEARS ago!!!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:10 pmThe Bush Criminal Mafia does not want people knowing just where all those Billions of dollars are actually going, now do they.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:15 pmYou’ll just have to make do like the rest of us, Annie. I find sarcasm sometimes helps.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:15 pmoh-oh..I feel it.. the nausea is starting again.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:16 pmWhen will this shit ever end? Some body, some where, some place, some time, some how has to get fed up with these endless “hearings” and start some damn “doings.”
May 12th, 2008 at 6:17 pmJust another day at the office of treason.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:18 pmyeah, it’s called change
May 12th, 2008 at 6:19 pmThank you, Ralph. I shall endeavor to be *very* sarcastic. ;o)
In the meantime, I ordered a new Outrage-O-Meter™ from HSN.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:25 pm11 – COB, are your hands itching for the feel of a pitchfork, a rake – or maybe even a torch…? I know mine are.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:26 pmthey’re gonna need a bigger boat to stay afloat of all the crap that’s spewing out of chimpy and his chumpy cronies involved with this latest kicker!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:28 pmFull of sound and fury but signifying nothing. We have seen the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, international law and the laws of the United States urinated upon by this childish King George. What has been done? Who has been impeached for ignoring the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and whole sale criminal violations of FISA? Who has been made to pay a price for outing a CIA agent? Who has been thrown out of office for politicizing the DoJ? (And I do not mean resigning after a long period of stiff arming the process and leaving a bunch of career civil servants, i.e. fifth columnists appointed by the regime.) Where have there been penalties to this administration for the failure of the government to follow procurement laws? For the outright selling of the government? For the wrongful prosecution and conviction of a former governor?
Do not publish this rubbish. (With an exaggerates lisp of a true sissy.) The Democrats are have a Democratic Policy Hearing. Well shiver my timbers, the Republicans are really wetting their pants at that. What next? A nasty letter or two? Maybe followed up by a subpoena to be ignored by the President and his minions? Hey, lets not do anything to scary, like start impeachment proceedings against a Secretary or cut off funds to an agency until Congressional process is satisfied.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:28 pmThere ya go! Me, I had to sell my Outrage-O-Meter to buy gas for my commute. No matter, it was an old model anyway. It only went up to 10. I got it during the Clinton impeachment hearings. I understand the new models have the expanded “Bush-Range Calibration™” that go up to 60. That’s the one you’re getting, right?
May 12th, 2008 at 6:36 pmbetter hurry and turn on Fox News — would hate to miss Karl Rove/Brit Hume/Bill O’s investigative report on this.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:42 pmYa know….Learning all I know about the bush administration, it has made me realize that the supporters of this administration are not very smart. I’m not trying to dis-respect them, but how on earth could they still wake up in the morning and figure that over 80% of their fellow Americans are wrong about Bush? Not to mention what the rest of the planet thinks about him.
I’m just trying to get my head around the notion that these folks think there is still something to root for in the administration. I don’t mean the neocons making money, I mean the regular Americans.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:51 pmThere is no effective rule of law constraining the US government. Once Bush’s term ends and executive is no longer actively criminal, all three branches of government desperately need to hold some folks accountable. Shadow government Republicans saw Nixon get pardoned, Ollie North turn into a media figure and they have simply lost all fealty to or fear of the law.
And if they all walk away untouched again, they’re proven right.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:53 pmand Billy Joel also says, only the good die young
May 12th, 2008 at 6:59 pmRandy baybeee yehhh!
C:\Ayn_Rand|Nietzsche\objective_truth_rubbish.sht\
May 12th, 2008 at 7:05 pmAccording to Brennan, when the House Oversight Committee requested a copy of OAT’s report on Iraqi corruption last fall, the State Department “then retroactively classified the report in an effort to prevent it from being made a subject of public knowledge and discussion.”
Back on Sept 19 of last year, Steve Aftergood posted a copy of the report in question — before it was retroactively classified.
He wrote about it here: US Embassy in Baghdad Sees Widespread Iraqi Corruption, and here: State Dept Classifies Report on Iraqi Corruption.
The report is still available: U.S. Embassy Report on Iraqi Corruption (82-page pdf)
May 12th, 2008 at 7:05 pm“If he doesn’t know, then he’s negligent. If he does know, then he’s intentionally misleading Congress and the American public.”
Brennan is being far to (cough-cough) diplomatic.
Crocker (snort) entered the scene pretty much the same time as General Betrayus. Their collective mission is to stall, obfuscate, enable and generally cover-up the massive war profiteering that the whole invasion of Iraq was all about to begin with.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:08 pmOf course Crocker is negligent. It’s part of his job description.
StratRat Says:
Ya know….Learning all I know about the bush administration, it has made me realize that the supporters of this administration are not very smart. I’m not trying to dis-respect them, but how on earth could they still wake up in the morning and figure that over 80% of their fellow Americans are wrong about Bush? Not to mention what the rest of the planet thinks about him.
I’m just trying to get my head around the notion that these folks think there is still something to root for in the administration. I don’t mean the neocons making money, I mean the regular Americans.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
For an indepth study of why a certain percentage remain loyal to the Chimperror, check this out.
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
It’s a rather long read so the short version is that they maintain a delusional state where faults, in their “chosen one”, are: flatly denied, redefined as positive, or projected onto the opposition (the “Clinton did it” gambit is a perfect example.).
This delusional state is not greatly effected by intelligence. It seems to have more to do with fear, domination, and perceived importance. Though it would seem that investing in a philosophy which requires active denial of reality isn’t the brightest decision one can make.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:10 pmOK, Nancy P, “Got Table?” yet?
Exactly when is enough, enough for a
May 12th, 2008 at 7:20 pmRepublicanDemocratic Speaker before she allows impeachment?When they start shooting citizens in the street, it may be too late.
Is anyone else having a problem getting the clip to play?
May 12th, 2008 at 7:24 pm#15 L/S Annie,
Your comment brought to mind a scenario many years ago, the principals being my Dear Departed Daddy, a hoe, a plowed field, my middle brother, and a pair of rubber boots (Daddy’s size 12 on Brother’s size 10 feet). After a short conversation which ended with my brother saying “No, I don’t want to” the scene played out with the boots hitting the plowed field and the hoe handle hitting the back side of my brother with each step. I would love to have King George the Dumb in that field with the hoe in my hand. Thanks for the memory!
May 12th, 2008 at 7:34 pmIf the Bushies were to disclose all the Iraqi corruption, they would be undermining their favorite puppet Maliki. So what choice did Condi’s State Dept. have but to support Maliki by contributing to the corruption, and telling everyone else to shut up. Of course, contributing to the corruption isn’t a big leap for the equally corrupt and negligent Bushies. And, so what if it’s cost Iraq and us an estimated $18 billion so far.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:58 pmLeslieB Says:
And, so what if it’s cost Iraq and us an estimated $18 billion so far.
I wish Iraq cost us only 18 billion so far…..
May 12th, 2008 at 8:04 pmThe War in Iraq Costs
$519,077,975,164
when I copied this, it updates by the second.
Ok — I hereby nominate the phrase “the Office of Accountability and Transparency (OAT) in Iraq” as one of the top 3 oxymorons of all time.
Just saying . . .
May 12th, 2008 at 8:08 pmand more to follow in the near future……………the saga (debacle) of the Occuaption of Iraq continues, what more will be revealed about Bush Administration remains to be seen…..Let the TRUTH be published for the world to see.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:18 pmCrocker is another cog in the great criminal conspiracy.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:19 pmRight. So go ahead. Put this charge with the pile a mile high of other impeachable charges. So………..
May 12th, 2008 at 8:26 pmCome on, House. Put them on double secret probation.
StratRat @ 20
My friend, a real Bush backer and McCain supporter, resorts more and more to an instant angry shout about the need to turn the Middle East into glass. I let him rant on and on and occasionally his invectives have revealed his bias against blacks and women. When he stops I ask if he is finished and if I may continue uninterupted. Then I calmly talk about another new facet of the administration that is on the net and relate it to economic conditions and/or military screw-ups of Bushco. He eventually tells me he has to either feed or take out his pack of dogs to get off the phone. Its going to be a long summer.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:15 pmDoc Rock @ 34:
I watched Crocker at the hearings and thought his stammering every time he spoke was very indicitive of how hard he was working to avoid telling the truth about the situation in Iraq.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:20 pmThe $18 billion refers just to the Iraqi government’s corruption, not the cost of the war.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:25 pmJuicy. McCaskill comes through with the right question at the right time. Bravo. Do ya think ABC will cover this? Nah.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:49 pmI worked for Crocker in Kuwait. He is NOT negligent, so….
May 12th, 2008 at 10:52 pmWhat a fine, upstanding that Secretary Rice is turning out to be. She was a disaster as National Security Advisor and she is a disaster as Secretary of State. She should have been fired 6 years ago rather than promoted. She is in a league with Rumsfeld and that is no complement, needless to say.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:54 pmJames Mattil, who worked with Brennan, agreed with Brennan’s assessment, blaming the Bush administration for failing to demand greater action on corruption: “It seems reasonable to conclude that the reasons are either, gross incompetence, willful negligence or political intent on the part of the Bush administration and more specifically, the Department of State,” he said.
And pre-tell who else would be in charge of the State Department besides a gaped tooth lackey…?
.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:32 amCrocker is just another neocon so what else could you expect. Lying is in their DNA so they can’t help themselves. Sadly, I think you can dump Gen. Petraeus into that same camp. They are lying about Iran too. Their itch for war is just too overwhelmning.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:20 amArguing with them is the same as arguing with your cat. They will scratch, they will hiss, and even on their best days they still, for reasonssohbet unbeknown to the rest of us, pee on your carpet. Hoekstra et al are racist thugs. They will not understand a document as important at the one reported Bedava mp3 indirby the A.P. What this document has said is that for years, words like Jihadists, Islamic Terrorism, Islamic Extremism etccet have done nothing but castigate Muslim men and women.
April 13th, 2009 at 1:05 am