Is it stonewalling, obstruction, or both?
Shortly after Rep. Henry Waxman announced last week that his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee would hold hearings on the Blackwater incident in which 11 Iraqi civilians died, the State Department notified Blackwater that under the terms of its contract no information could be produced without prior written State Department approval.
The fallout from this whole episode has been swift and if you haven’t been paying close attention, you may have missed some of developments in recent days. So here’s a time line of last week’s events:
Sun, Sept. 16: Blackwater incident in which 11 Iraqi civilians are killed after State Department convoy reportedly comes under fire, an account disputed by the Iraqis.
Mon, Sept. 17: Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee announces his committee will investigate the Blackwater incident.
Tue, Sept. 18: The American Embassy in Baghdad suspends diplomatic convoys outside the Green Zone.
Wed, Sept. 19: In a phone call, Acting Assistant Secretary of State William Moser warns Blackwater that no information regarding the Blackwater contract can be released without State’s prior written approval.
Thu, Sept. 20: Moser repeats the warning in a second call to Blackwater, and State sends Blackwater a follow-up letter again asserting again that the information possessed by Blackwater belongs to State and cannot be disclosed.
Fri, Sept. 21: The four-day suspension of State Department convoys ends and Blackwater resumes business. Secretary of State Condi Rice announces that her department will undertake a “full and complete review” of diplomatic security in Iraq.
Since then, aides to Rice have notified Waxman that she herself will not testify about Blackwater or about Iraqi corruption inquiries pending before the committee. (In addition, other officials at State have refused to answer questions in the corruption inquiry unless the committee agrees not to disclose their answers.)
Things may come to a head sooner rather than later. Waxman has scheduled a Blackwater hearing for October 2 and requested that Blackwater founder Erik Prince testify.
