Also not to be missed in Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman’s response to the Pentagon IG report on the Office of Special Plans is this choice assertion:
We respectfully observe that the OIG’s opinion on the subjective question of “appropriateness” in these circumstances is not entitled to any particular deference. The OIG does not have special expertise on this issue, which is fraught with policy and political dimensions.
So the Pentagon’s inspector general apparently has no better idea of what’s appropriate activity for the defense department than does… the office it’s investigating.