TPMMuckraker

State to “Review” Blackwater Operations

Looks like Condi Rice is taking a cue from her inspector general.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she had ordered a “full and complete review” of security practices for U.S. diplomats following a deadly weekend incident in Iraq involving private guards protecting a U.S. embassy convoy in Baghdad.

Rice said she had directed the State Department to examine “how we are providing security to our diplomats.”

To recap, while the Iraqi prime minister says Blackwater killed Iraqi civilians “in cold blood,” the State Department is promising to “review” its security procedures — with details on the scope of that review to come later — and already has Blackwater back to work. Very diplomatic.

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